Toronto Blue Jays: The Rebuild from 2018 to Now

2018: Curtis Granderson/Teoscar Hernandez, Kevin Pillar, Randal Grichuk, Kendrys Morales

It’s funny to think that Hernandez and Grichuk have been around this long. Teoscar was still trying to make it as a major league hitter. His lack of plate discipline and abundance of swings and misses led to a lot of inconsistency at the plate. It wouldn’t be until two years later that he would unleash his potential. Teo’s left field counterpart, Curtis Granderson, opened the season with the Jays before he was shipped to the Milwaukee  Brewers at the deadline. Granderson was productive over 104 games, finishing with a .342 OBP and a 112 OPS+. Pillar was beginning his sharp decline in offensive production. While he was still great in centre field, he posted a lowly 86 OPS+.

2018 was the year that Randal Grichuk swindled the Blue Jays into giving him a five-year extension. This career season yielded a 117 OPS+, his highest over a full season.

As for the designated hitter position, Kendrys Morales would be about as standard as possible. Over 130 games, he swatted 21 home runs and drove in 57.

2019: Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Hernandez, Grichuk, Rowdy Tellez

This is the year that the core outfield began to take shape. That being said, it didn’t come without its growing pains. Gurriel Jr. started the season as the club’s second baseman. An inability to consistently make throws to first led to a brief demotion to AAA. There he continued to hit, while also adapting to playing left field. Since then, he’s become a polarizing fielder. He has a cannon of an arm but frequently takes questionable routes on line drives and fly balls.

This would be the last year of being frustrated by Teo’s play. As a subpar centre fielder and an all-or-nothing hitter, Hernandez was running out of time to prove himself. Despite only hitting .230, he still managed a 105 OPS+ thanks to his ability to gather extra-base hits.

Grichuk was Grichuk. He had his hot streaks and actually managed to do something remarkable! Not in a good way. Grichuk finished 2019 with 31 home runs. Despite this high power output, he still managed to be a below-average hitter, as he posted a 93 OPS+. This is most likely what led to a lowly .280 OBP.

Looking at the DH spot, Rowdy Tellez took over after Kendrys Morales was traded after Spring Training. While he hit 21 home runs, his .227 average and .293 OBP left a bit to be desired.

2020: Gurriel, Grichuk, Hernandez, Tellez

This is the same group from before, except for the notable offensive improvements over the shortened 60 game season. Gurriel was a Gold Glove Finalist while hitting .308 and having a 138 (!) OPS+. Despite my personal feelings on the matter, Grichuk actually showed up this season. He got hot at the right time, hitting .273 and leading the team with 35 RBIs. Tellez was also electric this year, hitting .283 with 8 home runs over 35 games. All of this paled in comparison to Teoscar’s breakout season.

Prior to 2020, Teo was a lifetime .237 hitter. He was an incredible athlete, having both notable power and speed, but was not able to translate it into noteworthy Major League performance. Then came 2020. He revamped his hitting approach which led to an increased barrel percentage and a massive uptick in stats. His .919 OPS was 141 points higher than his previous career-high. Teo was a big reason why the Blue Jays remained a fringe playoff team in 2020.

2021: Gurriel, George Springer/Grichuk, Hernandez, Corey Dickerson

2021 brought the same core, with some heavy reinforcements. The most notable is George Springer, who signed a 6-year deal with the Blue Jays during the offseason. The former Astros outfielder had trouble staying on the field. He was able to post a .907 OPS but only over 78 games. Springer’s production was attempted to be replicated by Grichuk and a mid-season acquisition of Corey Dickerson. The latter performed admirably, posting a 110 OPS+ over 46 games in a Jays uniform. Grichuk, meanwhile, had a somewhat fraudulent season. After an early hot streak, he crashed hard for the rest of the season. Over 149 games he accrued an 89 OPS+.

With the disappointing parts considered, there also came some encouraging play. Gurriel was about as solid as a left fielder can be. After a rough start, he rebounded with a strong second half. He finished with a 111 OPS+ and 84 runs driven in while also being a Gold Glove finalist for the second time in his career. In addition to Gurriel, Teoscar proved his breakout was for real. Instead of being Fraudoscar, Hernandez started in his first All-Star game and hit 32 home runs while driving in 116 runs. This year of outfielders leaves the Blue Jays with a strong base to go off of for 2022.

2022: Gurriel, Springer, Hernandez, Grichuk

The outfield is an area that no doubt needs the least improvement. Here are four well above average to average Major League outfielders. All have room to grow as well. A more consistent Gurriel Jr, continued improvement from Hernandez, and a healthy season from Springer will do wonders for the Blue Jays. This outfield group goes to show the Blue Jays’ ability to identify and develop talent, as well as show their willingness to spend on worthy players.