Blue Jays takeaways: A skid, a potential Max Scherzer playoff start and deadline additions

New York Times

10 hours ago

TORONTO — The results speak for themselves. With a 7-4 extra-innings loss Sunday, the Toronto Blue Jays lost their sixth game in the last eight contests. Sandwiched around deadline chaos and sweltering Baltimore heat, this marks the team's worst stretch since April.
But Toronto's skid has been more than the losses. It was a weeklong departure from the play that vaulted the Jays to the top of the American League. The slick defence stumbled. The base running sagged. The pitching missed the zone and got hit.
Advertisement
'We just need to be better,' Kevin Gausman said. 'We need to play better and kind of have a little bit more focus. I think some of the things that we were really good at in our stretch when we were winning a ton of games, we kind of haven't been as sharp in those areas.'
Saturday's victory, the lone win during Toronto's brief three-game homestand against the Kansas City Royals, was a return to the team's 'brand of baseball,' manager John Schneider said — grinding at-bats, error-free defence and manufactured runs. The other seven games haven't been as clean.
Over the last eight contests, the Jays committed seven errors — 12 percent of the team's total errors in the span of a week. They don't have a single sacrifice fly in that stretch and have dipped slightly back below average in base-running metrics. They've scored an average of 4.25 runs per game and allowed 8.25.
The concussion-induced absences of George Springer, who could return Tuesday, and Alejandro Kirk, who rejoined the Jays on Sunday, certainly hurt. The slog of games in Detroit and Baltimore amid a week with roster overhaul and trade deadline stress played a factor — but neither exclusively impacted Toronto. The Jays still sit three games up in the division. Every team has these skids, even the good ones. Now Toronto's task is ending the run.
Here are three other takeaways from Toronto's weekend series and trade deadline additions:
It wasn't clear if Scherzer would even get back on a big-league mound at times this year. The thumb issue that's nagged for years flared once again, requiring multiple injections and many weeks off. Now, Scherzer is pitching himself into a potential October start.
Since returning to Toronto's rotation in June, Scherzer has the third-lowest ERA in the rotation (4.26), behind José Berríos and Eric Lauer. His FIP (4.02) is second-lowest and strikeout-to-walk rate (23 percent) is best of the bunch. In his last two outings, the righty earned 16 strikeouts, no walks and allowed four runs on just two home runs.
Advertisement
'When you get that level of competitiveness and experience,' Schneider said. 'And his stuff back to where it should be, he could be a difference-maker down the stretch.'
In acquiring Shane Bieber, the Jays hoped to add playoff-calibre upside to a rotation built on reliability. Scherzer, with questions still lingering around his thumb health, remains a similar gamble. The fear of an IL stint remains, but at his best, Scherzer is an October starter. Lately, the Jays have seen that best. Schneider isn't allowing himself to think about a playoff start from the likely Hall of Famer just yet, though — at least not out loud.
'You worry about his next outing on the road,' Schneider said. 'He's already proven and showed what he can do, on the biggest stage. I think the first step is trying to get there and having him be a big part of it.'
In a way, Varland's 2025 ascendance is easy to explain. He's a full-time reliever now. In shorter stints, he's throwing 3 mph harder and has honed in on his two best pitches — the fastball and knuckle curve.
'It's easier to get three outs,' Varland said. 'Rather than 18, as a starter.'
But Varland made a move to a relief role late last season and posted a 9.87 ERA in nine appearances. Only this year has it really come together for the bullpen bulldog.
Varland credits his 2025 dominance to deception, as much as the short-burst outings or focus on a fiery fastball. His heater averages 98 mph and can touch 100. But that's not entirely foreign to hitters anymore — 70 pitchers have thrown a pitch over 100 mph this year. You have to make that heat hard to pick up, and Varland suspects he wasn't doing enough of that in 2024.
'I had some theories,' Varland said. 'For sure.'
This year, the righty tweaked his pre-pitch coil. His front shoulder is more closed off, the glove is tucked behind his ear and he's ditched a double-clutch before pushing home. He wanted the ball to be less identifiable when his right hand broke away from his glove. In combination, Varland feels opposing batters can't pick his pitches up as easily. The result — a 2.12 ERA in 51 innings — seems to agree.
Advertisement
The Blue Jays' coaching staff — especially the hitting group — often throws around a simple phrase: 'Own what you're good at.' It's shown in Myles Straw's many bunts, Ernie Clement's contact dominance and Addison Barger's unleashed aggression.
The Jays are taking the same approach to new first baseman France. The 31-year-old hasn't been an above-average big-league hitter since 2023, though expected statistics suggest he may deserve to be in 2025. France was excited to work with Toronto hitting coach David Popkins, he said, hearing rave reviews from the Minnesota Twins teammates who worked with Popkins from 2022 through 2024. When France talked with Toronto's hitting coaches hours after his trade to Toronto, the veteran was open to suggestions. The Jays had them.
Toronto felt France was attempting to cover his weaknesses more than embracing his strengths — adjusting his swing to better combat the sinkers that plagued him in the past. Before this season, France had a career .263 average against breaking balls. This year, it's down to .224. At his best, France's flat swing and good eye allow the right-hander to punish those mistake secondary offerings in the zone and fastballs up. It's what France did best when he made an All-Star team in 2022 with the Mariners. It's what Toronto hopes he can return to.
Barring injury, France won't be an everyday player on this Blue Jays roster. He'll spell Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at first base and work in against lefties. If Andrés Giménez or Anthony Santander return, France could find himself on the wrong side of a late-season roster crunch. But the Blue Jays have turned perceived depth players into regular hitters plenty this season, maximizing offensive upside across the roster. They hope to do the same with France.
(Top photo of Max Scherzer: Kevin Sousa / Imagn Images)