Blue Jays Nation Radio

The slow walk to the end of the 2024 season continues. The Blue Jays hosted the Tampa Bay Rays this week in Toronto and dropped their third series in a row with one win and two losses. We talked about Jose Berrios' splits from April and May compared to June and July, how Yariel Rodriguez has been a bright spot this year, and Chris Bassitt's comments following a 13-0 pounding in the series finale. After that, we looked at the rumour from Jon Heyman that the Seattle Mariners showed interest in Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the deal they wound up making to acquire Randy Arozarena. Finally, we looked ahead to this weekend's series with the Texas Rangers.

With the All-Star break in the rearview mirror, we're now officially into the second half of the 2024 MLB season. The Blue Jays hosted the Detroit Tigers and got dropped on Friday and Saturday but avoided being swept with a win on Sunday. We looked back at the notable things from the weekend, including the performance that Yusei Kikuchi had in what might be his last start as a Blue Jay and the huge series that George Springer had at the plate. After that, we looked at the calf injury that resulted in Bo Bichette going on the Injured List and dug into a rumour from Bob Nightengale that he would welcome a trade from the Blue Jays. Finally, we looked ahead to this week's series against the Tampa Bay Rays.  

The 2024 MLB Draft happened this week, so we welcomed Brendon Kuhn to the show to talk about the players that the Blue Jays selected. We looked at the three pitchers they selected with their picks in the first three rounds and then looked at some possible late-round steals from further down the draft. After that, we talked about the team's big-picture strategy and what they're looking to add to their system. Finally, we took a look at how the season has gone for the Blue Jays and what to expect at this summer's trade deadline and beyond.  

It's the All-Star break, meaning the first half of the 2024 Major League Baseball season has come to an end. We took a quick look at what happened this weekend in Arizona, as the Blue Jays dropped two of three to the Diamondbacks. After that, we went through a Three Up, Three Down for the first half of the season, which included the bats not bouncing back, injuries to the pitching staff, the bullpen imploding, and quite a reach for positives. 

Make that back-to-back series wins for the Toronto Blue Jays, as they continued their West Coast road trip by taking two of three against the San Francisco Giants. We talked about Yusei Kikuchi's 13-strikeout gem being blown on a walk-off wild pitch, the Blue Jays teeing off for 10 runs for just the third time in a game this season, and how Matt Chapman and Jordan Hicks performed against their former club. After that, we talked about the team's decision to place Kevin Kiermaier on revocable waivers, Bo Bichette's comments about free agency, and ahead to this weekend's series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. 

The Toronto Blue Jays sent the travelling fans in Seattle home happy, as the visiting team took two of three from the Mariners this weekend. We talked about all of the good stuff Toronto's first series win in Seattle since 2018, including Yariel Rodriguez's first Major League win and Leo Jimenez's first big-league hits. We also talked about Addison Barger being optioned back down to Triple-A Buffalo and the next steps in Ricky Tiedemann's rehab assignment. After that, we looked at the All-Star Game rosters, Kevin Pillar reaching 10 years of MLB service time, and ahead to this week's series with the San Francisco Giants. 

The Blue Jays put up a listless loss at home on Canada Day on Monday and wound up dropping three of four to the visiting Houston Astros. We talked about the excellent start by Yariel Rodriguez that was wasted, how the extreme regression from the bullpen was something nobody saw coming this season, and Leo Jimenez coming up as the latest recall from Triple-A Buffalo.After that, we looked at Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s recent quote about his long-term status in Toronto and ahead to this weekend's series in Seattle. 

After being swept in back-to-back series, the Blue Jays earned a split in Boston against the Red Sox and saw their losing streak end at seven games. We talked about Monday's blown lead by the bullpen and Tuesday's rebound win, which was highlighted by a seven-run inning. We also talked about Bo Bichette's return to the lineup from the Injured List and what the team missed while he was gone. After that, we looked into Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s quote about potentially playing for New York, along with some other rumours about where the first baseman could land if the Blue Jays blow it up. Finally, we looked ahead to this weekend's four-game set with the Yankees. 

The Toronto Blue Jays have dropped six games in a row, as the team went to Cleveland over the weekend and got swept aside by the Guardians. We talked about all the ugly stuff from this series, including Yariel Rodriguez's rough return from the Injured List and the Blue Jays scoring only nine runs over the course of three games. We also talked about top prospect Orelvis Martinez getting suspended 80 games for violating MLB's performance-enhancing drug policy.  After that, we looked ahead to this week's series in Boston against the Red Sox, a team that's moving in the opposite direction of the Blue Jays.