The Blue Jays need to take advantage of the rest of the AL East's struggles

While the Toronto Blue Jays have the talent on their roster needed for them to make a fourth postseason in the past six years, inconsistency has been an issue for them so far.

While the Blue Jays entered play on Friday in third place in the American League East, they've still also underperformed.

They don't have a player with 10 home runs on the roster, Anthony Santander has been a black hole in the lineup (and went on the injured list Friday) and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. endured a slow start to the season.

But they're still within striking distance in the American League East thanks to some subpar play from some of their division mates.

The Blue Jays need to take advantage of the rest of the AL East's struggles

It shouldn't come as a surprise that the Yankees at the top of the division with a 35-20 record considering they boast one of the best hitters in all of baseball and are coming off a season where they made it to the World Series.

The Tampa Bay Rays are second in the division at 29-27, and recently swept the Blue Jays in embarrassing fashion. While they're one of the hottest teams in baseball, they're also an incredibly streaky team.

The Blue Jays are a game behind them at 28-28, which is followed by a big drop off, as both the Boston Red Sox (27-31) and Baltimore Orioles (19-36) are having seasons to forget.

The Red Sox have been inconsistent and have had a season mired in drama, while the Orioles have been one of the most disappointing teams in baseball after making the postseason in each of the past two seasons.

The Blue Jays need to take advantage.

While the Red Sox haven't been a postseason team since 2021, they have a talented (albiet flawed) roster. They had some buzz as a postseason team at the start of the season, but nothing has really gone right for them so far.

And then there's the Orioles. The Blue Jays finished behind the Orioles in the American League East standings in each of the last two seasons, but the bottom has fallen out this year. They've already fired manager Brandon Hyde, and entered play on Friday hitting .237 as a team and a 5.51 ERA.

While the Blue Jays only play the Red Sox three times and the Yankees four times before the All-Star break, they face off against the Yankees and Orioles within the first two weeks of the second half, which will give them a great idea of where they stand ahead of the trade deadline.

June is going to be a pivotal month of the Blue Jays in a variety of ways. They'll need to keep winning if they want to take advantage of the rest of their division's struggles.