The Toronto Blue Jays lost two of three to the Dodgers, two of three to the Twins, and two of three to the Brewers in the lead-up to their current series against Arizona (Toronto is already at an 0-1 disadvantage there). The Jays’ two losses to Milwaukee were by a score of 2-1. Their bats went ice-cold.

Toronto ranks 18th in home runs and 25th in team ERA so far this season. The pitching depth we all heralded after the offseason additions of Dylan Cease and Cody Ponce leaked away almost instantly. The Jays’ lineup — an absolute tank last October — is woefully out of whack. Bo Bichette’s exit still hurts. The injuries are piling up, with George Springer, Alejandro Kirk, Addison Barger and Anthony Santander all out of commission, just to name a few. It feels rather bleak at the moment.

The Blue Jays are up against a ticking clock

There is still time for the Blue Jays to turn this ship around. Tonight will be their 20th game in a 162-game regular season. MLB is the ultimate “marathon, not a sprint” sports league. We’ve seen plenty of teams come out of the gate slow, look completely lost in the woods, and then flip the switch in May and ride high into October.

That said, the clock is ticking for Toronto. Ross Atkins and the front office will need to render difficult decisions if the Blue Jays are still buried in the standings come Aug. 3 — the trade deadline. It’s a little more than two months away.

All offseason long, the Blue Jays tossed money around with the intention of building on the success of 2025. Bichette’s free agency exit stung, but the Jays brought over Kazuma Okamoto from Japan and added major firepower to the pitching staff. Cody Ponce is hurt, though, and Dylan Cease can only take the mound every fifth game. With the Blue Jays in an early injury rut, the seemingly pronounced depth of their rotation now feels paper-thin. And the bats aren’t warm enough, with Okamoto (.533 OPS) a major culprit behind their slow start.

The AL East features five teams with genuine postseason aspirations. If August comes over the horizon and Toronto has not made up substantial ground in such a competitive division, the Jays will need to look to the trade market — not as buyers, but as sellers.

A lot of key pieces on this Blue Jays roster will be free agents in about seven months. George Springer, Kevin Gausman, Daulton Varsho, Shane Bieber and Eric Lauer, just to name a few. It would be malpractice for a straggling Toronto not to sell, sell and sell some more.

Which Blue Jays are most likely to end up on the trade block?

Frankly… all the names listed above are fair game. Toronto will need to crunch the numbers and consider a retool next winter. George Springer and Kevin Gausman are aging out of their primes. Toronto’s wealth of arms (when healthy) puts Shane Bieber and Eric Lauer — not to mention Max Scherzer — on the watchlist. Daulton Varsho is an awesome five-tool force when healthy, but Toronto has so many outfielders under contract next year.

Gausman is probably the primary name to watch. He carries the most value in a league where postseason-caliber pitching is always at high demand. Cease inked a seven-year contract a few months ago, so in theory, the Jays have their frontline ace of the future on the roster already. That doesn’t mean Gausman is expendable on a winning team. If Toronto ends up punting to 2027, however, it’s much easier to justify trading the two-time All-Star. The Jays can still get a nice haul.

Varsho’s relative youth at 29, plus his incredibly high floor, should mean he’s worth more in a trade than George Springer. Especially if the latter is not fully healthy. Even if his bat cools down, Varsho is a Gold Glove centerfielder with solid speed on the bases. Springer is practically a full-time DH whose impact depends exclusively on how consistently he can generate loud contact.

What Toronto needs to turn its season around

On paper, Toronto’s roster still stacks up with the best of ’em. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is a bonafide superstar in the heart of the lineup, while Toronto has received better-than-expected contributions from the likes of Andrés Giménez and Jesús Sánchez.

What the Jays need most of all is better health. Shane Bieber is progressing through his rehab. When he’s on, Bieber — a Cy Young winner and a two-time All-Star — is exactly what Toronto needs to stabilize the back half of its rotation. Trey Yesavage should be back on a Major League mound sooner than later.

The aforementioned Kirk, Barger and Springer, meanwhile, are only on the 10-day IL. These are not back-breaking absences necessarily. Kirk and Springer were both All-Stars last season; Barger was a force in the playoffs. The major holes in this Blue Jays lineup are mostly the result of bad injury luck and, ideally, some early-season noise.

If there’s a worthwhile performance note, it probably has something to do with Kazuma Okamoto. One of the most accomplished hitters to come over from Japan in recent history, Okamoto received a hearty four-year, $60 million investment from the Blue Jays. Lauded for his remarkable poise and consistency at the plate, Okamoto has looked out of his depth in the early going. Then again, we are 20 games into a long, winding season. If Okamoto can find his footing and start hitting like he did in NPB, that will go a long way toward helping the Jays reach their offensive ceiling.

That clock won’t stop ticking, though. Injuries can be a real drag and there’s no guarantee that Toronto can get healthy enough to climb the standings before the Aug. 3 deadline. That means Ross Atkins should remain engaged and active — not only gauging the market for potential outgoing trades, but also looking for additive trades. Another serviceable rotation arm, or perhaps a platoon bat to pair with Okamoto at third base, could go a long way to stabilizing the wayward Jays. Sometimes you need to add, just in case, before the mass subtractions begin.

It’s way too early for Blue Jays fans to panic, but a little anxiety is probably appropriate.

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