All-star break ends, Blue Jays must get on a roll or heads must roll

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The unofficial second half of the season for the Blue Jays begins Friday night when the Arizona Diamondbacks come to town for a three-game series.

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By most standards, the Jays have been generally known for their under-achievement this year, while the D’Backs have overachieved. Granted, the Blue Jays come out of the all-star break on pace for an 89-win season, but much more was expected beyond competing for a wild-card spot.

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In contrast, Arizona begins its second-half run in a virtual tie for first place in the NL West with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

At 52-39, the Diamondbacks have already won as many games as they did for the entire 2021 season when they finished last in the division, a staggering 55 games behind the first-place San Francisco Giants.

Much will be made of the off-season trade that sent popular outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr., and top catching prospect Gabriel Moreno to Arizona for Daulton Varsho.

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While his batting average has dropped from .291 last year to .263, Gurriel has enjoyed a bounce-back season in the power department with 15 home runs — after hitting just five in Toronto last year — and even took part in the all-star game on Tuesday.

His spirits are sure to be buoyed when he returns to the Rogers Centre for the first time.

Moreno, as one might expect given his inexperience, has endured a season of inconsistency, batting a respectable .267, but with just two homers in 210 at-bats.

Varsho began the season in the Blue Jays’ cleanup spot, which pretty much underscores one of the most glaring areas of deficiency Toronto has yet to address.

And while his left-handed bat was sorely needed, he brings only a .214 average into the weekend series against his former team, along with a dozen homers and 11 steals.

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Defensively, Varsho has more than lived up to his advance billing, showing off great range and a strong arm from both left field and centre.

But, for the Jays to be viewed as a serious post-season threat, the need to produce offensively is where this team must upgrade. As the Aug. 1 trade deadline nears, some kind of move to add pop must be mulled.

At last year’s trade deadline, the Jays pulled the trigger on a deal with Kansas City to acquire the versatile Whit Merrifield. He has been as advertised — a pro who can play multiple positions, get on base and who leaves everything out on the field. He also entered the all-star break on something of a power surge.

Perhaps a similar move must be engineered, but this time it must involve a power bat. The Jays rank 16th in the majors in home runs and 16th in RBIs, tepid numbers considering the hitting talent on this team.

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Vladimir Guerrero Jr., has hit three home runs at home — although all three have come in his past nine games at the dome.

His win at the Home Run Derby during the all-star festivities in Seattle might inject some added confidence, but Vladdy must now take his offence to another level.

Alejandro Kirk has hit only three home runs this season — none since June 5 — after totalling 14 a year ago.

Toronto’s pitching, led by Kevin Gausman, has been good, despite some uneven stretches. Starter Jose Berrios and relievers Trevor Richards and Tim Mayza, to name a few, entered the break by pitching well.

If there is another reason for optimism, it’s that opening-day starter Alek Manoah might be back to his former self. After spending a month at the Jays’ Florida development complex trying to get his mechanics and his swagger back, the big right-hander made a promising return to the rotation in Detroit, allowing only one run in a 12-2 Jays romp. Manoah did not yield a single walk and he got ahead of batters by throwing first-pitch strikes.

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As the post-break schedule begins, it’s make or break time. Beginning Friday night, the Blue Jays’ next 15 games will be against Western opponents in the D’Backs, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, Dodgers and Los Angeles Angels. Once that stretch ends, Toronto will begin a critical seven-game slate against Baltimore and Boston. Combined, the Jays have gone 1-12 against their AL East rivals.

At no point this season have the Jays won more than six games in a row. When they did, three came against the Chicago White Sox, a team Toronto swept during its six-game season series.

So, the next few weeks leading up to the trade deadline should tell a lot about this team and hammer home the types of bold moves GM Ross Atkins will have to consider, if he hasn’t already.

Toronto needs to get on a roll or heads must roll.

To say the Blue Jays have been mediocre this season would be wrong. But they begin anew with the arrival of Arizona, and it’ll be a time to show consistency and a level of sustained winning.

Anything short and the team’s inconsistent ways will eventually scuttle a once-promising season.

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