Mail Bag (Part One): Yankees Suck!

But mostly trade deadline stuff, and a lot about Eric Lauer for some reason.

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The New York Yankees, everybody!

I’ll be honest with you here, folks. There actually isn’t anything Yankees-related in this edition of the mail bag. Maybe we’ll get to some of that in Part Two. But hoooooly! That certainly was an exhilarating end to a fantastic three games of October-like baseball on Wednesday night, wasn’t it?

Man alive. Just…

…so…

…much…

…good…

…shit.

WHAT A RUSH!

Anyway, the mail bag! You all sent me questions, I’ve provided answers to several here and will get to the rest in Part Two. So… you know the drill—let’s not belabour it any further!

Thanks so much for the Q’s, the support, and, of course, as always, I haven’t read any of Griff’s answers…

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What do you see them doing with the rotation at the deadline? It seems like pitching-wise what they need is A) a front-end starter and B) real depth in case of injury. And while things do seem to work themselves out on the injury front, it feels like adding a starter to this mix right now would be awkward. Are Mad Max’s next two starts going to determine a lot of what they do here? Have I had to much to drink at Lauer Hour?

If Max is healthy going into August, the bullpen (and getting a guy who can play a swingman role) feels to me like the best place for them to really cash their chips. Can’t remember a deadline with the Jays buying where the options have been this wide open. — Pat

Thanks so much for the great question and, of course, for your support, Pat! We’re going to be dealing with a number of deadline-related questions throughout this mail bag, and this seems like a great place to start, because figuring out what to do with the rotation is probably the trickiest item on the Blue Jays’ agenda this month.

You’re bang on that they could use a true frontline starter and that their depth feels thin. But the numbers game complicates things, and I’m with you that the bullpen is certainly a much easier target for them. But that doesn’t mean they should be comfortable with the rotation as is. And they need to get this right.

As far as your question goes, it all comes down to Lauer.

Chris Bassitt, José Berríos, and Kevin Gausman aren’t going anywhere. Alek Manoah coming back and being a genuine contributor like the guy we remember from 2022 would be a great story, but that can’t be counted on. Nor is there any room in a playoff race to coddle his feelings. He has minor league options remaining, so if he needs to be in Buffalo that needs to be on the table. Scherzer’s health may fail him, but obviously they’ve been working very hard all year to get him healthy and keep him right for this part of the schedule, and I don’t think that’s going to change, even if he clearly needs more time to shake the rust off.

But what to make of Lauer?

His feelings can’t be coddled here either, but he’s probably been the team’s best starting pitcher over the last couple of months. And among 144 pitchers with at least 61 innings this season, he ranks 26th in ERA with a mark of 2.80, while his K-BB% ranks 17th. The players ranked 15th to 20th by the latter metric are Jacob deGrom, Logan Webb, Lauer, Jack Flaherty, Spencer Strider, and Carlos Rodón. That’s some pretty unbelievable company for him to be keeping, so saying that he’s given the Jays everything they could have possibly hoped for, and then some, is a massive understatement.

But he’s also, frankly, just not terribly impressive. He’s relying a whole lot on deception, location, late life and rise on his fastball that makes it play above what you’d expect from a 91.8 mph offering. And that can be a workable profile, but this workable?

His four-seamer so far has been +5 in terms of run value, according to Statcast, which makes it one of the better pitches any Jays hurler has thrown this season. But we don’t see in it the markers of an elite pitch—not by spin, rise, vertical approach angle, Stuff+, Location+, etc.

I mention vertical approach angle—the angle a given pitch is travelling at when it crosses the plate—there because both Lauer and several deadline rumblings have got me thinking about the Twins’ Joe Ryan, who broke out a couple years back by getting the most out of a modest (he throws a bit harder now) but “sneaky” fastball that he uses up in the zone, in part by being on the extreme end of that metric. This 2022 SB Nation piece explains how having a flat approach angle has helped guys like Ryan and his teammate Bailey Ober succeed—and, crucially, get swing-and-miss—on lower velocity fastballs up in the zone.

Lauer shares some characteristics with that pair, but his four-seamer’s VAA (-5.0°) is steeper than league average (-4.7°). Still, as a percentage of total pitches thrown, his rate of four-seamers up in the zone ranks in the 93rd percentile, and he’s producing a solid amount of whiffs on those pitches (25.2%).

Whatever’s going on there, it’s working. And his other pitches are working well off of the fastball too, with each having an even better rate of swing-and-miss. The best of those, his slider, has a remarkably similar release point and arm angle as the four-seamer, even considering the rather small variations we always see within those data points. I’m sure that only adds to the deception there.

And deception is key. Lauer talked about it himself in a 2023 Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel article, which pointed to deception as the reason for his ability to get whiffs even when he missed over the heart of the plate in 2022, in combination with his active spin rate on the pitch and its role in giving the four-seamer late life. In that year—which was his best in the majors—his 26.9% whiff rate on middle-middle fastballs was, the Journal-Sentinal tells us, the highest percentage out of 118 starters who threw at least 35 of such meatballs, and his 96% active spin rate on the pitch put him in the top 20%.

Those things turned out not to be terribly sticky, though. Lauer’s rates in both categories dropped in ‘23, as did his velo. It turned out to be the worst season of his career. And this year they haven’t returned to those 2022 levels, despite the success he’s having. Yet those are hardly the only markers of a unique fastball that can be successful because of its unconventionality, nor can success be about the fastball alone.

It’s especially important for a pitcher with Lauer’s kind of skillset to have some real secondary offerings, and with that in mind lets go back to his slider for a second. Though it certainly isn’t overpowering, and doesn’t necessarily feel special to look at, by some metrics it has been.

If we look at all the pitchers in the majors, and all of the different offerings each one of them has thrown at least 90 times this season, we get 1,507 pitches. Statcast lets us see each of these pitches through a number of different metrics, including run value—defined as “the run impact of an event based on the runners on base, outs, ball and strike count.”

In terms of run value per 100 pitches thrown, Lauer’s slider (3.0) ranks 47th overall, putting it in the 97th percentile. This the best pitch any Blue Jays pitcher has thrown this season, beating Braydon Fisher’s slider (2.6 RV/100, 78th), Yariel Rodríguez’s slider (2.5, 85th), and Brendon Little’s curve (1.8, 208). Lauer’s cutter (1.8) ranks 215th, which puts it in the 86th percentile.

Even more impressive is that the slider ranks 13th (99th percentile) in terms of expected wOBA against it (.148)—the lowest mark of any slider in the sport.

Now, I don’t want to overstate the importance of the pitch, because he only throws it about 10% of the time—though it’s up to 15% here in July. Nor do I want to mistake the above stats as predictive of how well the pitch will continue to perform. But I am intrigued by the fact that there are some different ways Lauer has been using his slider this year compared to previous seasons, too. He’s throwing it in the zone more, up to 54.3% from 46.5% over 2022 and ‘23 combined. And it’s pretty clear he’s got a good idea of where he wants to put it in the zone, while still also using it as a pitch to get batters to chase.

In the first image we see where his sliders have ended up throughout his career…

…and now here’s 2025.

Batters are swinging more at it, understandably. And they’re swinging and missing more—particularly right-handed hitters, who are whiffing 39.4% of the time on the pitch, and a remarkable 27.3% of the time on sliders in the zone.

Seeing a tangible change like that does make it easier to believe in what he’s doing here—fastball up, slider down. He’s also keeping batters on their toes by using a cutter and a changeup that come in at about the same velo—certainly in a tighter band than in previous years of his career—but break in different ways. And that cutter has almost identical horizontal movement as the slider.

In fact, he’s doing a much better job than ever of keeping the cutter/slider and fastball/changeup moving horizontally to very similar degrees.

Does that add to the layers of deception at play here? Probably! Does that make it more or less likely to stick? I don’t know, man. It wasn’t that long ago that I remember being excited about Bowden Francis’s IVB and rate of fastballs in the zone, you know?

Without really being able to really see an elite weapon from a guy it’s always going to be tougher to get on board. But that’s sort of the thing here. There’s really no shuffling Lauer back a spot if you add a pitcher. He’s the one who will lose his rotation spot to an addition. And having him looming in a long relief role could complicate a situation with Scherzer, or anyone else who struggles, if Lauer continues to thrive.

Don’t get me wrong here. I’m certainly not saying that the Jays couldn’t or shouldn’t go out and add a pitcher because they already have Lauer. And that’s especially so because, in addition to all the other things that make his success a bit peculiar, he also ranks (among that same group of 144 pitchers I mentioned earlier) 10th in terms of lowest BABIP and 20th in terms of highest strand rate. Those metrics aren’t purely measures of luck, because there are plenty of great pitchers near the top of those leaderboards. But is Lauer one of those?

Like most, I’m leaning a hard no until I see a whole lot more. And I also, it must finally be addressed, don’t love his inability to go deep into games. That’s to put it lightly.

Lauer has gone six innings in two of his last three starts, but even if we very generously go back to when he really took hold of his rotation spot in mid-June, he’s still only averaging 5 1/3 innings every time he takes the ball. And it’s understandable why. His numbers when going a third time through the order are pretty horrific. Opponents have slashed .353/.368/.706 (.434 wOBA) against him when seeing him a third time this season. Just about everybody gets a hefty third-time-through penalty, but that’s awful—though it must be noted that we’re only talking about just 19 batters faced.

I’ve seen it suggested that his second-time-through numbers have also been abysmal, but that’s really only if you’re looking at games in which he’s been the starter. In those outings, opponents have slashed .242/.315/.455 (.334 wOBA) when seeing him a second time. But his overall numbers in the split (.202/.280/.369, .287) are significantly better, and the first set of numbers there were really dragged down by a couple of rough outings as a starter in May. They’ve been pretty good since, so I’m not especially concerned about that.

But the rather severe third-time-through penalty does feel meaningful, as do all the other things that indicate that he’s likely more Yarbrough-y or Stripling-y than, you know, Ryan-esque. Which is a conclusion that it probably didn’t need this many words to come to. Frankly, I just kind of wanted to dig into the whole Lauer thing a bit regardless.

I do think it’s a bit of a risk to displace him unless it’s clearly with someone who would be much better—someone who would start a playoff game for this team, and ideally would start game one or two of playoff series. But I also think that, as tough as it would be to do this to him, he’d look best in a long relief role. Which means that—to finally circle back to your question, Pat—even adding a guy who could just go a bit deeper and save the bullpen an extra inning every start or two would probably be meaningful enough to look beyond just the very top end of the starting pitching market. Especially if Scherzer is also going to be doing more of a five-and-dive thing.

All options are on the table, and given how rare the opportunity that’s in front of them is, I think all the chips have to be, too—for the right return, of course.

What does the optimal Blue Jays’ trade deadline look to you? Berríos trade 2.0? Rental starting pitcher? Bullpen arm(s)? Right-handed bat? All of the above? — Edward O.

Thanks so much for the question and the support, Edward! Uh… all of the above?

Not trying to be glib here, but I really do think the Jays could use whatever reinforcements they can get. As I said above, it’s an incredibly rare position they’re in, to genuinely have a potential bye into the division series in their sights. Yet I think anybody who has watched this team would be lying if they didn’t admit that they’re playing over their heads right now.

That’s not a bad thing, of course. A Blue Jays team that’s been better than the sum of its parts? Pinch me! But there’s work still to do to better position this roster to succeed in October. Do as much as possible there, please!

Hi Andrew! Just read a TSN article where Buster Olney says the Jays might focus on elite relievers. If you could rank the priorities of starter, bat, reliever, which one or two do you think the Jays should prioritize? Thanks! — Andre

Thanks so much for the question and the support, Andre! I’m not sure there’s necessarily a right answer to this question, because it all depends on who is available and for what price. But I’m not too bothered by what Olney was saying there. I think I would be most concerned if they came out of the deadline without at least another really strong reliever, and ideally two. Especially now that Yimi García is dealing with an ulnar nerve issue in his throwing elbow. That’s the same one that really sunk the second half of his season last year, and about which he said this week, per Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi, “I feel it maybe a little bit worse this time because it's going all the way to all my fingers.”

Right now the club has Tommy Nance, Mason Fluharty, and Justin Bruihl on the active roster, and those are definitely spots that can be upgraded. Add two arms and a starter that pushes Lauer back into a bulk role, then you hopefully get Yimi and Alek Manoah back in September with expanded rosters and sort it out from there.

Obviously the inevitability of injuries and changes in performance mean that we can’t really game it out quite so cleanly, but Bruihl, Fluharty, and Nick Sandlin (currently on the IL) all can be optioned, and losing Nance is palatable as the cost of doing business.

Whether a starter or some kind of a bat is the next priority for me is basically a toss-up. They could absolutely use at least one of both, especially now that we know Anthony Santander is still a couple weeks from even swinging a bat and may not get healthy in time to help them at all. But I think I could be OK with them not adding a starter if they did something special on the offensive side, and I could be comfortable with not adding offence if they ended up adding a true frontline starter—or at least a reasonable facsimile. Assuming, in both cases, that they also added in the bullpen. That’s priority one.

Would love to get your thoughts on what you’d like to see happen at the trade deadline—particularly around who you’d like to see the team keep among the older-but-still-interesting prospect-ish and Rule 5 guys at the bottom of the MLB roster and in the upper minors (Wagner, Loperfido, Clase, Roden, Orelvis, Pinango, Arias, etc.) that are, or are about to be, in need of 40-man spots. — Jason G.

Great question, Jason! Thanks so much for it and for the support. The types of guys you’re talking about here are pretty varied, so let’s put them into a few different buckets, add a few names, and take a quick look at each.

Out of options next spring: Jonatan Clase, Leo Jimenez, Orelvis Martinez

Clase isn’t having the year anybody hoped, particularly in the power department. He’s got just two home runs between the Majors and Triple-A this season, despite hitting 13 in 492 PA last year and 20 the year before. But the tools are still there, and he just turned 23 in May. The Jays could find a way to carry him next year despite his being out of options, but realistically he needs more development time and so will be better served by a move to a team that can give him runway. The Jays can wait to move him until the winter, so they’re not over a barrel. And maybe he increases his value by finishing strong. But if a team is enamored enough with his youth and skillset to offer back something that helps this team right now, that’s a great move in my book. Even if it’s just for a rental.

Jiménez is a guy I’ve half expected to see traded for a while now, but maybe that’s just because I don’t put enough value on a guy who can actually play shortstop in the big leagues while not killing you with his bat. Nice guys to have when they’re optionable, I suppose. But with Andres Giménez and Ernie Clement already set to be on the big league roster next season, Bo not yet completely ruled out, and Josh Kasevich in the mix as well, I think the Jays will be fine in that regard. And I’d hate to see another Otto Lopez situation here. (ICYMI, the former Jays shortstop was out of options heading into 2024, was designated for assignment when the club signed Yariel Rodríguez, ended up with the Marlins, and by the time this season is finished will likely be pushing 6 fWAR over the last two years.)

Martinez, unfortunately, is having an awful season in Buffalo, slashing just .192/.287/.372 (76 wRC+) with only 11 home runs in 301 PA. You just can’t do that after missing the end of the previous season because of a PED suspension when power was your calling card. Honestly, considering how low his value must be—stop including him in your trade suggestions, kids, I’m begging you!—at this point the best move might be to stick with him into next spring and see whether he sinks or swims. That way either he’s good and you can use him, or he’s bad and you can probably sneak him through waivers anyway.

Rule 5 considerations: Victor Arias, Angel Bastardo, Edward Duran, Ryan Jennings, Yohendrick Pinango, Kendry Rojas, Ricky Tiedemann

Arias is having a nice year that’s seen him promoted to Double-A, but he’s not exactly lighting it up—nor does he light up scouting reports, either. I have a hard time seeing a team thinking they could keep him in the big leagues for a full year next season, so I don’t see Rule 5 selection being a concern. So, if he does get dealt, I doubt that would be much of a factor.

Unlike the other names here, Bastardo isn’t in danger of being taken in the Rule 5, he’s in danger of having to be sent back to the Red Sox, from whom the Jays selected him in last year’s edition of the “event.” He’s now about 13 months out from Tommy John surgery and, unsurprisingly, the Jays seem to be taking it slow with him. There has been scant info about his recovery, and he’s not yet appearing in rehab games. He’s on the 60-day IL currently, so will need to take a 40-man spot back at the end of the season, but could conceivably be kept on the IL until then, which would give the Jays a free look at him next spring if they can manage to hold him through the winter. Theoretically they could move him to another team and let them deal with all of that, but given the uncertainty of what he’ll look like post-surgery I can't imagine he’s a hot commodity.

Duran, who was the third piece acquired in the Jordan Groshans/Anthony Bass-Zach Pop trade with the Marlins a couple years ago, is Rule 5-eligible, but has only just been promoted to High-A Vancouver. That alone would usually keep him out of such conversations, but he’s a strong defensive catcher with a decent bat that has found a new level in terms of power this year. A smart team might just bite on taking a guy like that in the Rule 5 and trying to carry him for a year as a glove-first backup. Given the lack of catchers in the Jays’ minor league system, it wouldn't shock me if they kept him and put him on the 40-man this winter. Either way, I don’t expect him to be a deadline factor. But, of course, you never know.

Jennings has 54 strikeouts in just 42 innings for Buffalo, a 2.79 ERA between Double- and Triple-A, and in his last appearance, on Saturday, struck out both batters he faced while getting four whiffs on five swings from seven sliders thrown. That’s certainly something. But he’s also walked 30 batters this year, his fastball velocity isn’t elite, he just turned 26, and he’ll be Rule 5 eligible this winter. That’s maybe the kind of guy a team would take a flier on and stick in their bullpen, and so maybe that’s a guy who fits the profile of a sweetener in a deal.

Pinango has cooled since he moved up to Triple-A, slumping to a 102 wRC+. That’s from the 171 mark he put up in New Hampshire earlier in the year, but his numbers in Buffalo are actually a little bit deceiving. His .240 BABIP points to some bad luck, he’s striking out even less that he was in Double-A, his ISO is second among the 15 Bisons with at least 100 PA this season, and—most impressively of all—out of 322 Triple-A batters his 93.8 mph average exit velocity ranks fifth. He’s behind only 26-year-old big league vets MJ Melendez and Luis Campusano, and top-10 MLB prospects Roman Anthony (BOS) and Samuel Basallo (BAL). And in hard hit rate he ranks third, behind only Anthony and Melendez. I think he might be a keeper who gets a 40-man spot this winter. But there’s definitely an outfield surplus, particularly with guys who hit from the left side. And since he’s basically free money—acquired last summer for Nate Pearson—maybe he’ll be easier to let go of if a trade partner really values him the way they should.

Rojas has certainly hit the ground running in New Hampshire, striking out 23 in 14 1/3 innings while walking just two in his first three starts at Double-A. He’s an intriguing guy who doesn’t seem far from a jump to Triple-A and a spot on the 40-man. We’ll talk a little more about him in part two of the mail bag, but if you can make real improvements to the team over the next week and the biggest prospect names you’re worried about having lost are Rojas, Pinango, or Clase, I think that's a pretty big win.

Tiedemann is progressing well as he recovers from Tommy John surgery performed a year ago, according to Doug Fox of Future Blue Jays. But though he’s throwing bullpens, he’s “well away from” game action, which makes him an unlikely trade option. That said, if the Jays are wary of the durability concerns there, and another team thinks there’s still a starter there, maybe there’s a path. He’d have value.

On the 40-man: Joey Loperfido, Adam Macko, Alan Roden, Davis Schneider, Will Wagner

Loperfido has got some nice big league numbers this season, but we’re only talking about a sample of 31 PA. With Buffalo he only has a 110 wRC+, just seven homers on the year, and the mean of the rest-of-season wRC+ projections on his FanGraphs page is just 87. That’s not to disparage him, because more power has certainly been there in the past, and there’s a world in which the Jays would be happy to be giving him a lot of runway right now. But this is not that world. And I have a hard time believing that next year will be that world either. Someone could turn two months of control into six years of control here, and they should think about it.

Macko has had a rough go in Buffalo since returning from knee surgery in June, striking out just 22 and walking 17 in 25 innings on his way to a brutal 8.28 ERA. Or at least he was until his most recent outing…

I don’t want to get too excited about one start here, but that’s good news. Still, he’s hard to read. There have definitely been down arrows here, as exemplified by the difference between his Baseball America capsule coming into 2024 (“multiple average or better pitches and improving command”) and what we see in their latest update (“unexceptional stuff and average command”). Maybe another team sees more there than the Jays do, maybe the Jays think they can do better with that 40-man spot, or maybe they’re content to hold and see through this project. Depth is important but it wouldn’t shock me to see him go, I suppose.

Roden is another nice prospect who was really getting hyped this spring. Though he hasn’t found his footing in the big leagues yet he seems to have solved Triple-A, putting up a 143 wRC+ for a second straight year in Buffalo, and striking out just 9.9% of the time—less than he walks. But though he produces some nice Statcast readings and has good on-base and contact skills, the power numbers just aren’t terribly impressive. And though he’s got athleticism and a solid arm, you'd probably like to do better in right field. So even if he might be an everyday guy in left and could potentially be part of next year’s crop of bottom-of-the-order success stories, I certainly don’t think the club should worry too much if a team with a player they want insists on big-league-ready talent and it has to be him that departs.

Schneider was in the leadoff spot against the Yankees and Max Fried this week, so this doesn’t really feel like a guy who we need to be talking about re: the trade block. He seems to be well-liked, he’s got a bit of pop, he’s sitting on a 130 wRC+ this season, and a 151 mark since he returned from a demotion at the start of June. And he’s been very good against lefties. But the strikeouts are high, his numbers against right-handers are sub-par, and he’s maybe not quite as contact-oriented as you’d like in a bench bat—especially if we’re thinking to playoff ball, or even against top relievers down the stretch. Against four-seamers this year he’s hitting .167 and slugging just .208. He’s doing enough damage against sliders and changeups that it maybe that doesn't matter so much, but—though I certainly don’t expect him to be dealt—I don’t think it’s out of the question to think there could be a better option out there for the sort of role he’s currently in. Not sayin’, just sayin’.

Wagner is another of these guys who is hot right now, does a lot of things well, doesn’t hit for power, doesn’t play a premium position, has value because of years of control, and is someone a team could plug into their lineup right now and have as a real piece going forward. Is it more value than he had a year ago, when he was viewed as the number three piece in the Kikuchi deal? Maybe, seeing as he’s had some big league success—and, I think, shown more athleticism than last year, after playing on one leg basically. But I don’t know if it's a ton. Maybe we’ll see! And if he goes, like any of these guys, I’m fine with that.

It’s really the guys we’ve not mentioned here that I’d be more uncomfortable about moving. Even then, it depends who is coming back. Prospects are for poor people, after all. Sell! Sell! Sell!

Who gets the next “Kirk extension” next? That contract looks brilliant in retrospect, great value deal. Maybe an out-of-nowhere Bo deal, not holding my breath on that one. I’d like to see a Varsho extension at this point personally. Should be able to get some decent value out of the extension with his injuries and struggles, and I think there is more in the tank. Worst case scenario, lock down defense in CF when healthy. — JP

Thanks for the question and the support, JP! This spring I would have definitely said Varsho, especially after it looked like he may have found another gear with his bat by leaning into his power. He certainly may still be someone the Jays look at that way, for all the reasons you’re saying. But I think the answer now may have shifted to Addison Barger, no?

Enh… actually, maybe no.

Perhaps that’s me getting ahead of myself. You’d like to see more proof of concept before you really lock in with Barger, I think. And with him slashing just .204/.264/.327 (65 wRC+) against same-sided pitching this year, you’d especially like to see more success against lefties. But he’s in the conversation with Varsho. And, for the moment, I don’t think anybody else is. (I’m not ruling out Bo returning, and we’ll get to that in part two, but he certainly won’t be signing anything that I’d call a “Kirk deal.”)

Dear Favorite Baseball Writer,

Hi. Hope things are well. I have a 2 pronged question.

What the hell ever happened to Bowden Francis and why the hell does nobody ever mention him? — BobTV

Hey! Thanks so much for the question, the kind words, and the support, Bob! Things are indeed well.

As for your question, Francis is still on the shelf, and actually recently experienced a setback while building back up and needed to be shut down again for 10 days. So, the most optimistic timeline for him to return is realistically pretty far down the line. But probably the bigger reason you’re not hearing much about him is that he was just so brutal this year that it’s hard to see a team with the aspirations the Jays now have giving him another look unless they're absolutely desperate for a warm body.

I think the ideal path for him is getting healthy then finishing strong in Buffalo.

There’s no way Josh Naylor can fit on this roster, whether at the deadline or as a free agent...right? — Jason G.

Yeah... I can’t definitively say no, but no. That said, I might have definitively said no had it not been for the news on Santander. I just have a hard time seeing this team, which has relied so much on defence, committing to having both Santander and Springer as full-time corner outfielders—which is what would have to be the case if they were to bring in someone to occupy the DH spot. Naylor’s been great against right-handers this year, but awful against lefties, and overall it would just be a bit of a weird fit. If we’re compromising the defence to add a great rental bat from the Diamondbacks, Eugenio Suárez is the way to go.

I was backpacking overseas in 1992, had moved to Australia in 1993, and could not take time off work in 2015 and 2016. The wildcard teams of 2022 and 2023 did not inspire me. But this team does. So as a lifelong and diehard fan my question is: at what point should I book a ticket home to watch the Jays in the playoffs? — OzRob

Thanks for the question and the support, Rob! For the love of god don’t hold me to this, because 1987s can happen, as I know you know. But I think you’re probably already safe to do it. If they can take a couple games in Detroit this weekend, go for it man! It’s a hell of a time to be a Blue Jays fan around here.

OK, that’s going to do it for part one! Stay tuned for part two in the coming days, and feel free to fire some more questions at me in the comments below, or the original call-out post, in the meantime!

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