Blue Jays: Obvious, interesting, and drastic changes to make

The best laid plans for the Blue Jays haven’t gone all that well early in the 2021 campaign, and it might be time for Charlie Montoyo to make some changes.

A lot of what he’ll have the power to do will depend on the health of his roster, as valuable players have been dropping like flies lately. They should get some reinforcements back over the next few days and weeks, but until then they’re going to have to find a way to stay competitive, especially for important games with the Red Sox and Rays this week.

While it would be ideal if Montoyo was working with a healthy roster, there are still things the skipper can do to give his current locker room a lift. Even though we’re through just 10% of the season, there are a few things that are already becoming pretty clear, even if I’m normally on the side of patience for talented players. In some cases I still believe that’s the best recipe, like Rowdy Tellez’s bat waking up after a horrific start, but in others I think the manager may need to take matters into his own hands.

Like any decent armchair GM, I have all kinds of ideas about how this could be accomplished, but I’ve narrowed it down to three for today. One is an obvious change that needs to happen, the second is what I view as a sensical idea, and the last is a pretty drastic tweak that I’d make to the lineup card.

There’s a decent chance that Montoyo and the Blue Jays won’t make any major changes this early in the season, but we’re starting to get a big enough sample size that a few adjustments need to be at least considered.