Uncustomed Heroes of 2024: Blue Jays

 

In a season where practically every AL East team was expected to be competitive, the Toronto Blue Jays not only did not make the playoffs, but they finished in last. Why? Well, a number of reasons, mostly owing to the strength of the top 3 teams, as well as the number of guys in big roles that didn't come through, especially in the rotation. My theory is John Schneider just isn't a very good manager, but they seem to be doing the Oli Marmol thing and convincing themselves he's not the problem. They still have pieces of the mighty 2019-era youth movement, like Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette and Jordan Romano, but who knows how many will factor into the 2025 iteration of this team. 

George Springer is still the team's leadoff hitter, and he really shouldn't be. It's his 11th year in the bigs, he's 34, and he's past his peak, sad to say. This year he hit .220 with 19 homers and 56 RBIs, which is a pathetic effort for a guy who routinely hit for average. Springer is now a below-average defender, and there's really not much appeal to him anymore. Maybe it's just a down season, but this is why you have to know what you're signing up for when you give a contract to a guy who's over 30.

2025 Prediction: An improvement, but the Jays won't be able to completely enjoy it for some reason.

Jordan Romano is still very much in his peak period, and he's still one of the best closers in baseball. The trouble is he was hurt for the majority of the season. In 15 games he was still injury-addled, and while he notched 8 saves, he ended up with a 6.59 ERA. People like Romano and Alek Manoah just losing their control this year is why this team couldn't outweigh the rest of the pack.

2025 Prediction: 30 saves. They'll have to be for someone else, though. I think that somebody like the Cubs could pick him up. Ideally even Philadelphia.

Once Alek Manoah was lost for the year, that meant Cuban league great Yariel Rodriguez got a rotation spot. To be honest, of everybody on the club Rodriguez was most hurt by the lack of run support, as he went 1-8 with a 4.47 ERA and 85 Ks in 21 starts. He's definitely got the right idea, he just walked into some poor circumstances this year.

2025 Prediction: Something tells me the team will be relying more on Rodriguez next year, and I don't know if that bodes well for him health-wise.

Davis Schneider I always want good things to happen to because Davis Schneider is local. A lot like Zac Gallen, Andrew Bailey, Devin Smeltzer and Jay Groome before him, Davis Schneider is from my area of New Jersey, about one town over. Matter of fact, he was helping out a family friend's kid, who's a college pitcher, and is apparently a really good guy. Doesn't surprise me at all. The Jays played him in a utility LF-2B role this year, hoping to capitalize off his August 2024 numbers, and Schneider struggled, hitting below the Mendoza line and being slightly below-average as a defender. He came away with 13 homers and 46 RBIs, so it wasn't all a loss.

2025 Prediction: An improvement, I hope. I think keeping him as a scrappy utility guy may be the way to go.

The more successful version of Davis Schneider, at least this year, was infielder Spencer Horwitz, who took over 2nd base full time after Cavan Biggio left. Horwitz was an improvement in both senses, hitting .265 with 12 homers and 40 RBIs in 97 games. He was one of the most crucial hitters of the Jays' second half, and may be a helpful piece of future teams. 

2024 Prediction: The production slows down a bit, and he may lose a few pegs as the young competitors to the infield positions [see below] gain ground.

Once Jordan Romano was done for the season, the ninth inning was kind of a free for all for the Blue Jays until it landed on former Yankee middle reliever Chad Green. Green's been coming back from injuries over the last few years, and having him not only healthy but also consistent as a closing piece must have been a great surprise for the Jays. In 53 appearances, Green sported a 3.21 ERA and saved 17 games, a job very well done for a pitcher many had counted out.

2025 Prediction: Nothing quite as pronounced as 2024, but he could still be very useful in a middle relief role. 

Now, for the two rookie infielders. To be honest, if it weren't for highly-touted prospect Orelvis Martinez immediately getting suspended for PEDs we wouldn't have gotten here. But next on the list was Leo Jimenez, a 23-year-old middle infield prospect, and he did fairly well for himself in 63 games, with 41 hits and 19 RBIs, in addition to strong work at SS.

2025 Prediction: This guy might be the answer if Bo leaves, and he'd be a pretty damn good answer.

Then there's Will Wagner, son of Houston Astros legend Billy Wagner. The Astros had Will cooking in the minors for a few years, but had nowhere to play him, so they dealt him to Toronto in the Kikuchi deal. Well, suffice to say, the Jays had some places to play Will Wagner, so he got called up and IMMEDIATELY started contact hitting in ways that few rookies ever had. Among his accomplishments are hitting his first career home run in a game that began while he was still in the Houston organization, being the first Blue Jays rookie to have a five-hit game, and hitting .300 in 24 games before a knee injury ended his season. 

2025 Prediction: There's gotta be more of this, right? Please let there be more. It could be flukey like Schneider's 2023, but I wanna think Wagner does some more amazing contact stuff in 2025.

Coming Tomorrow- The Braves, despite losing their best players early, still made the playoffs. Here's how.