The Blue Jays Think They’re Better Then They Really Are

The Toronto Blue Jays are coming off a rough 2024 season. They finished 14 games under .500 and last in the AL East. While they had a lineup featuring Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, and George Springer, their offense was among the worst in the American League. Worst of all, their pitching staff regressed from the best to one of the worst. Despite the lack of postseason success, a low-ranked farm system, and many key players becoming free agents after the 2025 season; Toronto decided against rebuilding and will try to compete next season. Lately, they seem to think that they are legitimate contenders in the Juan Soto sweepstakes. This offseason, the Toronto Blue Jays are in the foolish mindset of thinking they’re better than they really are.

A Nightmare 2024 Season

Despite having the seventh-highest payroll in baseball, the 2024 season was a complete nightmare for the Toronto Blue Jays. The team missed the postseason and finished 14 games under .500 and in last place in the American League East. While Toronto’s lineup featured stars like Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, and George Springer; their offense only averaged 4.14 runs per game. The only teams who averaged fewer runs than the Blue Jays were the Athletics, Angels, Rays, and White Sox. It didn’t help that both Springer and Bichette had career-worst seasons. While the Blue Jays offense has continued to struggle, General Manager Ross Atkins keeps foolishly saying it’ll bounce back.

A Pitching Staff That Regressed Badly

In 2023, the Blue Jays pitching staff was the best in baseball. However, in 2024, it might’ve had the worst regression the league has seen in a while. As a staff, it compiled an ERA of 4.29 putting them near the bottom of the American League. The only teams that had higher earned run averages than Toronto were the Rangers, Athletics, Angels, and White Sox. Pitchers like Alek Manoah, Jordan Romano, Chris Bassitt, Yariel Rodriguez, Zach Pop, and Erik Swanson were either hurt or ineffective. It wasn’t too farfetched to think that maybe Toronto’s pitching overachieved the season before.

Pushing Off A Rebuild

At the trade deadline, Toronto dealt away Yusei Kikuchi, Justin Turner, Danny Jansen, Yimi Garcia, Trevor Richards, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and Nate Pearson. After the season concluded, many people thought Toronto would enter a rebuild. The team had a poor 2024 season and has the 24th-ranked farm system with no prospects in the top 100, and key players like Vlad Jr., and Bo Bichette will be free agents after next season. The team hasn’t made any real progress in extending either of those two players. However, despite the state of their team, Toronto has indicated that they’ll contend in 2025. This decision will come back to hurt the Blue Jays very soon as they’ll have an even longer rebuild ahead. Perhaps it’ll be enough to wake Chairman Ed Rogers from his nap and tend to his neglected team.

The Blue Jays Are Delusional To Think They Can Sign Juan Soto

Juan Soto is the most prized free agent on the open market. Postseason contending teams like the Yankees, Mets, and Phillies will be in the mix to try and sign him. The Blue Jays are currently under the delusion that they are a serious destination for Soto. After all, marijuana is legal in Canada, and the Blue Jays are gravely wrong about their chances of getting Juan Soto. This team has an upcoming future that could be filled with missing the postseason, more losses, and last-place finishes. Scott Boras is just taking advantage of Ross Atkins and Mark Shapiro’s gullibility and using them to drive up Soto’s price.

The Team Is Becoming More Irrelevant Each Season

Despite the lack of success, the Toronto Blue Jays continue to think they are a championship-caliber team. However, last season showed that this team is closer to rebuilding than winning the World Series. The fact that they think that they are a serious destination for Juan Soto makes them look even more delusional. I don’t think they realize that Scott Boras is just using them as leverage. Toronto’s cockiness is going to blow up in their face and their impending rebuild won’t have an end in sight.

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