Heading into 2024, the Toronto Blue Jays had made the playoffs three of the previous four seasons. They won 91 games in the season they missed the playoffs, too, so this was a franchise that had seen a fair amount of regular-season success. They were also 0-6 in playoff games.
Rather than secure a chance to break that losing streak, the Jays finished 74-88 this year, good for last place in the AL East. That’s the first time the Blue Jays finished in last since 2013. Many would contend that they have too much talent to be this bad.
All-Star starting pitcher Kevin Gausman, who just finished the third year of a five-year, $110 million pact, who contend that, in fact.
“I’m sick of the ‘talent’ talk,” Gausman told the Toronto Sun. “We’re so talented, this and that. We’ve got to start winning games. We’ve got to figure it out. We’ve got to do it quickly. I’m only getting older. (Chris) Bassitt is only getting older. If we want it to happen with this group, it has to happen soon. So what are we going to do?”
The Blue Jays have definitely been pretty talented in recent years and failed to live up to expectations in the playoffs. This time around, they played well below their ceiling in the regular season. Their gambling win total before the season was 87, the eighth-highest in MLB.
Instead, they just weren’t very good. They ranked 23rd in runs scored and 22nd in ERA.
It’ll be interesting to see where the Blue Jays head this winter. They have too many high-priced players to attempt a rebuild. With those players aging, as Gausman noted, they should be aggressively pursuing a team that can compete for a World Series title.
Of course, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette are due to hit free agency after next season, so a non-rebuilding team should be looking to extend both of the cornerstone players.
We’ll see. The Blue Jays are bound to be one of the most interesting teams this coming offseason.
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