The Toronto Blue Jays are off to a rough start this season. Through their first 22 games of the year, they are 9-13 and are tied with the Boston Red Sox for last place in the American League East. They have also had a lot of injuries. Cody Ponce, Shane Bieber, Trey Yesavage and George Springer are all currently on the injured list, though Springer is starting to make some more progress towards a return, per manager John Schnieder.
While it’s still early in the season and not time to panic just yet, the Blue Jays need to turn things around quick. After their series with the Los Angeles Angels, they’ll have meetings with the Cleveland Guardians, Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates and Baltimore Orioles. Obviously, four of them are divisional opponents, and those games present opportunities for the Blue Jays to pick up some ground in the standings.
When asked about what it’s going to take for the Blue Jays to turn things around, right-hander and future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer shared an important message.
“You can’t just rely on last year,” Scherzer told Bob Nightengale of USA Today. “This is 2026. It’s not 2025. That was a great year. I’ll celebrate that. Talk all you want about that, but this is 2026. This is the American League. It’s tough. The AL East is tough. It’s not going to happen the same way. We’ve got to win.
“Obviously, we want to play better. We want to be winning more ball games. But we’re not that far away. So as frustrating as it is, it’s not time to start panicking or anything of that nature. It’s more, “let’s just pick up the focus.’
“We know we can play with anybody in this league. We just need to start doing it.”
Blue Jays Face Crucial Stretch
While the Red Sox are struggling just as the Blue Jays are, next week’s series will be important for Toronto, as they could separate themselves from the cellar of the division. But the Blue Jays will have a lot of chances to make up ground in the AL East and potentially even get back to the top.
Despite their struggles, they are only four games behind the Yankees for first place in the division. Perhaps by the end of May, they could find themselves at the top of the division if they take full advantage of these opportunities against divisional opponents.
To do this, it will take veterans such as Scherzer stepping up and leading the way as they prepare to deal with a very tough schedule following their current series with the Angels.
Crunch Time for Blue Jays
If the Blue Jays struggle in this upcoming stretch and cannot defeat their divisional opponents, then they could ultimately be the ones in the cellar before long. Last year, they won 94 games before their World Series run, completing a turnaround from a last place finish in 2024.
But this is going to be a very important stretch for them if they hope to avoid being buried in the standings by the month of June.
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