These "old core" players are providing plenty of positive production for the Blue Jays

With two weeks left in the regular season, the Toronto Blue Jays are on track to win the AL East division title for the first time in ten years. When the Blue Jays last won the division in 2015, George Springer was in his sophomore season with the Houston Astros. Springer helped the Astros to their first playoff appearance in a decade. Ten years later, he's been a key player in one of the most successful seasons in Blue Jays history.

These "old core" players are providing plenty of positive production for the Blue Jays

Springer isn't just having his best season as a Blue Jay; he's having one of the best seasons of his career. His batting average of .305 is the highest of his career. He's hit the fourth most home runs (29) and RBIs (78) in his eleven seasons in MLB.

On Monday, he hit a game-winning RBI single in the eleventh inning to beat the Tampa Bay Rays 2-1 and extend Toronto's AL East lead to five games. On Tuesday, he got his 100th run of 2025, for his fourth 100-run season and first with the Blue Jays. On Friday, he turns 36. After a difficult 2024 season, when he had his lowest batting average of his career (.220), Springer is making a strong case for the American League Comeback Player of the Year.

Springer isn't the only veteran making his mark on the 2025 Blue Jays. Toronto has the fifth-oldest lineup in MLB. When the Blue Jays last won the AL East in 2015, Ty France , Myles Straw, and Nathan Lukes were drafted into the MLB.

Since he was traded to Toronto, France has been an asset coming off the bench. His batting average with the Blue Jays (.301) is much higher than it was with the Minnesota Twins (.251). France's lone home with the Blue Jays came against his former team on August 27th. His solo shot in the eighth inning brought the Blue Jays within one before Addison Barger's RBI double gave the Blue Jays the 9-8 win.

If Springer is having a rebound year, so is Myles Straw. After spending almost the entirety of 2024 with the Cleveland Guardians' triple-A affiliate, the Columbus Clippers. On the offensive side, Straw's 2025 batting average (.264) is higher than his career average of .247.

His four home runs this season are tied for the most of his career. Filling in for Daulton Varsho in the outfield, Straw has shown why he won a Gold Glove in 2022. Two weeks ago, Straw climbed the wall of the Rogers Centre to rob Jackson Chourio of a home run. Despite his efforts, the Milwaukee Brewers won that game 4-1.

Lukes made his MLB debut with the Blue Jays on March 30, 2023, eight years after he was drafted by Cleveland. In his first season in the majors, he had five hits and two RBIs in 29 games. In 2024, he had 23 hits and ten RBIs in 22 games. 2025 is Lukes' first season as a mainstay in MLB. He's played in 124 games so far and has the sixth most RBIs (61), sixth most runs (52), and seventh most hits (92).

Ernie Clement is another player on Toronto's roster who has made a big impact on the team in 2025. He has the third most hits on the Blue Jays (141), and his 2025 average (.277) is higher than his career average (.260). However, Clement's value to the Blue Jays is most notable due to his fielding. He has the fifth most putouts on the team (192) and the third most double plays turned (52). He was nominated for a Gold Glove in 2024 and has shown even better form in 2025.

On Monday, it was Springer who hit a game-winning RBI in extra innings. Less than a week earlier, it was Tyler Heineman who gave Toronto a 4-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles in extras. Heineman's infield single in the tenth inning against the Orioles was his first career walk-off.

Heineman was drafted by the Houston Astros in 2012, though he wouldn't make his MLB debut until 2019 with the Miami Marlins. This season, he has career-highs in batting average (.300), hits (42), runs (24), RBIs (19), and home runs (3).

Heineman's walk-off single on September 9th was made possible by Isaiah Kiner-Falefa. Kiner-Falefa's two-run single in the ninth inning tied the game at 3-3. Kiner-Falefa was drafted in 2013 by the Texas Rangers and made his major league debut in 2018. He was picked up off of waivers by the Blue Jays at the end of August. Previously, the Blue Jays had traded Kiner-Falefa to the Pittsburgh Penguins in July of 2024.

The depth of the Blue Jays' roster has carried them to the top of the American League. Toronto has a roster full of experienced guys who are all rising to the occasion at the same time.