The Blue Jays have: • Arguably the best SP in the AL • The best RP in the AL • A Japanese born rookie who shattered Ohtani's record for most HR's by a rookie And they're 9 games under .500 and cellar dwellars in the East.
Series Preview: Blue Jays head to D.C. for a three-game series with the Nationals
Photo credit: © Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
Jul 27, 2026, 15:00 EDTUpdated: Jul 27, 2026, 14:14 EDT
The Toronto Blue Jays have simply been unable to build any momentum in 2026.
Dylan Cease was otherworldly Saturday afternoon in Boston, throwing a complete-game shutout, backed by a 15-hit day from the offence, just for the hitters to fall flat on their faces Sunday, scoring one run and losing the series.
With just six games left until the trade deadline, the Jays are bound to be sellers and could revamp their farm system by offloading multiple expiring contracts.
The team currently sits at a 48-58 record, good for last in the AL East and five and a half games back of a wild card spot. Even though the American League has been weak this season, the Jays would need to surpass six teams just to hold the final Wild Card spot, and it would take a 10-game winning streak just to get back to .500 (their longest this season is four games).
Over the past few weeks, the Blue Jays offence has been ice cold, lowering their team-wide season OPS to a .682 mark, good for second-last in MLB. In the last calendar month, the team ranks within the bottom three of the entire league in terms of OPS (.604), SLG (.329), home runs (19) and runs scored (75). When Cease isn’t throwing a near no-hitter, this team has a slim chance to win a baseball game.
The rest of the rotation has performed well enough to keep their squad in games lately, with Shane Bieber tossing 13.1 innings of one-run ball over his past two outings, and Kevin Gausman tossing a quality start Sunday, with six innings of three-run ball. In the last calendar month, the starting staff ranks 10th in MLB with a 3.98 ERA. The problem remains the offence, which remains unable to support their starters day in and day out.
Their bullpen has struggled somewhat recently as well. Braydon Fisher has allowed at least a run in six of his last seven appearances, the Friday night’s game saw CJ Van Eyk give up two runs in a loss, and there has been some middling performances by other relievers. Louis Varland and Tyler Rogers continue to hold down the fort, but unfortunately they haven’t seen a lot of action lately, due to the Jays’ poor hitting.
The silver lining on the 2026 season continues to become thinner and thinner as the trade deadline approaches, with little to no time left to turn things around. Even if the Jays went 6-0 over the next week, they would still be four games back of .500 and likely still multiple back of a Wild Card spot.
Examining the Washington Nationals
The Washington Nationals have seemingly been in rebuild mode ever since winning the 2019 World Series. Every year since 2020, the team has finished within the bottom three of the entire National League, never posting a record above .500. This year, things have been a little different.
The team currently holds a respectable 54-52 record, good for third place in the National League East ahead of the Mets and Marlins, the latter are in the midst of a 12-game losing streak. The Nationals are currently tied with the Pirates as the first team(s) out of the final Wild Card spot, sitting just one game back of the Diamondbacks. In a season they likely didn’t expect to compete, they find themselves in the thick of a playoff race with the trade deadline looming.
As a team, the Nationals are slashing .255/.329/.447/.776, with a 112 WRC+, tied for first in the league with the Dodgers. They possess the 13th-best walk rate in the league at 8.9%, and strike out at just a 21.3% clip, good for eighth best in the league. They rank first in Major League Baseball with 156 home runs, and have two blossoming stars in CJ Abrams and James Wood, carrying the load offensively.
Though they can mash the ball, they often find themselves playing comeback or trying to desperately hang on to leads late, with how bad their pitching staff is. Their starting staff ranks seventh-worst in the league in terms of ERA at a 4.52 mark.
The Nationals’ FIP is nearly identical at a 4.50 mark, good for eighth-worst in the league. Their walk rate (3.03/9) and strikeout rate (8.38/9) rank 15th and 17th, respectively. They’ve also been victim to the home run ball, ranking sixth-worst in the league for HR/9 at a 1.40 mark.
With as bad as the rotation has been, the bullpen somehow gets worse. They rank fourth-worst in the league with a 5.03 ERA and a 4.95 FIP, good for third-worst. They have the lowest strikeout rate at 7.34 K/9 and the 12th-worst BB/9 in the league at a 4.04 mark. Just like the starting staff, they’ve done a poor job limiting home runs, ranking fifth-worst in the league with a 1.37 HR/9.
One player to watch: James Wood
The centrepiece of the Juan Soto deal back in 2022 that sent Wood to the Nationals, the right-fielder has been an unstoppable force in the batter’s box since making his debut in 2024. Through his first three seasons, he has collected a -14 OAA and -12 FRV, but given what he does with the bat, it negates his woes defensively.
418-foot blast 💥 James Wood's 2nd homer of the day and 30th this season!
After making his first All-Star team a season ago, clubbing 30 home runs, Wood has been even better in 2026, already hitting 31 before the trade deadline and posting a slash line of .271/.396/.557/.953.
His OPS ranks second in MLB behind only Yordan Álvarez; he ranks fifth in MLB with 72 RBIs, has the most walks of anyone this season with 82, and he ranks in the 100th percentile for xSLG, Avg Exit Velo, and Barrel%. Coming off a two-home-run performance Sunday against the Diamondbacks, Wood has been undeniably one of MLB’s best hitters this season.
Though his metrics certainly suggest he’s one of the game’s best right now, he also passes the eye test as a 6’6 234 lb freak of nature that, at 23 years old, is bound to be a perennial All-Star and MVP candidate for many years to come.
Quick Hits
- Max Scherzer returns for the Blue Jays Monday night in the series opener, in what will be his first outing with the club since June 10th.
- He will be going up against his former team in the Nationals, arguably the stop where he had the most success in his illustrious career, winning multiple Cy Young awards and solidifying himself as one of the greats of the 2010s. It will be a tall task for the just-turned 42-year-old who has had mixed results at triple-A Buffalo and struggled mightily at the MLB level thus far in 2026.
- With six games left until the trade deadline, the Blue Jays may begin to receive calls about some of their players on expiring contracts, meaning some of the current roster could be playing elsewhere this time next week. Though no official word has come out from general manager Ross Atkins on the team’s direction at the deadline, all signs point towards selling.
- Shane Bieber will get the ball in the second game of the series, looking to continue his recent success with formidable outings against the White Sox and Rays his last two times out. Should he put together another strong performance against a tough lineup, he will certainly boost his trade value come next Monday.
- Though the offence has been weak throughout July, George Springer has been a lone bright spot, batting .292 with an .867 OPS in 12 games in the month. Another expiring contract with great postseason success, he will likely draw attention from many teams at the deadline and, though he is nearly 37-years-old, he could fetch a valuable prospect in return. He also has his 10-5 rights, meaning he can veto any trade.
- The combination of CJ Abrams and James Wood in the Nationals lineup is one of the best one-two punches in the game, with both hitters ranking within the top five in MLB for RBIs, OPS and total bases. Abrams has matched Wood all season, hitting 27 home runs of his own, with a .940 OPS and a two-home-run game of his own Sunday against the Diamondbacks.
Probable pitchers
Monday: Max Scherzer/Eddy Yean
Tuesday: Shane Bieber/Cade Cavalli
Wednesday: Trey Yesavage/Zack Littell
Game times
Monday: 6:45 PM EST
Tuesday: 6:45 PM EST
Wednesday: 1:05 PM EST
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