Grading the Blue Jays’ last offseason through the first half of the 2023 season

4. Overall team performance as a result of those offseason transactions

Offence: C – Sacrificing a large part of the offence from last year has hurt the Jays from time to time this year, especially during key hitting situations that could have changed the outcome of the ballgame. Some of their big guns such as Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has eased some of the pain at times, but both Hernández and Gurriel have been consistently coming through in the clutch when hitting with runners in scoring position this year, something the Jays really, really miss for sure.

Defence: A – Despite the offence lacking at times, one thing is for sure, the offseason moves has definitely pushed the Jays’ defence up to another level, as the whole team seemed to be providing solid defence all around, and in particular the elite defence from the outfield has been a huge difference maker for the Jays this season. So I guess sometimes, you win some, you lose some.

Pitching A- - Even though the Jays’ pitching may seemed shaky at times this year, the additions of Bassitt and Swanson, along with the subtractions of Stripling, Merryweather, and Kay have done the Jays way more good than harm so far in 2023.

Overall team performance grade:  B+ - One could continue to keep criticizing and scrutinizing Atkins, but after reviewing his tidy work this past offseason, he has in fact done an admirable job in reshaping the Jays into a more defensive, pitching heavy team, while at the same time keeping them competitive for a playoff spot. The key part now is what Atkins can do before the trade deadline to take this team to the next level and to the top, and hopefully to more than just one round of playoff action this year at the end of the season.