On Monday, the Washington Nationals called up highly-regarded outfield prospect James Wood. The Nationals’ media and fans welcomed the outfielder with warmth and passion as he debuted in Washington D.C. because his arrival and ability signalled a new beginning after an excruciating rebuild. As ardent enthusiasm overwhelmed Wood, Washington’s manager Davey Martinez <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5610106/2024/07/01/nationals-james-wood-mlb-debut/">said</a> he didn’t want the outfielder to feel like the face of anything and emphasized that Wood is one of many guys who is going to help the Nationals at the major league level.

Washington isn’t the only team taking the approach of developing the idea of “one of many guys.” The Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Guardians, Kansas City Royals and Milwaukee Brewers have all built robust young cores that are driving the team toward success this season. Of course, the faces of the franchise like Bobby Witt Jr. and Adley Rutschman symbolize the new dawn, but they shoulder the responsibility of creating success with a strong supporting cast around them. Perhaps, this is the recipe the Toronto Blue Jays have been missing all along. 
For nearly half of a decade, first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and shortstop Bo Bichette have carried the Blue Jays franchise with great expectations. As these two players ushered Toronto into a new era of contention, the supporting cast simply couldn’t provide enough reinforcement each year. The most concerning factor was that not having Guerrero Jr. or Bichette in the lineup negatively skewed Toronto’s trajectory. 
The Blue Jays’ frustrating defeat against the Houston Astros on Monday showcased Toronto’s exposed lineup in the absence of white-hot players. But most of all, that particular loss demonstrated Toronto’s dangerous dependence on star players like Guerrero Jr. The Blue Jays couldn’t seem to hit without their franchise players on the field let alone get any momentum going. 
Amid the offensive struggle, Guerrero Jr.’s return on Tuesday was a welcome respite. With Guerrero Jr. back at the top of the lineup, the Blue Jays’ offence found its stride again. While Toronto seemed lost against Houston’s starting pitcher Spencer Arrighetti at first, the lineup came back with vengeance at the bottom of the third by scoring four runs. This offensive resurgence featured two convincing home runs from second baseman Spencer Horwitz and right fielder George Springer. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
They&#39;re familiar with these 🤩 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SpringerDinger?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SpringerDinger</a> <a href="https://t.co/sEMnYIX8gb">pic.twitter.com/sEMnYIX8gb</a>
&mdash; Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) <a href="https://twitter.com/BlueJays/status/1808288854014570519?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 2, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Third baseman Ernie Clement, catcher Alejandro Kirk and left fielder Addison Barger cashed in three more runs to solidify Toronto’s lead later on. Even with a comfortable seven-run lead, the Blue Jays surrendered a whopping six runs to the Astros. Such has been the story of the Blue Jays’ season thus far. Toronto just hasn’t won enough games convincingly throughout 85 games and that pattern wasn’t going to change without any major revamps. 
Piecing together an eclectic mix of veterans and prospects has been the name of the game for Toronto this year. Pristine health across the roster has been an unachievable luxury as injuries piled up. As a result, the Blue Jays’ win-loss record took a massive step back. However, these setbacks aren’t supposed to crumble a major-league team easily. When a team is in a pickle, prospects are meant to fill the hole seamlessly. 
As of March 2024, the Blue Jays’ farm system ranks toward the bottom of the league according to <a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/farm-system-rankings-2024-preseason">MLB.com</a>. A farm system that ranks 24th out of 30 teams isn’t exactly set up for success nor can it offer relief to a team that desperately needs a reliable depth. To some degree, Toronto is a victim of its own gamble. The Blue Jays sacrificed depth when they were building the 2015 and 2016 teams, and they traded away more depth to support the team’s playoff aspirations from 2021 all the way to 2023. Sadly, all these bets didn’t pay off for the Blue Jays as the team either missed the playoffs or exited the Wild Card series early on. 
Even if Toronto’s current strength isn’t its farm system, there’s no denying that the players from the Buffalo Bisons have helped the Blue Jays win more games. Players like Addison Barger, Ernie Clement, Spencer Horwitz and Davis Schneider have certainly proved their talents at the major league level. These players deserve to grow with the team, but it’s also undeniable that they were never supposed to feel the pressure of propelling the struggling team. Ultimately, Toronto fell short of developing a much stronger supporting cast around its mainstays that would carry the weight of the franchise’s future. 
In order for the Blue Jays to enjoy a more sustainable success, there needs to be other hopeful players who are equally contributing to the team’s overall performance. That’s how the Los Angeles Dodgers became the Titans they are now and how the savvy Cleveland Guardians aren’t fearful of overhauling their rosters. 
Teams like the Baltimore Orioles have a superstar like Adley Rutschman but aren’t solely reliant on him to save the franchise. They also have a cast of young stars that consists of Colton Cowser, Gunnar Henderson, Jackson Holliday, Heston Kjerstad, Grayson Rodriguez and Jordan Westburg who are helping the team to take it to the next level as a unit. 
Much like the Orioles, the Blue Jays will also develop and bring up a more steady, young core that will share the spotlight one day. There will be a day when no one or two players will stress over the burden of moving the team forward. That’s the hope as Toronto experiences and overcomes the pain of a flawed roster construction. All we can do is hope.

On Monday, the Washington Nationals called up highly-regarded outfield prospect James Wood. The Nationals’ media and fans welcomed the outfielder with warmth and passion as he debuted in Washington D.C. because his arrival and ability signalled a new beginning after an excruciating rebuild. As ardent enthusiasm overwhelmed Wood, Washington’s manager Davey Martinez <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5610106/2024/07/01/nationals-james-wood-mlb-debut/">said</a> he didn’t want the outfielder to feel like the face of anything and emphasized that Wood is one of many guys who is going to help the Nationals at the major league level.



Washington isn’t the only team taking the approach of developing the idea of “one of many guys.” The Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Guardians, Kansas City Royals and Milwaukee Brewers have all built robust young cores that are driving the team toward success this season. Of course, the faces of the franchise like Bobby Witt Jr. and Adley Rutschman symbolize the new dawn, but they shoulder the responsibility of creating success with a strong supporting cast around them. Perhaps, this is the recipe the Toronto Blue Jays have been missing all along. 

For nearly half of a decade, first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and shortstop Bo Bichette have carried the Blue Jays franchise with great expectations. As these two players ushered Toronto into a new era of contention, the supporting cast simply couldn’t provide enough reinforcement each year. The most concerning factor was that not having Guerrero Jr. or Bichette in the lineup negatively skewed Toronto’s trajectory. 

The Blue Jays’ frustrating defeat against the Houston Astros on Monday showcased Toronto’s exposed lineup in the absence of white-hot players. But most of all, that particular loss demonstrated Toronto’s dangerous dependence on star players like Guerrero Jr. The Blue Jays couldn’t seem to hit without their franchise players on the field let alone get any momentum going. 

Amid the offensive struggle, Guerrero Jr.’s return on Tuesday was a welcome respite. With Guerrero Jr. back at the top of the lineup, the Blue Jays’ offence found its stride again. While Toronto seemed lost against Houston’s starting pitcher Spencer Arrighetti at first, the lineup came back with vengeance at the bottom of the third by scoring four runs. This offensive resurgence featured two convincing home runs from second baseman Spencer Horwitz and right fielder George Springer. 

https://twitter.com/BlueJays/status/1808288854014570519

Third baseman Ernie Clement, catcher Alejandro Kirk and left fielder Addison Barger cashed in three more runs to solidify Toronto’s lead later on. Even with a comfortable seven-run lead, the Blue Jays surrendered a whopping six runs to the Astros. Such has been the story of the Blue Jays’ season thus far. Toronto just hasn’t won enough games convincingly throughout 85 games and that pattern wasn’t going to change without any major revamps. 

Piecing together an eclectic mix of veterans and prospects has been the name of the game for Toronto this year. Pristine health across the roster has been an unachievable luxury as injuries piled up. As a result, the Blue Jays’ win-loss record took a massive step back. However, these setbacks aren’t supposed to crumble a major-league team easily. When a team is in a pickle, prospects are meant to fill the hole seamlessly. 

As of March 2024, the Blue Jays’ farm system ranks toward the bottom of the league according to <a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/farm-system-rankings-2024-preseason">MLB.com</a>. A farm system that ranks 24th out of 30 teams isn’t exactly set up for success nor can it offer relief to a team that desperately needs a reliable depth. To some degree, Toronto is a victim of its own gamble. The Blue Jays sacrificed depth when they were building the 2015 and 2016 teams, and they traded away more depth to support the team’s playoff aspirations from 2021 all the way to 2023. Sadly, all these bets didn’t pay off for the Blue Jays as the team either missed the playoffs or exited the Wild Card series early on. 

Even if Toronto’s current strength isn’t its farm system, there’s no denying that the players from the Buffalo Bisons have helped the Blue Jays win more games. Players like Addison Barger, Ernie Clement, Spencer Horwitz and Davis Schneider have certainly proved their talents at the major league level. These players deserve to grow with the team, but it’s also undeniable that they were never supposed to feel the pressure of propelling the struggling team. Ultimately, Toronto fell short of developing a much stronger supporting cast around its mainstays that would carry the weight of the franchise’s future. 

In order for the Blue Jays to enjoy a more sustainable success, there needs to be other hopeful players who are equally contributing to the team’s overall performance. That’s how the Los Angeles Dodgers became the Titans they are now and how the savvy Cleveland Guardians aren’t fearful of overhauling their rosters. 

Teams like the Baltimore Orioles have a superstar like Adley Rutschman but aren’t solely reliant on him to save the franchise. They also have a cast of young stars that consists of Colton Cowser, Gunnar Henderson, Jackson Holliday, Heston Kjerstad, Grayson Rodriguez and Jordan Westburg who are helping the team to take it to the next level as a unit. 

Much like the Orioles, the Blue Jays will also develop and bring up a more steady, young core that will share the spotlight one day. There will be a day when no one or two players will stress over the burden of moving the team forward. That’s the hope as Toronto experiences and overcomes the pain of a flawed roster construction. All we can do is hope.

Blue Jays’ depth continues to be tested as team navigates injury challenges

Recent articles from Veronica Chung

Breaking News