Blue Jays Morning Brew: Big Apple bound!

The Blue Jays are going streaking! Their series sweep of the Minnesota Twins has catapulted them into an AL Wild Card spot, but this feels like a team capable of something much greater. With Dickey, Price and Estrada due up in the Bronx, Toronto should have a great opportunity to gain some ground in the AL East. To help get you through your Friday, let’s start off with some of the best Blue Jays news and stories from around the web. TGIF, people. The Jays are for real!

Creativity in the rotation  –  The hot topic following another in a long line of poor starts from Drew Hutchison was potentially demoting the struggling young right-hander. That would be ideal, but in order for that to happen, the Blue Jays would need quality depth. As Jeff Simmons of the National Post reports, manager John Gibbons could get creative with matchups instead.

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“We’re getting too far ahead there talking about Drew going down,” Gibbons said when appearing on Baseball Central. “We can do anything we want with these off days. We have a number of them coming up and we can tinker with some things.” That sounds like a man open to pushing Hutchison back whenever possible.

Everybody loves Jose. Right?  –  Matt Gwin of Blue Jays Plus brings us this great piece on Jose Bautista, who has, in some strange way, lost a little love in the wake of Toronto’s massive additions. Matt makes a great point throughout: would these big additions have been possible without Bautista’s work?

“Once again, if Jose Bautista is not a Blue Jay, there is no Price, Donaldson, Tulowitzki, or Martin. Remember that not only is Bautista the sole reason that the 2015 Blue Jays were buyers and not sellers, but he’s also the biggest fan and lobbyist that this team has.” One of many reasons that I hope to see the club extend Bautista beyond his 2016 option.

We The Baseball North  –  Here’s a quick clip to fire you up, which Geoff Lowe of Sportsnet shared in his Wednesday article. Scott Ewing mashed up the Toronto Raptors’ “We The North” campaign with a splash of Blue Jays, and the results are a sight to behold. Are you ready for playoff baseball?

Bombs away in T.O.  –  Roger Schlueter of MLB.com brought us a nice Blue Jays stat on Wednesday as part of his “Stats of the Day” feature. Jose Bautista, Josh Donaldson and Edwin Encarnacion now all sit at 20 home runs or above, and Russell Martin has a shot to join them by the end of the season. Toronto also has a .386 winning percentage when allowing five or more runs, which is the highest mark in baseball. You’re welcome, Hutch.

Next: Blue Jays contracts and control roundup for 2016

More from Jays Journal

• Matt Chapman has been exactly what the Blue Jays needed
• Blue Jays: The goalposts are moving in the right direction
• Single-A Dunedin Blue Jays advance to the Championship Series
• Blue Jays: Comparisons for Alek Manoah’s Second Season
• Blue Jays: Adam Cimber, the unlikely decision King