Lourdes Gurriel Jr with a 2R-HR(12). #BlueJays score 7 to lead 7-2 in B5 #Sportsnet #BarrioHRJacket
Checking on some key members of the 2020 Toronto Blue Jays
Photo credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
By Ben Wrixon
Jan 26, 2026, 19:00 ESTUpdated: Jan 26, 2026, 15:17 EST
The 2020 campaign kick-started a new era of Toronto Blue Jays baseball. The organization made the playoffs for the first time since 2016, squeaking into a Wild Card spot with a 32-28 record during the COVID-19 pandemic-shortened regular season.
This young group of Blue Jays didn’t get far; the eventual AL-champion Tampa Bay Rays swept them in two games. Still, this squad showed promise and laid the groundwork for the current run that culminated in a World Series appearance in 2025.
However, beyond Vladimir Guerrero Jr., many of the key players from the 2020 Blue Jays are no longer with the team. Let’s take a moment to check in on them now.
Bo Bichette
Blue Jays baseball in the early 2020s was colloquially known as the “Vladdy and Bo” era for good reason. The duo were two of the best prospects the organization had ever produced and cemented themselves as major leaguers in 2020 as the faces of the team.
Bichette built on a strong rookie showing with a .301/.328/.512 slash line in 29 games played in 2020. He truly broke out as an All-Star in 2021, then remained one of the American League’s most consistent hitters with the Blue Jays through 2025.
He signed with the New York Mets as a free agent in January of 2026 after spending the first seven years of his career North of the border.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
Gurriel was arguably one of the Blue Jays’ best hitters in 2020, slugging 11 home runs with a .882 OPS (138 OPS+) in just 224 plate appearances. He led the team with 25 extra-base hits and was tied for the third-most RBIs (33) with Guerrero.
Unfortunately for Gurriel, that level of power production proved unsustainable as his slugging percentage dropped to .466 in 2021, then .400 in 2022. The Blue Jays then traded him and catching prospect Gabriel Moreno to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Daulton Varsho in a controversial deal that has gotten better with age.
Gurriel tore his ACL in September but is expected to return in 2026.
Teoscar Hernández
Hernández truly arrived as a star hitter in 2020 after hitting 26 home runs the year before. He led the Blue Jays with 16 longballs in just 50 games while recording a .919 OPS, which still stands as the highest mark of his career by a decent margin.
The man known simply as “Teo” drove in 116 runs during an All-Star campaign in 2021, then hit 25 home runs in just 131 games the following season. The Blue Jays then traded him to the Seattle Mariners for a package headlined by now-retired reliever Erik Swanson.
He joined the Los Angeles Dodgers as a free agent entering the 2024 season.
Robbie Ray
The Blue Jays acquired Ray partway through 2020 to little fanfare. He had a 7.84 ERA and 2.00 WHIP with the Diamondbacks up until that point. Ray made five unimpressive starts with the Blue Jays down the stretch before re-signing as a free agent on a one-year deal.
Everything changed for Ray in 2021 as he led the AL in ERA (2.84), WHIP (1.045), strikeouts (248), and innings pitched (193 ⅓) en route to a Cy Young Award. It was one of the most shocking turnarounds by a pitcher in recent baseball history.
Ray cashed in on a five-year, $110-million contract with the Mariners that offseason. They traded him to the San Francisco Giants ahead of 2024.
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