In 2023, the Blue Jays season ended with heartbreak. They lost 2-0 in the Wild Card series to the Minnesota Twins. This year, they look for revenge on the entirety of Major League Baseball. Let’s take a look at the team, along with some predictions and expectations for the team.

2023 Record: 89-73 3rd in AL East

This year, the Jays look to get back to where they know they can be: atop the AL East division. The Blue Jays hope for their stars to get back to form, stars like Vladimir Guerrero Jr, and George Springer.

Key Losses: 3B Matt Chapman, 2B Whit Merrifield

Key Additions: DH Justin Turner, 3B Isiah Kiner-Falefa, P Yariel Rodriguez

The biggest Jays acquisition is Justin Turner. Turner, 39, came off one of his most productive years of his career with the Boston Red Sox, hitting .276/.345/.455 with 23HR and 96RBI. The highest RBI total of his career, Turner has not slowed down. Turner figures to hit in the heart of the Blue Jays order, so those RBI numbers should stay around the same. His power has dropped over his career, but he is still finding ways to get on base. Turner is also versatile in the infield, being able to play both corner infield spots. JT figures to be the everyday Designated Hitter, although he could see reps as the third baseman depending on the lineup.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa was an interesting signing. Not really known for much, wasn’t able to get regular playing time with the Yankees last season. IKF is not a good bat by any means, so the Jays must have gotten him for what he could potentially offer at third base. Due to Matt Chapman leaving in free agency, the third base position was a focus that the Jays needed to acknowledge in the offseason. They do have players who will compete for the spot, but they could have made a better decision than Kiner-Falefa. Cavan Biggio and Davis Schneider look to be ahead of IKF on the depth chart for the second and third base positions.

Yariel Rodriguez is a wild card. Signed for 5 years at $32M, there isn’t really much risk. Yariel is a good arm that would presumably be used out of the bullpen, but also can be serviced as a starter. No matter where you put him, he has the stuff to do well in the major leagues. Yariel’s pitch arsenal has the ability to do damage in a starting rotation, so you can imagine the Blue Jays will see all options available. In his last full season in Japan, he put up monster numbers, numbers that any reliever in the MLB would absolutely die for. In a high leverage role in our bullpen, Yariel would definitely succeed and give our bullpen that extra arm to work with.

Yariel Rodriguez in his last full season in Japan
(2022):

— 54.1 IP
— 32 H (0 HR)
— 9 R (7 ER)
— 18 BB, 60 SO
— 1.15 ERA
— 0.915 WHIP

Yariel's pitch arsenal (numbers are from an October 2023 tryout):

Fastball — 96.2 MPH, 2586 RPM
Slider — 84.9 MPH, 2905 RPM… pic.twitter.com/Of1BD2anL3

— BlueJays Muse (@BlueJays_Muse) January 17, 2024

Losing Chapman and Merrifield do impact this team quite a bit. Chapman is a very good defensive third baseman (usually), and when his bat is hot, he is an amazing hitter. Chapman had the worst year of his career on both sides of the ball, and with the amount of money he was asking for, it was no surprise the Jays did not want to resign him. Merrifield on the other hand, was a great utility guy. He could play all around the field, and he was a great hitter. Dubbed “Two-Hit Whit”, he was a great option in the 6/7 spot for the Blue Jays. Merrifield will be missed by the team, but they made adjustments that they were comfortable with.

Toronto enters the season wanting to pick up steam early, and show teams that they aren’t going to play around. This team has the bats to run up the score, and the arms in both the rotation to shut the game down. This Blue Jays team knows that baseball isn’t all fun and games, and that they need to start taking things seriously if they want to contend with all the other clubs. The Blue Jays start their regular season games on March 28th against the Tampa Bay Rays, and their home opener at the Rogers Centre takes place on April 8th, against the Seattle Mariners. The Blue Jays look to contend with New York and Tampa for the top spot in the AL East, and they certainly have the group to do it. Now they just have to go DO it.

Potential Starting Lineup:

1. George Springer – RF
2. Bo Bichette – SS
3. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – 1B
4. Justin Turner – DH
5. Danny Jansen – C
6. Daulton Varsho – LF
7. Davis Schneider – 2B
8. Cavan Biggio – 3B
9. Kevin Kiermaier – CF

Potential Starting Rotation:

1. Kevin Gausman
2. Chris Bassitt
3. Jose Berrios
4. Yusei Kikuchi
5. Alek Manoah