The Blue Jays are out of the playoff picture as it stands. They are only 2.5 games out of securing the last Wild Card spot, but without a white-hot winning streak, it will be difficult for Toronto to meaningfully compete against stronger teams.

Compared to the resurgent 2025 core, the 2026 Blue Jays’ stories have been riddled with injuries and underperformance from key players. Their story is eerily similar to their 2024 season, and the Blue Jays took advantage of their seller status to replenish their depth back then. They have to follow that path to rebound in the years to come.

Here are three big areas the Blue Jays have to improve on at the trade deadline for their future.

Despite having a good Rolodex of starting pitching on paper, the Blue Jays have had ups and downs in this department throughout the season. Cody Ponce’s sudden, season-ending right knee injury was the start of the crack in Toronto’s starting pitching core. With Ponce out for the season, Dylan Cease, Kevin Gausman, Max Scherzer and Trey Yesavage were left to fill the missing gap.

This pitching line should have worked out, but with Scherzer underperforming due to lingering injury, Gausman’s recent struggles and Yesavage’s spurts of wildness, the Blue Jays’ starting pitching has struggled to live up to expectations. Shane Bieber’s return from injury should have helped relieve some of the burden; instead, he is adding more concerns with struggles of his own.

What should have been a strong point for the Blue Jays is now the biggest issue they have to address. This is even more of a concern because the Blue Jays don’t have enough starting pitching depth to rely on in the minors. While some of the pitchers deeper in the system are performing well, there aren’t any starting pitchers they can tap into at the Triple-A level.

Injuries and misfortune always happen, which is why having that backup is just as important as signing proven, big-league starters. Having a surplus of homegrown pitchers is why teams like the Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers are thriving despite player departures and injuries. If the Blue Jays don’t have that immediate depth, they must bring that from elsewhere to strengthen the existing system.

Out of all the areas, the Blue Jays have had the least production from their outfield from a position-player perspective. FanGraphs ranks their WAR in left field at 17th, centre field at 13th and right field at 10th, which is closer to the middle but isn’t competitive enough to pose a threat to opponents.

Currently, the Blue Jays are deploying Jonatan Clase, Nathan Lukes, Myles Straw and Daulton Varsho. But before Varsho returned from his injury, Jesús Sánchez was deployed often in right field, which became a lingering defensive liability for the Blue Jays. Their left field situation wasn’t in the best condition either, with the mix of Davis Schneider and Yohendrick Pinango.

The Blue Jays have some outfielder depth in their system, but there isn’t a perfect third or fourth outfielder who can offer more dependable power and defence. Should Addison Barger extend his injury stint, the team needs to search for someone who can replicate his production.

Sánchez and Anthony Santander’s returns later in the season should boost the Blue Jays’ power in the outfield. Yet, with their high swing-and-a-miss risks and unreliable defence, Toronto would still need more power-oriented and defensively consistent outfielders who can adapt to any of the outfield positions.

Having Myles Straw as one of the more regular outfielders wasn’t the plan for the 2026 Blue Jays. Straw has been a defensive and base-running specialist so far, but if the Blue Jays are aiming to become a contender for years to come, they need to find an outfielder who can propel the offence and share Straw’s workload.

Power hasn’t been the Blue Jays’ strength for the past couple of years, but this year the power outage has been greater. In team home run rankings, the Blue Jays only rank 25th in home runs, 26th in slugging and 27th in OPS. For comparison, the 2025 Blue Jays ranked 11th in home runs, seventh in slugging and third in OPS.

The 2026 Blue Jays still have time to bounce back in some of these stats, but if their star players, like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and George Springer, can’t return to their 2025 form, they may occupy the bottom of the power-hitting rankings for the rest of the season. Teams don’t have to come in first in all power categories, but if they can’t find a consistent source of power, that can be the difference-maker; the Blue Jays won’t have enough in their tank to put up the fight for the regular season or even in the playoffs.

Having more power in the lineup will elevate the Blue Jays’ offence and give them more chances to win. Barger, Sánchez and Santander’s absence has hit the team’s power department hard, and players like Sean Keys are getting a look for their power potential. Adding more of that up-and-coming power threat at this deadline will be important for the Blue Jays’ contention window.

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