Blue Jays Weekly Recap: July 5 – 11

The Toronto Blue Jays only played five games this past week, as their Thursday game was postponed due to rain. In those five games, the team went a total of 2-3, 1-1 against the Baltimore Orioles and 1-2 against the Tampa Bay Rays.

It’s certainly not the way the Blue Jays wanted to wrap up the first half of the season, as they currently sit 8.0 games back of first in the A.L. East. They will surely need a stronger second half to get themselves at least a game in the Wildcard win or go home game.

George Springer

It will take some time for Springer to get his timing back to form, and maybe that’s what he will be focusing on with these days off for the All-Star Game. This week, Springer recorded just two hits in 19 at-bats.

It dropped his batting average on the season down to .194, which would be the worst batting average of his career if it continued. Now, there’s no reason to believe it will, and as he continues to play more games, he should bring his average up. Still, games are getting more important as we enter the second half of the season, and the Blue Jays will need their highest-paid player to perform better and help them win some close games.

Tellez traded

On Tuesday, The Blue Jays traded Rowdy Tellez to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for relief pitcher Trevor Richards and minor league pitcher Bowden Francis.

Tellez struggled to crack the lineup consistently with the Blue Jays and now gets a fresh start with the Brewers. For Toronto, they acquire another arm for their deflated bullpen that hopefully will help them out in the second half of the season.

At the time of the trade, Richards had pitched 31.2 innings for both the Rays and Brewers. He had 13 earned runs and had 41 strikeouts.

Danny Jansen

Catcher Danny Jansen has returned to the Blue Jays, as he has been out with an injury since early June. This week, in 10 at-bats, he actually registered two hits, one of which was a solo home run.

Having Jansen back creates more depth at the position for the Blue Jays, and hopefully his timing at the plate doesn’t take too long to get back. Early signs point to him being ok in that regard.

Looking Ahead

The Blue Jays don’t play until Friday night due to the All-Star break. So, please sit back and enjoy that and prepare for an intense second half of the season for the Toronto Blue Jays as they try to chase down a playoff spot.