Blue Jays’ offensive problems are a ‘real’ concern per ESPN analyst originally appeared on The Sporting News.
Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Toronto Blue Jays are not having the best season, though they’ve bounced back from a rough start to the year and are now 34-36, which is good enough to be just 0.5 game back of a Wild Card spot.
They’re in the playoff hunt still, despite a sub .500 record. But, more importantly, they have a huge issue to fix this season that could make-or-break their season. That issue is the offensive output from the lineup.
ESPN’s David Schoenfield made the case that these offensive concerns are “real,” and not just a temporary problem due to injuries and slumps from key sluggers. The Blue Jays’ offense is a very real problem this season.
Blue Jays’ offensive woes are ‘real’ problem in 2026
In calling the Blue Jays lineup an issue, Schonefield handed out a “real” verdict, indicating that this is something to worry about.
“You can blame injuries for the offensive woes – and that’s certainly part of it – but the Jays are still making contact at a high rate,” Schoenfield writes. “Only the Tampa Bay Rays strike out less often. Their isolated power, however, has dropped from .162 (12th in the majors) in 2025 to .136 (26th) this season.”
Looking across this lineup, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is struggling, George Springer isn’t as good as he was last season, and Daulton Varsho, Alejandro Kirk, and Addison Barger have missed time this season while not performing as well as they did a year ago.
Even though Kazuma Okamoto has been a great addition, the Blue Jays’ offensive performance this season is well below where they should be, considering how good 2025 was for this team.
MORE: Yankees’ Ryan McMahon problem has a $25 million release solution
Players aren’t performing as well as they did a year ago, the team is suffering from injuries to key players, and more importantly, the margin for error is a lot slimmer.
Run prevention has been an issue for the Blue Jays this season, which has made their offensive woes sting a lot more. Fixing things as a team won’t come just through the hitters getting right; they need the pitching staff and the defense to right the ship, too.
Schoenfield called the Blue Jays’ lineup struggles this season a “real” concern. This was meant to be a World Series-caliber season.
But, with how badly the lineup has struggled, it’s hard to imagine this team winning a postseason series, let alone multiple en route to a title.
More MLB news:
- 5 reasons to believe in Jordan Walker’s breakout for Cardinals
- Ex-MLB GM projects White Sox to sell at trade deadline despite 2026 success
- Tarik Skubal being traded by Tigers would help him in free agency
- Cubs’ cost to trade for Tarik Skubal from Tigers revealed by ex-MLB GM
- Phillies extending Cristopher Sanchez to his $107 million deal was genius
About the Author
