5 bold internal moves the Blue Jays could make to jumpstart the offense

For much of the 2024 season for the Toronto Blue Jays, their offense no doubt has been one of their main Achilles’ heel. Currently ranked second last in the league in runs scored (173), 28th in hits (347), 26th in home runs (39), and 25th in batting average (.228) and OPS (.666), they have been a far cry from the offensive juggernaut they once were just over a couple of years ago. Despite their starting pitching doing their best to keep the Jays within striking distance of a playoff spot, they will need the offense to step up big time and be more consistent for any kind of sustained success. To put things in perspective, Monday’s outburst against the Chicago White Sox was only the eighth time this season that they managed to put up more than five runs in a game.

As a result, what internal moves can the Jays make that could help jumpstart their sputtering offense? Here, we take a look at five bold ways they should consider that could end up paying huge dividends.

 Joey Votto time can’t come soon enough

During the past offseason, the Jays made a surprising signing when they brought home Joey Votto on a minor league contract. With a lifetime batting average of .294, OPS of .920, along with 356 home runs and 1144 RBI in over 2000 career games, let’s just say Votto knows a thing or two about hitting and generating offense. Despite being already 40-years old, Votto showed that he had some game left in him just last season when he posted 14 home runs and 38 RBI in just 65 games, which projects to a highly-productive 35 home runs and 95 RBI worth of output over a full season.

If it hadn’t been for a mishap in the dugout after hitting a home run in his first spring training at-bat, he may have been part of the Jays’ roster by now already. Recent updates on Votto’s recovery from his ankle injury revealed that he has begun taking live batting practice and ran the bases this past week. From the way it looks, he could be on his way to seeing live game action soon. Such good news can’t come soon enough for the Jays. If the ramping up of activities and rehab all goes well for Votto, it should be about time to inject the former NL MVP and six-time All-Star into the lineup to help provide the much-needed spark and adamant voice in the clubhouse to get the Jays’ offense back on track.