Grading the Blue Jays through the first month of the season

The Blue Jays entered the 2025 MLB season looking to prove doubters wrong after they missed out on the postseason in 2024.

And it looked like they were prepared to do just that after they went 5-2 over the first week of the season in a time frame that was punctuated by a sweep of the Washington Nationals.

But then the struggles began in the form of a road sweep at the hands of the New York Mets.

That series ended up being an omen for the rest of April, as the Blue Jays finished the month with a record of 14-16 despite being four games over .500 in the middle of the month.

Here's what we think of how the month went.

Grading the Blue Jays through the first month of the season

Blue Jays season grade after April: C-

While every team uses April to work through the kinks that come with the start of the season, having a slow April can put a team in a hole that they can't dig out of.

While you can't make the postseason in April, you can put yourself on the path to miss it.

That thinking is the reason why gave the Blue Jays a C- grade for their start of the season.

The Blue Jays concluded April yesterday with a 7-6 comeback win against the Boston Red Sox. Even with that, they have a 14-16 record on the season, which is a bit disappointing.

The Blue Jays were 12-8 through the first 20 games of the season after beating the Seattle Mariners on April 18 before closing the month by losing eight of their final 10 games.

One player in particular who's struggled immensely through the first month is Anthony Santander.

The Blue Jays signed Santander to a five-year, $92.5 million contract in the offseason in the hopes that he'd be able to provide some power and some support for Vladimir Guerrero Jr., but he hit just .175 with four home runs across the first month of the season.

But it looks like he could be turning things around, and he hit a game-tying three-run home run last night and could benefit from playing in the field a bit more.

The biggest positive for the Blue Jays is George Springer starting to look like his old self.

After finishing with an OPS+ under 100 in 2023 and '24, Springer's had a phenomenal start to the season and is hitting .308 through 28 games.

The Blue Jays have also gotten a strong start from closer Jeff Hoffman. He's made the ninth inning a breeze and has allowed just two runs through 15 1/3 innings. He looks fully healthy and is keeping batters on edge thanks to some adjustments to his pitch useage.

Bo Bichette is leading the Blue Jays with 38 hits and has been a dangerous option in the leadoff spot, while Chris Bassit has put last year's struggles in the rearview mirror (2.62 ERA in 34 1/3 innings).

However if the Blue Jays' April struggles continue into the rest of the season, both Bichette and Bassitt could find themselves on the trade block come July.

Players like Springer, Bichette, Bassitt, Hoffman and Guerrero will need to stay hot for Toronto to stay in the hunt for the American League East crown.

Their six-run comeback yesterday is a strong way to gain some confidence and garner some momentum heading into May. The Blue Jays weren't a perfect team in April, but we were able to see some signs that they could be a competitive team.

We'll see if they'll be able to build on that in May.