This story was excerpted from Keegan Matheson's Blue Jays Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
The offseason comes quickly.
Toronto’s crushing 10-9 loss to the Mariners in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series will sting all winter -- and for years to come -- but 2023 doesn’t wait. The Blue Jays have holes to fill, and without the financial flexibility of years prior, they’ll need to get creative.
Let’s start with a look back:
Defining moment: The Collapse
Unless the Blue Jays can wipe this ugly memory from the minds of Blue Jays fans with a World Series win over the next few seasons, Toronto’s Game 2 meltdown against the Mariners will live on forever. It was that stunning.
The play to tie the game, where George Springer and Bo Bichette collided in center field, will be the lasting image. There have been hundreds and hundreds of balls hit against the Blue Jays this season that looked more threatening, but that was a harsh lesson on how fragile this whole thing can be after 162 games.
What we learned: The jump from good to great is difficult
The 2022 Blue Jays were a very good team. The ’23 team should be just the same. Making the jump from 91 or 92 wins to being a legitimate World Series contender, though, is one of the most challenging things a team faces.
So often, even elite teams have to deal with some heartbreak before getting over the hump. Margins become so thin in October, so this is a matter of a shifting perspective with the Blue Jays. They are no longer being compared to the rest of baseball, where being a top-five or top-eight team is good enough. They’re being compared to the best of the best.
Best development: Alek Manoah, ace
If Manoah had pitched to a 3.75 ERA and run out of gas down the stretch, we would have looked at that and said sure, this makes sense. The 24-year-old took his rookie season and blew it out of the water, though, pitching to a 2.24 ERA over 196 2/3 innings. He could sneak into the top three of AL Cy Young Award voting this season. It was a remarkable, inspiring season.
Most encouraging was Manoah’s consistency. Baseball is riddled with young starters who show up and dominate on Day 1, but so few of those last after teams see them a second, third or 10th time. It looks like Manoah is here to stay, and he’s as much a face of this franchise as anyone.
Area for improvement: Pitching depth
If Ross Stripling hadn’t stepped up so admirably, or if one more pitcher had shaken his arm, this could have sunk the Blue Jays’ season. Toronto’s upper-Minors pitching depth wasn’t nearly strong enough, and the Blue Jays are incredibly fortunate it wasn’t needed more.
Injuries and unexpected poor performances played into this, but the Blue Jays will need to stock up even more entering ’23. With two rotation spots to fill, they could be very busy at the middle and lower tiers of the market. If they’re aiming higher, the trade market, where suitors will be eyeing Toronto’s catchers, becomes attractive.
On the rise: Ricky T
What a season Ricky Tiedemann just had. The 2021 third-rounder started in Single-A and climbed to Double-A by season’s end, posting a 2.17 ERA with 117 strikeouts over 78 2/3 innings. His talent is MLB-ready, period.
A hard-throwing strikeout machine from the left side with some swagger and a ponytail spilling out the back of his cap, Toronto's top prospect has fan favorite written all over him. He’ll open in Double-A or Triple-A next season and be an option early. His workload needs to be monitored, but the Blue Jays may have a truly special pitcher here.
Team MVP: Alek Manoah
Manoah’s contributions were especially valuable given that José Berríos threw up a 5.23 ERA and the Blue Jays dealt with inconsistencies from the back end. If he’d been just good, the Blue Jays’ season looks completely different, but Manoah established himself as one of the American League’s premier pitchers for years to come.