Show Notes
The Eric Lauer era is over. Long live 2025 Eric Lauer!
But, unfortunately for the Blue Jays, the 2026 version of Lauer—the version that could barely crack 91 on his fastball—was clearly not going to a the rotation's saviour for a second season in a row, resulting in him being designated for assignment earlier in the week.
Was his exit hastened by his weirdly public disgruntledness with his role? Is it fair to thrust Spencer Miles into the fifth spot in the Jays' rotation? Could Chad Dallas get a look? How close is Jake Bloss? Will Addison Barger really just need 10 days on the injured list? What on earth is up with Vladdy lately? And can Daulton Varsho's walk-off grand slam against the Rays maybe, finally be the turning point for this stuggling club?
This week we search for the answers to these questions, and a whole lot more. Have a listen!
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More from Blue Jays Happy Hour
A disappointing 2026 season for the Blue Jays is in the books, Ross Atkins and Mark Shapiro have already put a bow on it with their annual end-of-season media conferences, and we're forced now to look back one last time to a season of bad vibes, to praise Brett Bateman for saving the whole thing to the extent that it could have been saved, to try to make some news from Atkins' word salad, and to look ahead to the reshaping of the team that's to come—including a surprising second base target—and (hopefully) a full schedule of baseball in 2027.
The Blue Jays have officially been eliminated from playoff contention, and their season is now winding to a close. But rather than talking about playing out the string, or looking back on a season of disappointments, we're mostly talking about the latest Vladimir Guerrero Jr. flap, and the disproportionate response to it!
The Blue Jays can afford to spin their wheels no longer. Or, well, if we're being real, they couldn't afford to spin their wheels the way they did over the last week either—squandering multiple opportunities and losing multiple winnable games, just as they've done far too often all season. But here we are. Three massive weekend games with the Texas Rangers, then we'll see on Monday just how much hope remains.
The Jays did themselves—and the vibes surrounding them—no favours this week, dropping two of three to the battered Athletics in Sacramento. Fortunately, the Orioles did do them a favour, taking a pair from Cleveland, meaning they're right back where they started the week, a game back of the third AL Wild Card spot—only now there are just 15 games to go.
The Blue Jays have started September the way they ended August, taking a crucial series in Cleveland—including the biggest game of the year (so far) on Thursday afternoon—to pull within a half game of the Guardians in the AL Wild Card race, while also securing the tiebreaker against them. Vlad had a huge game, Cease is incredible, Brett Bateman has been an enormously unexpected surprise, and the bullpen is holding it all together. Even the rotation, which remains messy, got good news this week in the fact that Trey Yesavage is progressing from knee surgery and may be able to return before the playoffs. He’s pitching this year.