3 takeaways from the Blue Jays’ 2nd week of the 2025 season

Welcome to the second edition of my weekly Blue Jays takeaways for the 2025 season.

Did anything monumental happen for Toronto this week?

Before we get to the obvious, it’s worth noting that the Blue Jays share the American League East lead with the New York Yankees at the time of this writing.

In Week 3, the Jays wrap up their road trip with a two-game set in Baltimore (initially scheduled as three, but Game 1 was rained out and rescheduled for July 29) before returning home for a three-game series against the Braves.

For this post, a lifelong commitment, a lack of production, and a standout performance shape my three takeaways from Week 2 of the Blue Jays’ 2025 season.

He stay!

Has it sunk in that the front office actually locked down a star player — long-term and for serious money?

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is here to stay after the Blue Jays announced a 14-year, $500 million extension Wednesday afternoon.

The deal finally puts to rest the narrative that management can’t close on marquee names like Shohei Ohtani or Juan Soto. More importantly, it ends the perception that the Blue Jays — and Rogers — aren’t willing to spend big on talent.

It’s the win-win fans had been hoping for. Guerrero Jr. gets his bag. The Jays secure their franchise cornerstone.

Yes, there was a soft deadline. Yes, Guerrero Jr. kept discussing the situation with the media after that deadline (looking at you, Yankees). Was it all a smokescreen to speed up negotiations? Probably. Maybe letting the so-called “non-distraction” be a distraction was ultimately worth it.

Now, the stress of what Vladdy might do in the 2025–26 offseason is in the rearview mirror, and Toronto can look confidently toward the future.

And sure, the thought of Guerrero Jr. in a Yankees or Red Sox uniform will always linger, asking “what if?”

I guess we’ll never know.

A cause for concern

One of the Blue Jays’ top priorities during the 2025 offseason was adding a power bat to the lineup.

The team's home run production has gradually declined, even more so when the likes of Teoscar Hernández and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. were traded in 2022.

So when Toronto signed former Oriole Anthony Santander to a five-year, $92.5 million deal, it seemed like the perfect solution. His switch-hitting ability added much-needed left-handed power to the lineup.

But in the season's early stages, the power and value haven’t been there.

Santander is off to a slow start, one neither he nor the Jays expected. According to Baseball Savant, his current batting value sits at a grade of six — considered poor. Statistically, he ranks near the bottom of the team across multiple offensive categories.

*=Among Batters

To make matters worse, Santander leads the Blue Jays with 17 strikeouts, many of which have come on swings at pitches outside the zone.

While the rest of the lineup has chipped in early to help the team win, Santander’s bat must come alive to give Toronto a more balanced offense.

The lack of power — especially via the home run — has been the Blue Jays’ biggest concern since 2021. Has it been encouraging to see guys like George Springer and Andrés Giménez contribute some pop? Absolutely.

But if Santander can’t rediscover the rhythm that led to 44 homers in 2024, the team risks falling back into the same “can’t hit for power” narrative.

It’s a gear Santander needs to unlock sooner rather than later.

Remember to breathe

Two weeks in, and it’s still safe to say the Blue Jays are off to a better start than most expected.

Despite getting swept by the Mets, taking three of four from the Red Sox was the perfect way to bounce back heading into a new week. A fight for first place in the division in April? That’s a surprise, even to me.

But like I’ve said before: it’s April. It’s still the beginning of the season. Friday marks Game 15 of 162, and many questions need answers before May.

Is the small-ball approach sustainable? Is Easton Lucas the real deal? Will Santander find his groove? Is the vintage version of George Springer here to stay? These are great early storylines but not enough to ride on for now.

Are they promising signs? Yes. Should we treat them as definitive? Not yet.

April still features matchups against the Yankees and Astros — two early-season tests that should reveal whether the Jays can hang with the AL’s top-tier contenders. It could be a massive confidence boost if they can continue sneaking out wins before then.

Wins and losses in April often come back to matter in September, when October baseball is within reach. There’s a reason fans freak out about losing early games — sometimes, that one game is the difference between playing in the playoffs and packing up for the offseason.

For now, cheers to early success. It might just pay off in more ways than one.

See you next week.