Blue Jays: Which teams do they have to worry about the most?

Almost out of the race

While it’s almost at the point when you could call it a five-team race in the AL Wild Card picture, there are still two more teams that could change that narrative, even if it’s starting to look unlikely.

First up would be the Boston Red Sox, who have fallen to the bottom of the AL East after being one of the better teams in the American League for several years. After beating the Twins on Wednesday night they’re now 63-68, and 8.0 games behind the Blue Jays for the final postseason spot. Just as I said that I don’t really expect the Blue Jays to make up 8.0 games on the Yankees before the end of the year, I’d be very surprised if Boston can do the same in the Wild Card picture, especially when they have other teams to leapfrog as well. Things just haven’t gone their way this year, whether you’re talking about disappointing performances or a plethora of injury issues, but don’t be surprised if they’re back in the thick of things in 2023, even if the AL East is scarier than ever.

The other team I’d put in the same category would be Tony LaRussa’s Chicago White Sox, who are now 63-66 and 7.0 games back of the Blue Jays. There is a ton of talent in Chicago these days, and they were expected to be a legitimate American League contender in 2022, but it just hasn’t come together for the north siders.

The White Sox managed to snap their five-game losing streak by beating the Royals last night, but they were just 2-8 over their last 10 games prior to the win. They’re not completely out of the picture yet, but I think I’d bet on the Red Sox before I’d put much faith in the White Sox turning their season around.

For what it’s worth, the Blue Jays only have three games remaining against either team, with a three-game series against the Red Sox slated for Sept 30-Oct 2. Hopefully there’s only one team playing for anything once we get to that point.