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Looking at internal options for the Blue Jays’ woes against left-handed pitching
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Photo credit: © Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
May 24, 2026, 16:00 EDTUpdated: May 24, 2026, 16:03 EDT
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Two months into the season, and one of the Toronto Blue Jays’ biggest needs is clear.
The Jays have a handful of solid players capable of hitting left-handed pitching, such as Ernie Clement, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and George Springer. But one glaring issue is their lack of a left-handed pitching mashing right-handed batter on the bench.
There’s no better example of this need than Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. With a lefty on the mound, the Blue Jays replaced left-handed batters Yohendrick Piñango and Jesús Sánchez with Myles Straw and Davis Schneider, who both struck out. Earlier in the game, Lenyn Sosa replaced Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who departed with an injury. With two runners in scoring position, Sosa grounded out.
Entering Sunday’s game, the Blue Jays were slashing just .219/.305/.344 against left-handed pitching. That’s tied for the fifth-lowest batting average and slugging percentage, while their 87 wRC+ against lefties sits tied for the ninth-worst.
It’s still a bit early to look for external help, but the Blue Jays have a handful of intriguing right-handed hitters with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons. Let’s take a look at their internal options for a righty who can hit left-handed pitching.

Charles McAdoo

There has been a lot of helium surrounding third baseman Charles McAdoo, and for good reason. Entering Sunday’s doubleheader, the Bison is slashing .259/.366/.457 with eight home runs in 191 plate appearances, good for a 119 wRC+.
He’s also been making more contact, seeing his strikeout rate drop from 27.7% in 2025 to 20.4% in his first 46 games. McAdoo has also walked 14.1% of the time, so he’s seeing the ball well.
McAdoo only has 39 plate appearances against left-handed pitching this season, where he’s slashing .257/.333/.429 with two home runs. He’s been a reverse splits hitter so far this season, slashing .260/.375/.465 with six home runs in 152 plate appearances against right-handed pitching.
The 2025 season is a larger sample size for the 24-year-old. Over 113 plate appearances against left-handed pitching, McAdoo slashed .265/.336/.431 with four home runs, 37 strikeouts, and 11 walks. Against right-handed pitching, he slashed .242/.313/.408 with 12 home runs in 381 plate appearances.
When the Blue Jays call up McAdoo, his role shouldn’t be that of a bench player who comes in against lefties. He deserves a legitimate look as an everyday player.

Josh Kasevich

McAdoo and Josh Kasevich are the first two prospects that come to mind when discussing a call up. But like McAdoo, Kasevich has worse numbers against left-handed pitching this season and should be called up for his ability to hit in general.
Against left-handed pitching, he’s slashing .237/.293/.342 with no home runs, two doubles, and a triple in 41 plate appearances. The shortstop has been significantly better against right-handed pitchers, slashing .296/.375/.378 with six doubles and a home run in 152 plate appearances.
Using the 2024 season as a larger sample, Kasevich slashed .313/.375/.406 with two home runs and six doubles in 144 plate appearances against left-handed pitching. He was still productive against righties, slashing .291/.339/.378 with four home runs and 22 doubles in 422 plate appearances.
McAdoo offers some power and can do it against lefties and righties, while Kasevich is capable of hitting for a high batting average and getting on base against both lefties and righties.

Rafael Lantigua

Recently, Rafael Lantigua was on the Blue Jays’ taxi squad, but he’s not the solution for a righty that can mash lefties. He has better splits against lefties this season, slashing .241/.353/.276 against southpaws compared to .195/.313/.366 against righties.
That bucks the trend of two consecutive seasons with far better numbers against righties. Lantigua hasn’t been a good hitter since 2023, either.
Lantigua’s best season was that 2023 season, where he slashed .305/.425/.469 with 12 home runs and 40 doubles in 578 plate appearances with the Bisons. It didn’t matter what handedness the pitcher was, Lantigua just hit. Unfortunately, the Blue Jays were playoff bound that year, so Lantigua wasn’t called up. If he had done that in 2024, he would’ve gotten a significant look as the Jays finished that season 74-88.

Josh Rivera

McAdoo and Kasevich deserved to be called up with how they’re performing, while the Blue Jays value Lantigua’s versatility. The last two players we’ll look at, Josh Rivera and Riley Tirotta, are the type of bench bat who can perform against southpaws.
Starting with Rivera, who has had an odd year. Acquired alongside Yohendrick Piñango in the Nate Pearson trade before the 2024 deadline, Rivera has hit six home runs in 153 plate appearances. He’s just one shy of matching his career high, but he’s slashing just .206/.288/.404 for an 80 wRC+.
That said, Rivera has been noticeably better against lefties so far this season. In his 32 plate appearances, he’s slashing .240/.406/.560 with two home runs and two doubles, good for a .966 OPS. He’s also struck out just seven times while drawing seven walks.
Against right-handed pitchers, Rivera is slashing .198/.256/.369 with four home runs, five doubles, and a triple in 121 plate appearances for a .626 OPS. That is a huge difference and the type of bench bat used with a lefty starter or to pinch hit against a southpaw reliever.
However, Rivera doesn’t have a particularly great track record in general. Last season, he slashed just .188/.344/.313 against LHP, as opposed to a .224/.316/.323 slash line against RHP. Six of the seven home runs he hit were against righties as well.
There’s been a noticeable improvement in the power department for Rivera, but he hasn’t been an average hitter in any league he’s played in since the trade.

Riley Tiortta

As for Tirotta, the 27-year-old isn’t off to the best of starts with the Bisons, slashing .209/.320/.372 with five home runs in 150 plate appearances, with a 12.7 BB% and 31.3 K%. That gives him an 87 wRC+, down from his 112 wRC+ with the Bisons in both 2024 and 2025.
There are two areas of his game that make him intriguing. First, he’s a utility player, playing first base and left field this season, but played plenty of third base and right field last season, as well as some shortstop and second base in his career.
The other area of his game worth noting is his track record against left-handed pitching. Despite the tough start to his season, Tirotta is slashing .259/.375/.593 with two home runs, a double, and a triple in the 32 plate appearances against LHP this season. That’s significantly better than his .196/.305/.314 slash line with three home runs in 118 plate appearances against righties.
But again, there’s a track record here. Last season saw him slashing .306/.416/.514 with four home runs in just 89 plate appearances against LHP, good for a .930 OPS. Against right-handed pitching, Tirotta still slashed a respectable .260/.345/.396 with eight home runs in 374 plate appearances.
Even dating back to 2024, his breakout year, Tirotta was finding success against southpaws. He slashed .239/.414/.352 with two home runs that season, but was actually better against righties, hitting 13 home runs for an .835 OPS over 328 plate appearances.
Tirotta is a good option for a power option off the bench who mashes left-handed pitched. His versatility only adds to his case. But a call-up can only happen if Tirotta can hit like he did last season over the coming weeks.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
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