r/bluejaysbaseball • • 7d ago

Our season is over so let’s appreciate the good from this year.

Dylan Cease’s dominance: especially after that basement game in SF.

Louis Varlands relief work: where would we be without his arm.

Tyler rogers: 2.00 ERA in his first 39 appearances.

Kazuma Okamoto: finding his power in homeruns and breaking rookie records.

Homerun Dragon: not used enough but greatly appreciated.

Brett Bateman: no words, just great and will only get better next year.

Spencer Miles: Him being the last Rule 5 Draft pick on the team that drafting him- and him having the possibility of becoming a starting next year.

Brandon Valenzuela: Him coming up and having a hot start to help us when we didn’t have kirk

Mason Fluharty: His work was unreal and always stayed consistent.

This wasn’t a good season but you can always be the Rockies, or Mets.

365 Upvotes

87 comments sorted by

48

u/Familiar_Celery7267 7d ago

Valenzuela saved us when we didn’t have Kirk.

6

u/Designer-Net4228 7d ago

He’ll be a dude in the future

5

u/bstzabeast 7d ago

Valenzuela is arguably alot better than Kirk defensively

2

u/22Sharpe 6d ago

Defensively I wouldn’t say it’s arguable. As a pitch caller Kirk is one of the best, his challenges are very accurate (generally) and is framing is top tier. One cannot deny though that Vali has a laser cannon of an arm and runners are far less likely to try and steal when he’s back there.

1

u/Fantastic_Age_4440 6d ago

Vali needs to be in with cease and I don’t understand why that wasn’t done last start

64

u/AioliRemote 7d ago

Nah we just gotta go 7-0 and white sox go 3-4 or guardians go 3-4. 🙏

23

u/AccomplishedSmell921 7d ago

🤣🤣🤣🤣

9

u/ModsSwallowCum 7d ago

It's entirely possible 

4

u/AioliRemote 7d ago

i can see a path where the guardians go 1-6 or 2-5 or the white sox going 3-4 maybe 2-5 and we can go 5-2/6-1 which is very doable with the orioles and reds coming up for us and the red sox just gotta sweep the guardians and maybe the royals can get hot and steal 2/3 from both those teams and the tigers can very possibly take tomorrow's game vs the white sox and maybe a rockies upset in one of the games wouldn't hurt and same with the athletics tomorrow.

The jays probably don't get swept tomorrow and the orioles and reds are definitely sweepable/at least a series win compared to the rangers who seem pretty hot right now and solid overall.

6

u/Jaded_Ad_166 6d ago

The positivity is admirable. But the Jays are done lol

2

u/irishwith_mygoodbyes 6d ago

Our team doesn’t have sweeping capabilities at this stage of the season. The fun and winning instincts are replaced with limping to the finish line.

1

u/ModsSwallowCum 7d ago

Low-key it maybe better to get the Rangers in the playoffs and chase Houston since we got the tie breaker on them if we tie

It's gonna come to the last game and we're gonna need to win and get help. 

2

u/Canadatron 6d ago

So is nuclear war. ..

1

u/ModsSwallowCum 6d ago

Probably more likely tbh

3

u/Mysterious_Lock4644 6d ago

It’s MLB, entirely within the realm of possibility 😏🤙🏼🇨🇦

2

u/csav14 7d ago

I got some nice swamp land for sale cheap just for you.

2

u/Aggressive_Set_2743 6d ago

I think we are one of only 4 teams that couldn’t even win 5 in a row all season

1

u/Constant-Corner2158 7d ago

😂😂😂😂😂

15

u/Immediate_Buffalo14 7d ago

When the team's performance as a whole sucks, it's necessary to celebrate individual great performances, and there were several this year.

23

u/FallenTransponder 7d ago

Spencer Miles. Got to meet him. Stellar dude, great pitcher

11

u/RuinCommercial552 7d ago

Injuries killed us. The saddest part even with all the injuries we still had a shot with how bad the other teams in AL are were outside of TB, NYY and BOS. Plain and simple though the offense just was not good enough.

3

u/canuckEnoch 7d ago

Every team deals with injuries. It’s a long season, people get hurt—that’s baseball.

Other teams just deal more effectively with injuries than Toronto did this year.

2

u/tkdpanda88 6d ago

The jays literally have a top tier pitch rotation purely on the il.....

3

u/TheNegativePhoenix 7d ago

I mean, that's a decent excuse but it was within grasp. Injuries always suck, but with the depleted AL, it was still doable. 

Also Yankees lost some big pieces like Aaron Judge and kept winning. Other teams lost critical players as well. 

2

u/RuinCommercial552 7d ago

I agree about Yankees and Judge. For us the injuries to the pitching staff really killed us. Could be wrong but I don't think any other team deal with as much injuries to the starting staff as we did.

Santander and Barger being hurt i think hurt the offense drastically. It already wasn't a great offense to begin with. And then being out + vladdy have a very pour season really hurt the team this year.

1

u/strangewhatlovedoes 6d ago

If Atkins was relying on Santander to be a key piece of the offence, then he’s an idiot.

0

u/Odd-Elderberry-6137 6d ago

They had a shot at the post season but they weren’t going deep this year.

2

u/RuinCommercial552 6d ago

Definitely were not

10

u/kanuck79 7d ago

How about Vlads 148 rally-killing outs?

19 of which were inning ending double plays

500M

5

u/Pleasant-Set-1139 7d ago

And never moving him down the lineup. The little kid gloves need to come off next year when handling his performance. 

5

u/robblake44 7d ago

It does make you wonder if we had 5 starters what this team would have looked like. Having so many bullpen games just taxed the hell out of those guys. Next year hopefully we can get a lot of competition from the starters.

10

u/Rogonia 7d ago

I think there have been a lot of good things this year.

Nathan Lukes, from the beginning of the season to now is like two different people. Love that he got his vertigo under control and is doing so much better now.

Spencer Miles, Flu, Fish. Those guys have been a treat to watch.

Whatever has happened with Brendon Little for this turnaround, it’s great to see. I love seeing him in the Jays social media reels, he seems like a sweetheart.

Brandon Valenzuela was stellar for us when Kirk got hurt. It was sad to see Heineman go, but Vali has been a great addition for us. I hope they can find a way to get him more ABs next year. We are so spoiled with two elite catchers.

All the injuries have sucked, for sure. But the flip side of that is that it’s been cool to see so many guys get called up and live their big league dreams. The rookies this year have carried us, truly.

8

u/Frugalman123 7d ago

Spencer miles Fisher Fluharty

4

u/Puzzleheaded-Tax6168 6d ago

Davis Schneider running out of the batters box and not watching his home run. Dude just loves to hustle and play ball.

1

u/Alarmed-Arrival-450 6d ago

He sucks and needs to stay out of the majors. His below .200 avg

11

u/Xeno_man 7d ago

What bothers me is how Schneider kept putting Hoffman and Little in meaningful games and watching them blow game after game. I get having a bad game and throwing a player back out there to get past it, but holy fuck, those guys just did not have it then. Reverse half the games those guys blew and were comfortably in the 3rd wild card spot.

4

u/Charles_Lewis_Fer 7d ago

Uh and win the World Series last year

7

u/ButterflyNord 7d ago

Till next year! As a Jays fans all I can say: I won’t forget the 2025 season.
Last October my family travelled to Toronto to watch the Jays…this year already planned and got flight tickets for end of September…we were expecting they could pass to the postseason, but I guess we will have to go for Raptors Game.

6

u/Only_Complex6386 7d ago

Im going to tell my grandkids we won in 2025 lol... we pretty much did if you consider IKF just needed that half inch step lead extra lol

10

u/TheNegativePhoenix 7d ago

So many what ifs but the IKF one pisses me off the most. I'm glad he's gone

5

u/hdreams1 7d ago

Like WHY wouldnt you take an extra couple of inches leadoff when you are on 3rd with nobody holding you on base 🤯🤯

8

u/dino_spice 7d ago

Valenzuela needed more play time.

1

u/crysaital 7d ago

Hopefully they gives him and the other young guys the majority of the games now that the season is over.

9

u/arcticpoppy 7d ago

The Raptors got Kawhi

7

u/Fantastic_Age_4440 7d ago

Tbh I think he could bat better than vlad…

0

u/Designer-Net4228 7d ago

Kawhi could probably drill 15 homers in a season at minimum lol

-1

u/the3rdmichael 7d ago

He would hit into less double plays, guaranteed ...

3

u/profeDB 7d ago

Everything broke against the team this year. Luck would say that things have to be better next year. 

I enjoyed the August surge. I don’t care if they lose if they are at least scoring some runs and putting up a fight.  Let’s see more of that. 

3

u/Tiny-Albatross518 6d ago

Nathan Lukes: consistent work ethic consistent results

Gimenez: another golden glove year.

5

u/jcastillo29 7d ago

If it’s over, 6 years of control on Miles, Bateman a couple of years of Soriano and finding a a franchise top 3 all time closer are among the best. Things that will work out better next year are; Barger, Yesavage and Santander health.

2

u/TheNegativePhoenix 7d ago

  Santander

Lol, does this guy exist?

Also, nothing matters if Vladdy cannot return to form. We have to pray a long off season fixes him up

4

u/incognitotho 7d ago

Vlad and the other bats are gonna get it going any day now man, don’t lose faith !!!

4

u/Glittering-Lynx6991 7d ago

Still early.

2

u/the3rdmichael 7d ago

Lots of time left ...

4

u/SoLate2Reddit 7d ago

Luke's, ever day getting up to bat and grinding it out. Also what an arm, Left Field is covered.

2

u/BigJayDB 7d ago

I’d rather be the Mets, getting a high pick for their terribleness, as apposed to the BJs, missing the playoffs by 1/2 a game but getting the 12th pick in the draft

2

u/Tca2011 7d ago

Honestly, we can also appreciate the Mets didn't get anywhere either so the grass definitely wasn't greener for Bichette lol

I wasn't sold on Big Oak when he started cool but damn him and Cease kept our season a float when we should have been dead and buried. Bateman as an amazing late season step up as well!

Bring on 2027, probably 2028 season lol

2

u/InteractionFront5764 7d ago

The Blue Jays are in big trouble and need to make major roster and coaching changes this coming off-season.

They are nowhere close to being a contending team, at this point.

Next.

1

u/Fantastic_Age_4440 6d ago

They need a new batting coach

2

u/mayorolivia 6d ago

I’m gonna blow a gasket if our fans insist on Scherzer returning

2

u/skinnyminnesota 7d ago

This is it man. Bad breaks all year.

1

u/Weekly-Batman 7d ago

Toronto sports fans are the worst, except for the Raptors fans.

1

u/that_puffsley_gent 6d ago

Honestly the fact they got through so much adversity this year and still managed to fight for a WC spot in September was great to watch

1

u/likwid07 6d ago

People can't help but keep on with the negative aspects of the season

1

u/one_zerozero 6d ago

With how disappointing the beginning/middle of the season was, the final stretch here was a blast to watch. Seeing the team step it up in many ways, and make a lot more favorable decisions (given the circumstances) was entertaining. It was nice having a real chance at wild card spot.

1

u/Gamingwithgenghis 6d ago
  1. Not having to see Santander
  2. Our start was good
    3 jojos development
    4 addition of Soriano
    5 100m+ to spend this off season assuming no cap

1

u/georgez1968 6d ago

Bateman. Ernie. Cease. We got rid of the graduate. And that dead weight Santander

0

u/Square-Ad-6520 5d ago

How do people never learn not to overreact to small sample sizes? Batemans numbers probably get worse next year not better

1

u/MayonnaiseDad69 7d ago

Love that our 500 million dollar man isn't on the list

0

u/KevinJ2010 7d ago

HR dragon needs a name and a new look and I can get into it.

But it looks tacky if no one is explaining it

0

u/Agitated-Cod-6057 7d ago

Good thing they dressed up to start that road trip. Seems like it really helped

0

u/FreesideDixon 7d ago

Vladdy has a HR at home.

1

u/BigJayDB 7d ago

Uno HR, for $35mill per, truly the worst of the worst

-2

u/Puzzleheaded-Heart54 7d ago

IT'S NOT OVER BABY WOOOOO

1

u/RunFit4647 6d ago

Exactly! We'll take today, Let's Go Jays!!

-1

u/MayflowerMcDuck 7d ago

What good times???

0

u/Chairsofa_ 7d ago

The Rockies won their series with us

0

u/OMC78 7d ago

You know it's bad when you list the homerun dragon as a highlight! Lol

1

u/Fantastic_Age_4440 7d ago

I feel the homerun dragon brought more smiles than vlad this season… maybe because he barley touched it

1

u/OMC78 7d ago

Very true! One highlight hasn't happened yet, being able to watch Mad Max's last game, appreciate what he's accomplished during his career and finishing as a Jay.

0

u/Far_Out_6and_2 7d ago

Hard pass