While everyone’s been busy watching the Yankees stumble through their most disappointing stretch of the season, the Toronto Blue Jays have quietly positioned themselves as the AL East’s biggest surprise story. Well, you know what they say about sleeping giants? The Blue Jays are wide awake now, sitting pretty at 70-50 while the once-mighty Yankees find themselves gasping at 64-56.
The Yankees’ season-ending hopes – their dream of capturing the AL East Division title – now hang by a thread thinner than Aaron Judge’s patience with inconsistent pitching. At 73.2% playoff odds and just a 5.9% chance of winning the World Series, the Bronx Bombers have transformed from contenders to pretenders faster than you can say “27 rings.” Their third-place standing tells the brutal truth: this isn’t the Yankees team anyone expected to see in August.
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Derek Shelton didn’t mince words during his recent MLB Network Radio X appearance, dropping truth bombs that hit harder than Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s three-hit performance. “The team is the first of seven to win 70 in the American League. They continue to get contributions from everyone throughout. They’re using their full 26 guys, so the manager and I love this because John Schneider has so many weapons that he can go to. And every night it’s a different guy,” Shelton emphasized.
He continued painting the picture: “I thought last night the energy in the Rogers Centre was electric. I don’t know if you saw it, Steve, but Mark Shapiro went to the top of the Rogers Centre and was sitting with fans, and the reception that he got was unbelievable and outstanding.”
Shelton wrapped up his assessment by highlighting what makes this team special: “I think the thing that stands out, and John Schneider pointed it out, is it’s consistency every night. They’re getting contributions from everybody. Vladdy had three hits again last night. This is a good Blue Jays team that I think a lot of people overlooked coming into the season.”
The Blue Jays had developed “a tighter clubhouse, maybe a stronger relationship with the coaching staff,” according to early-season reports. Manager John Schneider has remained focused on the process, emphasizing his team’s depth and versatility game after game. While the Yankees struggle with depth issues and inconsistent performances, the Toronto Blue Jays have built something sustainable, something that 43,000 fans can believe in night after night. But success brings its complications, and Toronto’s front office faces decisions that could define its championship window.
Blue Jays’ Rotation Riddle Creates Championship Dilemma
But this success creates its own set of problems, and Shane Bieber’s return from Tommy John surgery has Toronto’s front office burning the midnight oil. The Blue Jays currently feature Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios, Chris Bassitt, Max Scherzer, and Eric Lauer in their starting rotation. Bieber’s comeback forces management into an impossible situation–someone’s getting bumped, and nobody wants to be the odd man out.
Eric Hosmer just dropped the wildest suggestion that has baseball Twitter losing its mind. “They have a couple of wild cards, and it’s going to be interesting to see what they do. Obviously, Hoffman’s there closer, but something I’ve always teased is Mad Max as a closer,” Hosmer revealed during his OverDrive appearance. Yes, he’s talking about moving Max Scherzer to the closer role instead of keeping him in the rotation.
Image: MLB.com
The reasoning behind Hosmer’s bold proposal holds water when you dig deeper. “If you were to see him as a relief role, or maybe a closing role, with all due respect to Hoffman, Mad Max has had so many innings, he’s had a lot of miles on that arm. To get him up and going for 200 innings is a hard ask. In the postseason, having him go six or seven innings every four or five days is tough,” Hosmer explained. He believes Scherzer’s legendary intensity would translate perfectly: “I’d love to see him go air it out for one inning. He has that mentality for a closer.”
Want to know the million-dollar question? Whether the three-time Cy Young winner would swallow his pride and accept a closer role for a championship run.
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