Five Things: Reigning American League champion Blue Jays dealing with inconsistency

TORONTO — The injury-plagued Toronto Blue Jays have been hovering near the playoff cutline in the American League despite inconsistency and an underperforming offence.

Here’s a look at five storylines to watch as the 29-31 team prepares to kick off the June portion of its schedule on Tuesday in Atlanta.

REINFORCEMENTS COMING

The team’s injured list has been loaded from the start of the season, but reinforcements are on the way.

Catcher Alejandro Kirk (thumb), outfielder Addison Barger (elbow) and pitchers Max Scherzer (forearm), Shane Bieber (elbow), Dylan Cease (hamstring) and Yimi Garcia (elbow) are all making strides as they recover from injuries.

Their absences have given others some unexpected playing time.

Rookie Brandon Valenzuela (. 235 BA, .710 OPS) has been an effective replacement for Kirk despite some growing pains. Triple-A call-up Yohendrick Pinango (. 294 BA, .780 OPS) and trade acquisition Jesus Sanchez (. 287 BA, .785 OPS) have emerged as two of Toronto’s best hitters.

STARTING ROTATION

Remember last winter when the Blue Jays looked to have a shortage of rotation spots for their bevy of starters?

The old cliché that you can never have enough starting pitching was true in this case.

Cody Ponce (knee), Jose Berrios (elbow) and Bowden Francis (elbow) are all out on a long-term basis, while Cease, Scherzer, Bieber and Trey Yesavage have all spent time on the IL.

Despite the challenges, Toronto sits a respectable 10th in starter earned-run average (3.80) in the major leagues entering Monday’s games.

Ace Kevin Gausman (4-3, 3.13 ERA) is a rotation anchor while veteran southpaw Patrick Corbin (2-1, 3.65), who signed a one-year deal in April, has been a reliable performer.

LOUIS LOUIS

Jeff Hoffman’s struggles as closer forced manager John Schneider to make a change in late April to how the ninth-inning role was handled.

Louis Varland has since emerged as a true shutdown option.

Varland (2-1) has allowed just one earned run over 28 appearances this season for a sparkling 0.29 ERA. He has converted all eight save opportunities.

Hoffman (4-4), meanwhile, still sees occasional ninth-inning action but is now used in more of a setup role.

High-leverage opportunities may become more infrequent for the right-hander unless he improves his 6.31 ERA. Opponents are batting .321 against him this season.

MISSING SLUG

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is reaching base and hitting above his career averages in both categories.

However, his slugging numbers are down significantly in 2026.

The Blue Jays’ first baseman has a .298 average and .392 on-base percentage but has hit just three homers over the first 60 games. His .385 slugging percentage is his lowest over eight big-league seasons and his .777 OPS is the lowest since his rookie year in 2019.

Guerrero has been a streaky player throughout his career. He endured a September slump before heating up in the post-season last fall, when he hit eight homers over 18 games with a .397 average and a whopping 1.289 OPS.

A-L LEAST

Normally one of the more feared divisions in baseball, the American League East has only two teams above the .500 mark this year.

The Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees have been the class of the league over the first two-plus months of the campaign.

The good news for the Blue Jays is that most of the other AL teams have struggled. Only five of the league’s 15 teams have winning records.

That has left Toronto in sole possession of the third and final wild-card spot despite a mediocre .483 winning percentage. The Athletics and Texas Rangers were just a half-game behind the Blue Jays entering Monday’s games.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 1, 2026.

Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press