Toronto Blue Jays: The Rebuild from 2018 to Now

Fans of the Toronto Blue Jays can now confidently say their favourite team is competitive. Not since this offseason has there been such sky high expectations, at least in the last five or so years.

While the core of the 2015-2016 team is long gone, you can guarantee that this young group of players wants nothing short of a World Series. The transition from that veteran core of players to this one wasn’t seamless however. There existed a period of mediocrity and frustration between then and now.

Following the 2016 season, the Blue Jays were still making an effort to contend. The team signed Kendrys Morales to replace Edwin Encarnacion going into 2017, among other transactions. Nevertheless, regression and injuries led the Jays to a record of 76-86 and a fourth-place finish in the American League East. This was a signal that the Blue Jays were headed into rebuild mode. Veterans were traded in exchange for prospects and younger players were given shots to help the club in the following years.

The Blue Jays have made the transition to competitiveness going into 2022. The rebuild happened rather quickly, but how exactly did we get here?

As 2018 was getting underway, it was clear the Blue Jays were prepping for a big future. As most cases go, a big future means a fairly subpar couple of years before that. The Blue Jays were content with putting out a lacklustre starting nine, as their next wave of top prospects developed in the minor leagues. That season marked the start of the Blue Jays short but effective rebuild.

Today we are going to take a look back at the players we had both the pleasure and displeasure of seeing night after night as the Blue Jays made the transition to being the American League powerhouse they currently find themselves.