TORONTO: The All-Star break is over, and the Toronto Blue Jays are now faced with the harsh realities of the second half.
If we are framing the season’s ultimate goal as making the postseason, which it was back in March, the club is staring down two months with little to play for unless they pull off a sudden, significant, and, to be honest, unexpected winning streak to close the gap on the 10 games that separate them from a wild-card spot.
There are just 65 games left after Friday’s 5-4 setback to the Detroit Tigers at Rogers Centre, and words cannot be used to gain an advantage. like “it’s early” or “there a lot of baseball left to be played.” Their playoff odds are 1.3 percent and even the most optimistic fans will acknowledge a club below .500 since the end of April is unlikely to drastically change in the second half.
The season is over in more ways than one. The Blue Jays have seen numerous setbacks, including injuries, in addition to the offensive and bullpen being major disappointments. The Blue Jays will therefore be improbable sellers at the July 30 trade deadline in roughly a week and a half. They will make an effort to trade their rental players, which include reliever Yimi García, who returned from the disabled list on Friday, and Yusei Kikuchi, who could make his final start for the team on Saturday.
Finding out which players they receive in exchange for trading their soon-to-be free agents will be intriguing, as will the countdown to the trade deadline. What more is there to look forward to, though, beyond that?
Blue Jays manager John Schneider was questioned about his team’s back half goals on Friday while he was in his office. Naturally, he hoped that his team would improve in the second half.. “I’m not gonna give up hope,” he said, before acknowledging the first step is at least trying to climb back to .500, something the Blue Jays haven’t been since April 29.
“You want to get to that point and then continue to go from there,” the manager said. “It’s going to take everyone performing up to their level of expectation and ours and that includes guys in the bullpen, starters, hitters. You got to get to something before you really start to tackle something else.”
While a number of Blue Jays have fallen short of their career expectations in terms of performance, none has stood out more than Bo Bichette, who returned to the starting lineup on Friday following four games missed due to a right calf injury prior to the break.
In 79 games this season, Bichette’s slash line has dropped to.223/.276/.321, so if there was anything left for him to aim for in the second half, it was trying to turn things around and produce numbers more in line with his history. The fact that Bichette has a hot rear end is also not unusual. Before the All-Star break in 2022, he hit.257/.302/.418; after, he slashed.337/.378/.543, with a 164 wRC+.
“I don’t think anyone in this room would think that Bo would be as up and down as he has been this year offensively,” Schneider said. “I think the time to rest and reset a little bit mentally is big for him. I’ve said this a million times, but he can be the hottest hitter in baseball. We’ve seen him do that. Hopefully, that starts tonight.”
Unfortunately, Bichette’s second half started badly when he was replaced midway through the game due to a recurrence of his calf strain. After lining out in the sixth inning, the shortstop pulled up running to first base. Leo Jiménez took his spot at the start of the seventh inning.
Schneider indicated during the game that Bichette would get an MRI on Saturday, but he was unable to provide any other information.
“He was uncomfortable. Thought it was a cramp at first, but we’ll see how he is tomorrow and go from there,” the Blue Jays manager said. “I feel bad for him. It sucks for him and for us.”
What more could be revealed in the second part? Some of the Blue Jays’ younger players, such Spencer Horwitz, Davis Schneider, and Jiménez, may get greater playing time if they trade away veterans from their roster at the trade deadline.
The Blue Jays are stretching out Addison Barger and Bowden Francis, two additional young players who could be worth an opportunity, according to the Triple-A roster. This is probably in preparation for moving at least one starter at the deadline.
But it’s not a young player that had fans looking ahead to a Triple-A call-up.
The 40-year-old Joey Votto was assigned to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons and was supposed to start on Friday following a protracted recuperation for lower back and right ankle injuries. However, just before the first pitch, he was left off the field after straining the same ankle during pregame, the team announced. Votto will undergo a new evaluation on Saturday, according to the Blue Jays.
Votto tweaked his right ankle during pregame work and will be re-evaluated tomorrow to determine his activity level and a plan #Bisons https://t.co/hxwUVBMRXd
— Pat Malacaro (@PatWGR) July 19, 2024
After rolling his ankle in his first spring training game, Votto—who in March signed a minor-league contract—recuperated methodically. Following several appearances with Toronto’s Florida-based minor-league teams in June and July, Votto appeared to be making significant improvement when he was assigned to Triple A, placing him just one step away from the major leagues.
Votto, a Toronto native, has turned into a possible bright spot for Blue Jays supporters who are yearning for something to look forward to after the team has kept disappointing them. Votto’s most recent setback now threatens the gratifying plot from unfolding and paints an even more dire picture of what might occur in the remaining two months.
The Blue Jays have not played essentially meaningless baseball in the final stretch of the season since 2019. However, the second half appears even more dire as it begins with a defeat and yet another injury to a crucial player.
(Photo of Steward Berrora: John E. Sokolowski / USA Today)
