5 Blue Jays players that have been major disappointments this season

For the 2023 season, there have been many Toronto Blue Jays players that have played a major role in leading the team to success so far this season. First and foremost has to be the tremendous bounce back seasons by starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi and, to a slightly lesser extent, José Berríos. After struggling for almost the entire 2022 season, in particular for Kikuchi who was even relegated to bullpen duties near the end of the season, both pitchers have been a renaissance for 2023 in leading the Jays to many victories so far this year.

In addition to Kikuchi and Berríos, there have been strong contributions from unexpected sources in both Whit Merrifield and Kevin Kiermaier. Being a huge question mark near the start of the season, Merrifield has revitalized his career by regaining his prior All-Star form this season with the Jays, while Kiermaier has combined his stellar defence with some unforeseen offensive output to help the ballclub. In terms of the Jays’ bullpen, left-handed reliever Tim Mayza has been having the best season in recent memory from a relief pitcher, while trade deadline acquisition Génesis Cabrera has been truly lights out ever since joining the team in July.

At the same time, there have been some players that have severely underachieved this season. As a result, they have turned out to be major disappointments for the Blue Jays this year, as much more was expected from them than what they have produced so far. No doubt they would certainly need to step up their game soon in order for them to have further success with the team and in their careers in the long run.

In this review, we will take a look at five Jays’ players that have unfortunately failed to meet expectations for the 2023 year.

Alejandro Kirk

Coming off an impressive breakout season in 2022, Alejandro Kirk was set to take off for the Blue Jays for 2023 as one of their primary catchers on the roster. After all, not only was Kirk a first-time All-Star, he also won his first ever Silver Slugger award by batting .285 with a .786 OPS, along with 59 runs scored, 19 doubles, 14 home runs, 63 RBI, 63 walks and only 58 strikeouts in 139 games played. He was so impressive that we even named him as one of the most important players for the Jays’ future at one point in time.

However, the 2023 season has turned out to be quite the disappointment so far for Kirk. Not only has he been unable to build upon his growth from the previous season, he has even lost playing time now to Danny Jansen, who has been clutch for the Jays thus far. For 2023, Kirk has struggled to a .247 batting average, along with a .667 OPS, with 23 runs scored, six home runs, 30 RBI, 29 walks and 34 strikeouts in 95 games played. He is currently on pace for less than 10 home runs and 40 RBI for the season, while batting almost 20 points below his career average.

Despite the down season, the good part is that Kirk is still at the young age of 24, so he still has plenty of time to develop and work on his hitting approach at the plate to mould himself into a more consistent hitter over time. Added to the fact that the Jays also have Jansen in the mix, it gives Kirk some extra leeway in maturing his game so that he can be the potent contributor we saw in 2022 once again in the near future.

Santiago Espinal

The rise and fall couldn’t have come any faster and harder than what Santiago Espinal has experienced these past couple of years. Acquired from the Boston Red Sox back in 2018 in exchange for Steve Pearce, Espinal finally got his chance to shine with the big league club back in 2021. Playing in a part-time role at third base, while sharing the duties with the likes of Cavan Biggio, Joe Panik and Breyvic Valera, Espinal put together a solid season in which he hit a solid .311 with a .781 OPS, along with 32 runs scored, 13 doubles, two home runs, 17 RBI and six stolen bases in 92 games played. What made him stand out among the group was also his ability to flash the leather at the hot corner at the same time.

He would then follow that season up with his coming out party in 2022. His rapid ascension in becoming a Jays’ everyday player materialized that season, as he beat out Biggio to become the permanent starter at second base. Not only did he continue to provide stellar defence at the position, Espinal would also have a breakout season at the plate. His hard work and success was eventually recognized when he was named an All-Star for the first time in his career in the process. He finished the season with a .267 average, 51 runs scored, 25 doubles, seven home runs, 51 RBI and six stolen bases in 135 games played.

Despite the breakout season, Espinal did encounter a cold spell near the end of the 2022 season, but many believed it was perhaps just due to fatigue as he hadn’t played in so many games in a season previously in his career. However, his struggles did end up carrying over into the 2023 season. Not only has he lost his starting gig at second base to Merrifield, he has also lost a lot of playing time overall due to his struggles at the plate. Unfortunately with those struggles, which probably had some effect on his overall confidence, it has inadvertently affected his defence somewhat as well, as he hasn’t been as sure-handed as he used to be from previous seasons. It has truly been a disappointing year for Espinal, as he has hit only .222 with a .596 OPS, 26 runs scored, two home runs and 19 RBI in 73 games of action. He will really need to step it up soon if he hopes to maintain a spot on the big league roster with Jays for the near future.

Alek Manoah

Perhaps the biggest disappointment of them all has been the unexpected decline of former Jays’ ace and pitching sensation Alek Manoah. The former first round draft pick from the 2019 MLB Draft took the MLB by storm in his rookie debut season back in 2021. Despite joining the big league club in late May, Manoah became a key part of the Jays’ starting rotation for the rest of the season. Pitching like a seasoned-veteran, he posted strong numbers across the board, with a 9-2 winning record, 3.22 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, with 127 strikeouts in just 111.2 innings pitched in 20 starts.

If people weren’t impressed already, he quickly followed that up with a Cy Young-calibre season in 2022. In becoming the team’s co-ace along with Kevin Gausman, Manoah compiled a stellar 16-7 record with a 2.24 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, giving up just 49 earned runs, 51 walks and 180 strikeouts in 196.2 innings of work. He would end up being named to his first All-Star game, along with being a finalist for the AL Cy Young award. As a result, many were looking forward to what he had in store for everyone for 2023.

Unfortunately, it has been a complete disaster for Manoah for the 2023 season. Practically almost everything that could go wrong has gone wrong for the big man, as he struggled with control, command and consistency throughout the whole season, ultimately leading to his demotion to the minors on multiple occasions. So far this year, Manoah has posted an unworldly 3-9 record, 5.87 ERA, 1.74 WHIP, giving up 57 earned runs including 15 home runs, 59 walks and 79 strikeouts in just 87.1 innings pitched. As he looks to work on his pitching mechanics to regroup and recapture his pitching magic from the past, the short-term outlook for his future with the ballclub appears cloudy, as it will be up to Manoah to turn things around as soon as possible to become a player of significance once again.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Some may find it surprising to find one of our supposedly franchise players on this list, but somehow, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has been quite the disappointment so far this year for the Blue Jays. If we actually take a careful look at the stats, Guerrero has still produced respectable numbers for the season. In 127 games, he has batted .267 with a .778 OPS, 61 runs scored, 26 doubles, 20 home runs, 79 RBI, four stolen bases, 50 walks and 82 strikeouts. Based on that, one would agree that those production numbers aren’t amazing, but overall still appear quite decent.

However, the main reason why Guerrero has been a huge disappointment in the eyes of the Jays’ faithful is because of what he accomplished back in 2021. That season, Guerrero had a huge breakout season, showing the world he had finally arrived by hitting .311 with a stellar 1.002 OPS, scoring 123 runs to lead the league, along with 29 doubles, 48 home runs (also tops in the league), 111 RBI, 86 walks and 110 strikeouts in 161 games played. He would end up finishing second to Japanese two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani for the AL MVP award, and probably would have won it if it was any other season.

As a result, that season has thus become the standard for Guerrero for probably the rest of his career. That is because for superstars like Ohtani, Mike Trout and Aaron Judge to name a few, it is expected they would be able to provide similar levels of output year in and year out in leading their respective teams’ offensive charge. In doing so, Guerrero was now leaned upon as the leader for the Jays and was expected to post big numbers each year to take them to the next level.

But because he has failed to come through in the clutch with the big hit at critical points in certain games, along with not being able to maintain consistency in his hitting and run production ever since the 2021 season, he has become a major disappointment in the eyes of many. Perhaps if less demand and pressure is put on his shoulders due to his anointed superstar status, he may be able to discover his offensive mojo once again to lead the Jays to more success in the future. That way, as Guerrero eventually matures in both his mindset and attitude towards the game, he will ultimately be able to deliver at the biggest moments for everyone to appreciate with gratitude from there onwards.