The Toronto Blue Jays dropped Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series versus the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday. The Blue Jays are in danger of falling short in the postseason once again, currently just one defeat away from elimination. Of course, the saying “there's always next year” will be applied by many around the MLB world. The Blue Jays were expected to become the next great team in MLB just a few seasons ago though, so would another early playoff exit signal greater concern for Toronto?
Toronto failed to reach the playoffs from 2017-2019 as they underwent a rebuild. The Blue Jays developed a strong core of players led by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette. They were able to return to the postseason in 2020, losing in the AL Wild Card Series.
The Blue Jays then missed the postseason altogether in 2021, and lost in the AL Wild Card Series once again in 2022. Another AL Wild Card Series defeat in 2023 would make this pattern almost impossible to ignore. The question must be asked: Can the Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette-led core lead this Blue Jays team to the World Series?
*Stats via StatMuse.
Blue Jays will have questions to answer with potential playoff loss
It's possible in a week people will look back at this article and laugh if the Blue Jays come back against the Twins and win the series. They are only down 1-0, so it's certainly a possibility. However, the Blue Jays will have questions to answer if they fail to accomplish that goal.
Guerrero Jr. is still only 24-years old. He hasn't been signed to an extension yet though, and will only have two years of team control remaining following the 2023 campaign. The same can be said for Bichette.
To summarize, the leaders of Toronto's core could both hit free agency following the 2025 season. Now, the easy solution is to offer both stars long-term contracts. That is where a potential AL Wild Card Series loss comes in to play, however.
The Blue Jays must truly ask themselves if Guerrero Jr. and Bichette can lead the ball club to a deep playoff run. The harsh reality is both players have been rather abysmal in the postseason.
In 19 postseason at-bats, Guerrero Jr. is slashing .158/.238/.211 with a .449 OPS heading into Game 2 of the AL Wild Card Series. He has three total hits, one in each playoff season. That is far from ideal.
Bichette is slashing just .222/.286/.278 with a .563 OPS in his playoff career. It should be noted that he had two hits in Game 1 of the Blue Jays-Twins series on Tuesday, so perhaps he's on the verge of turning things around. His Game 2 effort will be crucial in that sense.
Toronto doesn't have to trade Guerrero Jr. and Bichette away if they lose the series. They can still decide to extend them. But, this is something for the Blue Jays to consider. Winning a World Series is the goal and that's clearly been a challenge for this franchise over the past few seasons.
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