The Blue Jays didn’t just survive August - they used it to change the shape of their season.
Toronto went 17-11, scored 115 runs, and climbed to within 1.5 games of the Cleveland Guardians for the third and final Wild Card spot. The club also ran the bases with purpose, going 20-for-23 in stolen-base attempts after struggling in that area for much of the year. It was the first time since April 2025 that the Blue Jays tried at least 20 steals in a month.
And with a key series win over Cleveland already in the books, Toronto has nudged even closer, sitting 0.5 games back. The path ahead looks workable, too.
The Blue Jays have the second-easiest remaining strength of schedule, and none of their remaining opponents own a winning record. They’ll also see the Baltimore Orioles and Texas Rangers a time or two, and both are in the mix for that last Wild Card berth.
That push was built on a core five.
Alejandro Kirk was the month’s loudest bat, and it wasn’t particularly close. In August, he posted a .341/.412/.534 line with nine runs, five homers, 20 RBIs, and a .946 OPS across 102 plate appearances.
He shared the team lead in home runs for the month with Nathan Lukes, and those five long balls actually surpassed his total from the rest of the season, when he hit three. His 20 August RBIs also outpaced the 13 he drove in during the rest of the season.
That kind of surge matters even more when you remember how much of the year he missed. Kirk suffered a fractured thumb on April 3 on a foul tip off the bat of Austin Hays of the Chicago White Sox.
What was supposed to be a six-week absence stretched until June 12. He struggled after returning in June, hitting .205/.234/.295 with a .529 OPS, but the adjustment makes sense with a screw in his thumb.
Since then, he’s caught fire and remains one of the hottest hitters in MLB.
Brett Bateman gave the lineup something else entirely: a true table-setter. The rookie hit .333/.384/.410 in August with 10 runs, seven RBIs, and a .794 OPS over 88 plate appearances.
Toronto acquired him in the trade that sent Kevin Gausman to the Chicago Cubs, and after two games at Triple-A Buffalo, he was brought to the majors. The numbers are solid, but the bigger impact has been the role he filled.
He gave the Blue Jays an everyday leadoff hitter, and that kind of stability changes the feel of an offense. Including Bateman, 15 different players have led off for Toronto this season, with George Springer handling the job in 62 games.
Springer, in turn, kept producing like the veteran anchor Toronto needs down the stretch. He put up a .321/.370/.488 line in August with 13 runs, two homers, 11 RBIs, and an .858 OPS over 92 plate appearances.
He also swiped four bases, his highest monthly total of the season. His second-half run has been especially strong: his 24 RBIs in July and August combined topped the 21 he had in the entire first half.
There had been talk he might be moved at the trade deadline, but the Blue Jays are clearly glad he stayed. With 13 years of experience, he’s going to matter in September.
On the mound, Dylan Cease has been every bit the headline addition Toronto hoped for. He’s second in the AL Cy Young race, behind Cam Schlitter, and August only strengthened his case.
His 35.8 percent strikeout rate tied May for his second-best monthly mark of the season. He held opponents to a .144 average and posted a 2.94 FIP, numbers that fit the profile of a frontline arm.
His Baseball Savant page is loaded with red, with eight pitching stats in the 86th percentile or better. And the stuff plays.
Cease leans on his slider and changeup 40 percent of the time, and hitters have had a miserable time with both - 43.8 percent and 49.6 percent whiff rates, respectively. If Toronto is going to finish the job, it will need him to keep dealing.
Then there’s Mason Fluharty, whose August looked nothing like the uneven start to his season. The left-hander threw 12 scoreless innings with eight strikeouts, six walks, and a 0.67 WHIP.
He allowed just two hits and held batters to a ridiculous .054 average while facing 45 hitters. Earlier in the year, the results were rough - a 7.36 ERA in April and a 5.56 ERA in June, both over 11 innings - but the bullpen has increasingly leaned on him, especially with Brendon Little struggling and bouncing between Buffalo and the majors.
Fluharty is on pace for 85 appearances, which would put him second in Blue Jays history behind Mark Eichhorn’s 89 in 1987. If Toronto reaches the postseason, he could have a shot at the 39-year-old mark.
He already made 11 appearances during last season’s run, so he knows what that stretch looks like.
In Other News...
Blue Jays Add Catching Depth With One Intriguing Upside
The Blue Jays made a quiet catching move, claiming Shawn Ross off waivers from the Mets and sending him to Triple-A Buffalo. It is the kind of depth add that can matter over a long season, especially for a club that keeps one eye on the big-league roster and another on keeping Triple-A stocked with options that can move quickly if needed.
Ross brings a little intrigue with the bat, having shown notable power in the minors even as the strikeouts have remained part of the package. He reached the majors with Pittsburgh before landing in the Mets organization, and now he gets another reset in Toronto as a depth catcher with enough upside to keep him interesting if the contact comes around. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jays Face A Bigger Pitching Question After Latest Roster Shuffle
Jameson Taillon landing back on the injured list with right elbow inflammation adds another layer to a Blue Jays staff that has already had to keep adjusting on the fly. Toronto answered by recalling Ricky Tiedemann from Buffalo, giving the club another arm to plug into the mix after he has already appeared in two games for the Blue Jays. The move at least gives the team a fresh option while it sorts through a rotation picture that keeps shifting.
Shawn Ross also came into the organization on Tuesday after Toronto claimed the catcher off waivers from the Mets, though he will head to Buffalo for now. It is the sort of roster shuffle that can look routine from the outside, but for the Blue Jays it underscores how much of the present is tied to managing the staff day by day. The bigger concern is whether Taillons return to the injured list is an isolated setback or the latest sign that the pitching depth is about to be tested again. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jays Just Created Another 40-Man Roster Question
Daz Camerons latest stop with the Blue Jays has already come full circle. The outfielder was designated for assignment, cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Buffalo, keeping him in the organization after a brief run on Torontos major league roster. Cameron had only recently been promoted and is now back in the upper minors, where the Blue Jays can keep a closer eye on a player who has bounced through some unfamiliar territory in the past.
Cameron does have the option to reject the assignment and test free agency, but he is expected to stay with Buffalo for now. For Toronto, the move is another reminder of how quickly the 40-man picture can shift, especially with fringe depth pieces who are trying to hold onto a spot. Cameron has already shown a willingness to keep moving, including time in Korea with the Doosan Bears, and this latest turn leaves the Blue Jays with one more roster question to manage. [Read more 🡒]