The Blue Jays appeared to be good and cooked in late July, sitting 10 games under .500, but they rallied to momentarily take over the final wild-card position in the American League.
asserted
they → appear → League
That had a lot to do with the fact that the other teams in the race were all so horribly mediocre, but it provided hope that the sequel to a magical season that went all the way to Game 7 of the World Series might somehow last into October.
uncertain
that → have → October
Now it’s time to look under the hood.
asserted
it → ’ → hood
How did the Jays drop from 94 wins and the top AL seed in 2025 to finishing with a losing record and quite possibly last in the East?
uncertain
Jays → drop → East
Here are seven reasons why their season went off the rails:
asserted
season → go → rails
Following a post-season that was one of the best in major-league history, Guerrero has struggled through the worst year of his career.
asserted
Guerrero → follow → career
Playing through elbow, back and hamstring injuries (at least), the half-billion-dollar man has been a below-average big-league hitter.
asserted
man → play → injuries
He’d hit just nine home runs with three games to go, tied for his career low (in the 60-game COVID-shortened 2020 season) and only one of those round-trippers came at home.
asserted
one → hit → home
Slugger’s $500M contract comments draw heavy criticism on a day that saw Blue Jays eliminated from playoff contention.
asserted
Jays → draw → contention
Slugger’s $500M contract comments draw heavy criticism on a day that saw Blue Jays eliminated from playoff contention.
asserted
Jays → draw → contention
Viral comments this week about getting paid for his past work didn’t affect how the team fared this season, but did give them another headache to deal with in the final days.
It’s not a stretch to suggest that if Guerrero had been his normal self at the plate (his 162-game average being 28 home runs and an .840 OPS) the Jays would be preparing for a first-round playoff series instead of booking October vacations.
2.
asserted
Jays → pay → vacations
Many of the post-mortems will focus on the pitching injuries, and rightly so, but they don’t explain the fact that the Jays are dead last in the majors in runs scored and, going into their final series, had scored fewer runs per game than any Toronto team since 1981.
asserted
Jays → focus → 1981
Coming out of spring training, it felt — in this corner, anyway — as though they were at least one bat short.
asserted
they → come → corner
They never really replaced what Bo Bichette brought to the table offensively and were counting on another big year from George Springer and hoping Jesús Sánchez’s raw power would finally translate
asserted
power → replace → Springer
, Daulton Varsho would build off a strong half-season, Ernie Clement would ride his massive post-season into competing for a batting title and somehow still believing that Andrés Giménez’s all-star form in 2022 wasn’t an offensive mirage.
asserted
form → build → 2022
The bet on Kazuma Okamoto paid off.
asserted
bet → pay → Okamoto
Almost nothing else did.
asserted
nothing → do → ?
Big injuries hit early
asserted
injuries → hit → ?
Cody Ponce rewrote the record book in Korea last year, setting KBO single-season marks in wins, ERA, strikeouts and innings pitched, and the Jays gave him a three-year contract over the winter to join their starting rotation.
asserted
Jays → rewrite → rotation
In the third inning of his first start, Ponce suffered a season-ending knee injury.
asserted
Ponce → suffer → injury
This after Bowden Francis and José Berríos were hurt in spring training, and Trey Yesavage and Shane Bieber started the year on the injured list.
asserted
Yesavage → hurt → list
Later that week, the Jays lost catcher Alejandro Kirk to a broken hand and outfielder Addison Barger to a pair of sprained ankles.
asserted
Jays → lose → ankles
Kirk would miss over two months, while Barger played one more game before an elbow injury that required season-ending surgery.
asserted
that → miss → surgery
Six days after Barger went down, Springer fouled a ball off his foot.
asserted
Springer → go → foot
A broken toe would mess with his swing for months.
asserted
toe → break → months
Yesavage came off the IL at the end of April, but missed almost two months after an early August knee injury.
asserted
Yesavage → come → injury
Bieber was back at the end of June to make 11 starts before getting hurt again.
asserted
Bieber → make → starts
The World Series ended in the early-morning hours of Nov. 2 and opening day of 2026 was March 27.
asserted
day → end → 2026
No one threw more pitches in 2025 than Kevin Gausman, and no one played more games than Clement — who, along with the rest of the starting infield plus Kirk, also went to play in the World Baseball Classic in March.
asserted
who → throw → March
Gausman posted a 5.86 ERA in his last 11 starts before being traded to the Chicago Cubs.
asserted
Gausman → post → Cubs
Clement hit just .208 in August with three extra-base hits, and was batting .171 in September through Thursday.
5.
asserted
Clement → hit → 5
Why Clement’s high school coach and teammates think the Jays all-star could have had a career on the ice.
uncertain
star → think → ice
Why Clement’s high school coach and teammates think the Jays all-star could have had a career on the ice.
uncertain
star → think → ice
The Jays were let down by the gloves too often.
asserted
Jays → let → gloves
With Kirk behind the plate, Clement and Giménez at second and short and Varsho in centre field, the Jays were expected to have one of the best up-the-middle defences the game had ever seen.
asserted
game → expect → defences
Giménez and Kirk fielded as expected, but Varsho and Clement dropped off dramatically.
asserted
Varsho → field → ?
Varsho had nine outs above average in 71 games for the Jays in 2025, but just four in 99 games this year before a trade to the Houston Astros.
asserted
Varsho → have → Astros
Clement went from 15 outs above average last season to minus-five.
6.
asserted
Clement → go → 6
Too much contact
Last year, a disciplined, contact-oriented approach at the plate led to the Jays leading the majors in batting average and on-base percentage.
asserted
Jays → orient → base
So too many pitches that should never have been put in play have wound up easy outs.
asserted
that → put → outs
…and 10 more, not listed.
The Aporia
