6 reasons fans should watch the Blue Jays closely in 2024

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With just a little less than three weeks to go before the start of the regular season for the Toronto Blue Jays, fans can begin to anticipate for another exciting, action-packed year ahead. Despite having a tumultuous offseason where some needs were adequately addressed while others remain ongoing question marks, the club will make the most of what they have put together and hopefully produce a winning product on the field in the end.

But on top of that, there are six big reasons why Jays’ fans should watch their favourite team closely in 2024. So what are they?

Bounce-back season for multiple players

Whether it was due to bad luck or actual regression in their abilities, the Jays had a few players that endured forgettable seasons in 2023. Most notably of course was former team ace Alek Manoah, but other reliable incumbents such as relievers Zach Pop and Yimi García, along with infielder Santiago Espinal suffered the same fate as well. All of them have proven to be strong, effective players in the past, so they are certainly looking to redeem themselves this coming year.

With both pitchers José Berríos and Yusei Kikuchi having shown success in recovering from a poor 2022 season with a stellar 2023 year, the Jays will hope for more of the same bounce-back for the aforementioned four players. Most importantly will be how Manoah ends up playing out, because if he re-establishes his prior dominant form, the Jays would then have a pretty much set starting rotation that could compete against any team in the league. However, if he doesn’t, then the Jays may be forced to find a suitable replacement quickly to keep them competitive enough to be in contention for 2024.

Blue Jays contention window closing?

With team superstars Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette set to become unrestricted free agents at the end of next year, neither has receive an extension from the club. At the same time, there have been many other young stars in the league that have been already locked up long-term such as Bobby Witt Jr., Fernando Tatis Jr., and Julio Rodríguez to name a few, with the teams betting on their future potential and sustained impact.

Perhaps both Guerrero and Bichette are waiting to see what direction the Jays are heading in the coming years before they make their decision. If that is the case, 2024 becomes an important year that may determine the future outlook for both superstars and the team as a whole. If the Jays continue their progressive success from the past few seasons, there is a good chance they will want to be together in the same winning culture going forward. However, if the team takes an unexpected step backwards, the dynamic duo could seriously reconsider whether they are in a place that can sustain winning and success, or whether they need to look for that elsewhere. As a result, keep a close eye on how the Jays do this season, as the outcome could have a seismic effect on the faces of the franchise and the Jays’ contention window going forward.

Veteran presence like never before

When the Jays began their current rise to contending status back in 2020 following their rebuild, their roster consisted mainly of a new wave of young players with the odd veteran presence in the lineup. In the past few years, they have added the likes of George Springer, Kevin Gausman, Marcus Semien, Kevin Kiermaier, Chris Bassitt, Brandon Belt and others to help bring in some experience and leadership to help balance out the ballclub. However, in 2024, the Jays have taken it to another level like never before by adding 39-year-old and 15-year veteran Justin Turner, along with 40-year-old and 17-year veteran Joey Votto into the mix.

The Jays are betting on the fact that they still have something left in the tank to help lead the team to success. For Turner, he brings with him his massive 86-game playoff experience, along with playoff MVP honours and a World Series ring to provide a heavy-winning influence on the team. On the other hand, Votto has led the league in walks and on-base percentage on multiple occasions, along with being a six-time All-Star and former NL MVP, so he can lead by example in terms of proper plate discipline and hitting for the team. So as they look for one more last hurrah before calling it a career, can they potentially be the difference makers to take the Jays over the top? We will soon find out.

Rising prospective stars to get their chance

Prior to 2020, the Jays had a wave of young talent that included the likes of Bichette, Guerrero, Cavan Biggio, Danny Jansen, Jordan Romano and many others that ultimately swarmed in and filled their roster. In recent years however, the Jays haven’t had a similar influx of prospects as they addressed the bulk of their needs with external solutions. As a result, it has been a while since they have had someone from within the system come up and step into a big league role and provide an immediate impact. There was one last year with Davis Schneider and his two month outburst at the end of the season; otherwise, it had been far and few in between.

However, 2024 may be a completely different story. Despite making multiple moves this offseason, the Jays still have many roles up for grabs this spring, and ultimately this coming season. Other than the signing of Turner, most of the other additions are actually competing for a position and playing time heading into this year. As a result, if any of them were to falter, there is a high possibility that during the course of this season, we will see some influx of young talent into the roster. These candidates could range from starting pitching with Ricky Tiedemann, to infielders Addison Barger and Orelvis Martinez, along with perhaps even Alan Roden in the outfield and Hagen Danner in the bullpen. But hopefully when we do see their arrival, it is not because of the fact that the Jays are out of the playoff picture, but rather more to help make the team even better.

Canadian infusion into the lineup

With the recent signing of Votto to a minor league contract, the Jays could potentially field a roster in 2024 that contains some prominent Canadian content. Together with Guerrero, Romano and Pop, there may be up to four players suiting up for the Jays as our hometown heroes this season. What better way to watch the Jays this year than to root for success for some of our very own in the process.

John Schneider under the microscope

One can never predict the outcome of a game whenever you have John Schneider around. He may have an unorthodox style of managing a game and making decisions, whether it be taking out pitchers when you least expect it, making hitting or fielding substitutions at the weirdest of times, or calling for off-the-wall plays that ended up working or blowing up in the end. In any way, he certainly keeps the game interesting for both the viewers and the Jays overall. However, his daring moves and calls has yet to pay off just yet with two early playoff exits in the past two seasons, making many wonder if he is still suitable for the job.

With the new year ahead, Schneider will once again have a fresh start to see if he can finally get the team to the next level. However, he may be more under the microscope than ever before this time around as it could be his last chance to make the Jays a winner. Will Schneider be the right person to finally lead the team to success, or will he finally strikeout with three misses in three years? Stay tuned to find out.

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