logo
Arrow is beginning to point upward for surging Blue Jays
alt
Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
Thomas Hall
Apr 29, 2026, 19:30 EDTUpdated: Apr 29, 2026, 20:13 EDT
Comments
TORONTO — Before Wednesday’s 8-1 win over the Boston Red Sox, the Blue Jays’ brass held its first state of the squad meeting and given how well the offence performed coming out of it, perhaps it’s a good thing they plan to hold future sit-downs every two weeks.
Those present for that meeting included the club’s coaching staff, front office executives and “a lot of people behind the scenes,” as manager John Schneider revealed during his daily pre-game media availability. They had originally planned for this briefing to happen earlier in the season, but it was ultimately pushed to the end of April due to all the injuries that have arisen over these first five weeks of the 2026 campaign.
Having a long list of regulars on the injured list — which has gotten a bit shorter in recent days following the returns of Trey Yesavage and George Springer, a pair that’ll be joined by Addison Barger and José Berríos soon — has provided an incomplete picture of Toronto’s outlook just 30 games into 162.
Things are still a bit murky, especially with so much baseball left to play. But the team knows what this offence has been doing well: making contact, as they entered the day tied for the fourth-highest rate (78.6 per cent) in the majors. Schneider also shared that he believes his club’s baserunning effectiveness is slightly ahead of where it was this time last year.
Now it’s time for the not-so-great elements: swing decisions and quality of contact.
The Blue Jays’ lineup began Wednesday’s series finale against the Red Sox in the sport’s bottom-10 in hard-hit rate (37.6 per cent) and in the bottom-three in barrel rate (6.4 per cent). They’ve also been chasing more than their usual dose, producing the second-highest clip (34.5 per cent) of any team outside of the Colorado Rockies (34.9 per cent) as of Apr. 28.
Hitting for plenty of contact, albeit mostly weak, while also expanding the strike zone isn’t an ordinary combination. As much as this team needs to operate with an acceptable level of aggression, it also needs to find a bit more balance between these scales.
“What we’re looking at right now is just kind of the at-bat profile and quality and how, in the short term, we need to diversify it a little bit,” Schneider said in his office pre-game.
“When you’re not slugging and making contact, okay, that contact needs to come at the right time. If you’re not making contact and you’re slugging, okay, that’s a different story. So it’s trying to thread that needle.”
The best way to describe what that looks like is probably using Wednesday’s seven-run explosion across the third, fourth and fifth innings as an example.
Across that three-inning span, the Blue Jays’ lineup racked up eight of their total 10 hits on the afternoon, and six of them produced an exit velocity of at least 95 m.p.h. — including Ernie Clement’s first home run of the season, coming off his bat at 99.3.
Barried underneath all that hard contact were a pair of walks, as well as a hit-by-pitch, and several deep at-bats that forced Red Sox starter Brayan Bello’s pitch count up to 63 when interim manager Chad Tracy pulled him after three and two-thirds innings.
These Blue Jays hitters cut Bello’s day short by passing the baton down the line, an art they perfected as last season progressed. It keeps the train moving, as the cliche goes. And that’s when this group is at their strongest.
“I think we function best when we’re the kind of feeding off of one another,” Schneider said.
Speaking of when the offence is at its strongest, it took another step forward in that regard as Springer returned from the IL — and he certainly made his presence felt immediately.
The recently-activated Springer swung at the first pitch he saw off the bench, depositing an outside changeup from reliever Jovani Morán into shallow right field for an RBI single, providing an immediate impact on the scoreboard and officially announcing his return from the fractured big toe that sidelined him for multiple weeks.
“Obviously, I don’t like to not play, so being able to play was great,” Springer said.
Having to watch from the dugout hasn’t been easy for Springer. He loves playing as often as he can. Even when he’s playing hurt, battling through any number of injuries, you’ll still see him with a smile on his face. Not even a broken toe could keep him down for long.
Now that he’s back, the Blue Jays can start to return to a sense of normalcy atop their order.
The baseball universe has thrown a ton at this team out of the gate. And yet, they’re still standing, even threatening to climb back up to .500 on the upcoming road trip through Minnesota and Tampa Bay. They aren’t the same group from a year ago. But they’re still as resilient as ever.
“Understanding that this is a game over 162,” Springer said about his club’s ability to roll with the punches despite being riddled with injuries. “Stuff’s not always gonna go right. So gotta be able to kind of just fight, stay afloat and, hopefully, when all those other guys get back, we’ll still have that vibe going.”
The first 30 games of this season haven’t gone the way that Toronto hoped they would. Even so, they find themselves with an identical 14-16 record, matching last season’s at this same point. It’s proof that there’s still a long way to go before the dog days of summer set in, let alone the sprint to October.
We’re still learning about who the ’26 Blue Jays are destined to become, and we likely won’t have the full picture until they inch closer to full strength. There’ll be plenty more ebbs and flows to come. After winning three straight series, though, it appears the arrow is currently pointing upward around this team.

CHECK OUT OFF THE ROSTER – NEW EPISODES EVERY WEEKDAY

Off The Roster is Toronto sports. Hosted by Cabbie Richards, Lindsay Dunn, and Dan Riccio, this is the go-to morning conversation for everything happening in the 6ix – Hockey, Baseball, Basketball and everything in between. From breakout performances and questionable trades to throwback jerseys, viral moments, and the stories fans are actually talking about—it’s smart, sharp, and never scripted. Live weekday mornings on the Nation Network YouTube channel and available wherever you stream podcasts, the show delivers real opinions, real chemistry, and real Toronto energy. Missed an episode? Catch up anytime. Off The Roster—The new sound of the 6ix.
Editorials

Breaking News