The Toronto Blue Jays have been expected to make deep runs in the playoffs over the last few years, and have failed to do so, but manager John Schneider's comments indicate that the group has a deep desire to get over that hump.

“This group is hungry,” John Schneider said, according to Josh Goldberg of theScore. “There's guys that definitely want to do more things than we did last year. There's definitely a sense of urgency to do more.”

The Blue Jays have had those expectations going back to the 2021 season, when they missed the playoffs by one game. They made the playoffs as a wild card team in each of the last two seasons, but they were swept in two games in each of the last two years by the Seattle Mariners and Minnesota Twins. Not winning a playoff game in the last two years against either the Mariners or Twins has been a disappointment.

This offseason, the Blue Jays were rumored to be interested in stars like Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto, but did not land either. Instead, they have added Justin Turner, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Yariel Rodriguez while bringing back Kevin Kiermaier as well. Schneider said the team reflected on why the team fell short in 2023.

“Whenever you fall short of a goal, you look at yourself in the mirror and say, ‘OK, what can we do differently?'” Schneider said, according to Goldberg. “That's kind of been the majority of what we've been talking about this whole winter.”

This is a big year for Schneider and the Blue Jays, as they try to take advantage of the current window with their roster.