Toronto Blue Jays 2026 - State of the season with Brent Cardy

Mat Germain: [00:00:00] Welcome to BaseballBiz On Deck. I can't do it like that, Mark. . You put me on the spot, and now look at me. I'm, I'm falling apart just with the intro. Uh, but, well, welcome to the show, guys. We got, a guest that's joining us tonight. Uh, unfortunately Mark's under the weather, so I did the intro attempt.

I guess I should have tried it on my own before, , doing the live version. But, , you'll get a good kick out of it, and, , with me is Brent Cardy, who's, , from The Brent Cardy Show, covering , the Blue Jays and ma- and baseball in general. , Welcome to the show, Brent. 

Brent Cardy: Mat, thanks for having me.

And I mean, you d- you did a great job. It's gotta be... You, you gotta put a little Southern twang in it next time. Like, "Welcome to the BaseballBiz." You know how he does the thing with his hand beside his ear? It's, uh, pretty damn legendary if, uh, people have ever seen it or have it. But, uh- Yeah, 

Mat Germain: I, I thought I could pull it off, but I just couldn't get the girth behind it.

Like, the whole- Yeah ... you know? Yeah. Yeah. I- 

Brent Cardy: It was cool, though. It's kinda like going into a, a game if you're a Toronto Blue Jays, uh, [00:01:00] pitcher- Mm-hmm ... and just trying to warm up or, you know, not being warmed up and- Yep ... bases loaded. It, it's hard to do. It's hard to do. Yeah. 

Mat Germain: I should have thrown a couple of, uh, of, of, you know, on my own before the recording started, but I didn't go there.

How are you feeling in general, and how are you feeling about the Jays, overall? 

Brent Cardy: How am I feeling? I'm feeling good myself. I got, uh, you know- I'm good. Lost a little bit of weight. I work out a few times a week, so you know, I'm feeling good. , As far as the Jays go, I'm not feeling very good. , Injury bug is, , decimating this team, and I don't know the root cause of it, but there's a lot of misdiagnosis it seems like.

You know, we can go back to January with Anthony Santander and, , learning, just, probably just before spring training that he'd be out for the year, ? Yeah. , That was a little bit... , i think everybody was like, "Okay, well, screw that guy." Well, then we find out, we kinda knew Shane Bieber was not going to be part of the rotation to start the year, and [00:02:00] I think his timeline probably around June still makes sense.

Jimmy Garcia is another guy, high leverage backend reliever, , and they need Jimmy Garcia. , Unfortunately, he's faced a setback in h- one of his rehab games, so he's kinda, they're back at the drawing board with him, so that's kind of frustrating as well. Mm. Uh, you look at José Berríos, right? This is l- Berríos' last year before he can opt out.

No way in hell he's gonna opt out now. Mm. Obviously, they talked about the for- I think it was a forearm fracture, gets to the rehab starts, gets to Buffalo, he gets lit up like a Christmas tree, and back to the complex. "Let's, let's see Dr. Meister." And as we record this, Matt, at 7:05, uh, on Wednesday, I haven't heard anything about Berríos yet.

And, uh, so now the Blue Jays started the year, oh yeah, Max Scherzer, forgot Scherzer. Mm. Alejandro Kirk, of course. You know, that was a freak injury. Uh, Nathan Lukes, as you guys know as Rays fans very [00:03:00] well. Yeah. Big part of the team, he had hamstring. And, uh, Addison Barger, we got back for about one game until he, you know, he, uh, decided to throw a ball from right field at 102 miles per hour.

So what does that look like, right? So the injury bug is decimating this team. It's tough. They're not out of a wild card spot, but the East with the Rays playing so well, um, I tell you, it's, uh, scary to think about. You know, look at tr- the Blue Jays and winning the division, I don't know when that's gonna happen in 2026.

Mat Germain: So I'll throw a little sunshine your way though, and I've been talking to this with Mark, and, and he'll attest to it as well, where, you know, you're looking at the American League in general, there's only four teams above 500, so- Yeah ... every team is still in it because of that in terms of the playoffs, right?

Making it, uh, in, so there's time there, so that's, that's the, the good side of it. The, the, the side that baffles me most though, and I knew Bo Bichette going over to the Mets was going to hurt, right, in terms of [00:04:00] the on-base- Oh, yeah ... percentage, and Alejandro Kirk being hurt, but, uh, especially those last two you mentioned in terms of Addison Barger and Nathan Lukes.

I think they were expected to be cons- consistent cogs in the lineup so far this year, and , because of injuries and et cetera, they haven't been able , to actually help the offense chug along the way that they otherwise could. And you can see the potential, like Mark mentioned before we, we started recording, there's some new guys, and you can tell us about those, that are really, you know, starting to show that the lineup is going to be potent at some time this year.

, It could be June, could be July, but that's gonna be a tough lineup to stop once Vladdy and they get going 

Brent Cardy: You mentioned, um, the importance of Lukes and Barger. So Lukes starts the year 1 for 32- Mm-hmm ... and they discover he has vertigo, and he get, gets to Arizona, he gets treatment, and then the guy starts to go on a tear and, becomes very vital for this team, and Springer then [00:05:00] gets hurt, right?

So it's just th- those guys are definitely important, and they were sure important. You know, you talk about Barger and the walk-off pink shit, not the walk-off, the pink shit Grand Slam in the World Series, um, so important. They were really counting on, definitely counting on those two guys this year. , So when you look at some of the new guys, we're talking about kind of an old guy, , Jesus Sanchez, who was acquired last minute kind of as a,, a Santander Nathan Flewelling we can call him.

Um, you know, he's had power against righties throughout his career, , started out with our buddy Lou Schiff's' Miami Marlins, goes to the Astros. , I think it was 23 or 24 he had 18 home runs. This year I think he's got four. , Big body, big frame, you know, can take the ball deep but, you know, he's got a lot of swing and miss in his game.

His defensive routes are very scary. Mm. , So there's that. Uh, you guys, you mentioned, , Yohendrick Piñango was acquired for Nate Pearson, , in the 2024 trade to the Chicago Cubs, and Piñango [00:06:00] is a corner outfielder, again, left-handed bat, but he puts a really good swing. It just seems like every time he's up on the ball and then, you know, he's got this lit tattoo on his neck.

It's kind of, it's kind of cool, but,, really good swing, takes really good at-bats to the point where John Schneider is gonna put him in the top part of the lineup. Yep. Uh, that's how highly he's thought of. W- I just thought it was really weird, Mat, that when Barger came up for the one game, the Blue Jays said, "Yeah, you know what?

It's Piñango that has to go down." I thought that was weird. I mean- Yeah ... I understand the lefty-righty approach, and you're gonna face some really good lefties, so I know why. , You don't wanna be too left-handed. I get that, but this guy is making a case to stick and- it's definitely gonna be interesting.

Another guy to keep an eye on is the switch-handed catcher that they got for Will Wagner last year, the trade deadline, , in Brandon Valenzuela, who's actually played a ton since Kirk got injured. Valenzuela's, gosh, got a lot of power. Uh, the, the problem we're kind of seeing, and he's a rookie catcher, so you could forgive some of the mistakes, [00:07:00] right?

The early challenges. Mm. Uh, the balls thrown away, just not using his head in certain situations. I think that's gonna come with time and, , more experience and support. It's just unfortunate. You know, Tyler Heineman was really solid last year as Kirk's backup. I don't know what's going on with Heiny, you know?

Uh, I don't know if it's a confidence issue, but John Schneider's been on him a lot and, you know, I don't know if there's a bit of tension there. And I'll also mention before I turn it back to you- The Jays just DFA'd Erik Lauer, who was, uh, pretty much their MVP last year. You know, Lauer lost an arbitration case in the off-season by about a million bucks.

Toronto filed at four, Lauer's camp filed around five, and it just essentially, I think, Lauer took it to the field. Uh, his velocity was down. He gave up, I think it was like ele- or, uh, 11 home runs in how many innings? He was just terrible. Uh, Mother's Day, I think it was, Sunday against the Angels, he was not very good.

So the Blue Jays had enough. They got... They've [00:08:00] DFA'ed him. They brought up Yariel Rodriguez, , who was a high signing, ... international prospect. They're paying him $6 million a year. They just called him back up from Buffalo to be a reliever. So we'll see what happens. But one new guy is Spencer Miles, a Rule 5 pick, , from the San Francisco Giants.

He's been pretty solid as the, , spot guy, you know, the guy you put in and, you know, when you're losing 10 runs in the sixth inning. He's been very good. He actually opened the Mother's Day game and threw three shutout innings, and now the Jays are wondering maybe he's a guy, uh, that they can start turning to every fifth day.

So we'll see how that goes 

Mat Germain: Yeah, well that's what I was gonna mention, is that a lot of times when you're going through these struggles, you sort out a lot of the depth that you're going to be able to draw on later on in the season, and it builds the coaching staff's confidence in those players and shows them what they can do, 'cause they're put in spots that they nor- otherwise wouldn't have been.

Absolutely. So when I look at that catcher you mentioned, I've noticed a lot of great things. , You want an [00:09:00] overconfident catcher. If you don't have, , extra confidence as a catcher, you're gonna struggle. You're not gonna be able to shine in key moments. And even though he's made a few mistakes, you can see the talent is there and that arm is a rocket and- 

Brent Cardy: It is

Mat Germain: fairly accurate. , He, can really manage the game back there. He seems like he's, like, a captain style, uh, guy that likes to take charge of things. So, , yeah, , I'm impressed with him. , If ever Alejandro Kirk has to become DH only, I think you'll be fine with him behind the plate.

So that's encouraging, 'cause you're always looking for that, "Okay, what if?" scenario, right? 

Brent Cardy: You are, for sure. And I mean, Garrett Springer's contract's done at the end of this year, right? So again, I don't know if you wanna continue to tie up the DH spot. I mean, this guy reminds me a little bit of Gabby Moreno a little bit w- when it comes to the athleticism.

Yeah. , And, , potential. So this is a really good pickup. So, , we'll see what happens. But you're absolutely right. , He's had some really solid moments. Even going out to guys like Scherzer and Gausman, which is not easy for any of us to do, let alone a [00:10:00] 22, 23-year-old catcher, it's, uh, it is pretty cool and it is promising.

, It's not all, uh, doom and gloom. The sky is not effing falling, as John Schneider would say. 

And you have other guys that are gonna come back in, in the future, like Shane Bieber. Yep. You have, uh, Bo- uh, Bowden Francis, who's another good arm, who may be, be back at some point this year, I think late in the year, if I'm not mistaken, or- 

It's possible.

The injury was... They're still kind of... They're thinking he's not coming back at all this year, but anything's possible 

Mat Germain: Okay. Um, so when you're looking at the, the depth in terms of, okay, let's say, 'cause you do have older pitchers, whether it's Gausman, Scherzer, et cetera, let's say you're looking at the next man up from AAA, who is or who are those names that we should keep an eye on that could potentially chip in if it went that far?

Brent Cardy: I'll give you three of them right now. The first one that comes to mind is Chad Dallas. Dallas, uh, coming back from Tommy John surgery. , He started seven games so far this year for the Bison and around a [00:11:00] 3 ERA, so he'd be the first guy I'd call up. Uh, CJ Van Eyk was another guy that, , the team is pretty high on, so I think he, , would also be on the radar.

, Austin Voth was a waiver pickup that, , was a bit of a bulk guy for a couple games this year for the Jays. He's cleared waivers. He's with Buffalo, so I'm sure the Jays will not be hesitant to call on him again. And the last name I'll give maybe is Grant Rogers. He got a ton of time in spring training.

Big, tall dude. Yep. , Mid-90s fastball. He's not going to, uh, kill you. A lot of people thought he'd be a, a Chris Bassitt type of guy, the Swiss Army, the eight, whatever the hell you call it, the Swiss Army knife of pitching, you know, six or seven pitches. A big, tall dude, tall release point, so the Blue Jays love guys with release points.

We talked about Tyler Rogers and Trey Yesavage. , So that's another guy. One guy that they're gonna need to figure out is Ricky Tiedemann. We've heard about Ricky Tiedemann for years now. He's not pitched since 2024. Was supposed to come back this [00:12:00] year, and he's facing the same issues. So I don't know what happens, , with him.

So hopefully he gets that figured out, and,. I'm sure we're gonna see one of those guys as soon as this weekend. 

Mat Germain: Yeah. So when I look at all the th- issues that we've talked about so far- Mm-hmm ... and I think about the Jays, and you can tell they're not down on themselves right now. Like, they are actually- still believers, they're still fighting hard, they're still, , working through things.

You can tell the Rays are getting them at the right time, if ever you wanna play that game of, okay, we're facing a team while they're going through so many issues, that we're able to squeak out a few more wins than we otherwise could. So what is your feeling in terms of looking at, at the schedule for the Jays when it comes to the rest of May and then into June?

'Cause then you're, you're getting close to that All-Star game time period. 

Brent Cardy: So here's the thing about it when I look at the schedule, it's only gonna get harder, 'cause it started out so easier, right? You had Colorado, you had Oakland, you had the [00:13:00] White Sox, you've gone to the Twins twice. It's only gonna get harder.

You're gonna start playing the Yankees, and the Yankees are playing really well. Gerrit Cole is, uh, throwing rehab starts, so I'm sure Gerrit Cole and the Blue Jays are gonna meet at some point. Um, you're gonna see Baltimore. Baltimore I thought would be a little bit better, but I knew their pitching wasn't gonna be good enough.

Offensively, Baltimore is a juggernaut in my opinion, if, you know, everything's rolling, with obviously the Alonso signing helps that, right? Mm-hmm. Pete Alonso in the American League East is a big deal to me. Like, that guy, who's hit 50 playing in the National League, there's no reason why he can't hit 40 at least in an American League.

, Can the young guys follow suit? , Boston's a train wreck, so I, I don't, I don't know what else I can say about the poor Red Sox, but, you'll get... They got Detroit this weekend, so Detroit and Toronto right now are kind of similar,, in terms of expectations. Detroit signed Framber Valdez, but Skubal is out now, so where the hell does that leave the Tigers, right?

, So yeah, I'm not as hopeful as everybody is. And everybody keeps saying, "Well, we [00:14:00] were, uh, 16 and 20 at this time last year and we went to the World Series." Mm-hmm. I, you know, I get anything can happen, but there, you don't have... This team lacks a guy like Bo Bichette. And what I mean by this is Bo Bichette on his worst day- Mm-hmm

you know, no sleep, feeling tired, could go one for four. He can punch a ball into right field and, you know, you can call it a good day. These guys are so streaky, one through nine. Yeah. , Vladdy, Springer, Okamoto, Varsho, all those guys hit their, you know, get their hits in bunches, and then they're stone cold.

There's not a steady presence that they have in that lineup. Some can argue it could be Ernie Clement, and I will give you that for now. The problem that Ernie, the problem that you run into with Ernie is twofold right now. His defense hasn't been that great this year- Mm-hmm ... which is really surprising.

- The offense is okay, but the power's not there. You [00:15:00] need some power, and you also need some power from the big guy making 500 million bucks a year. Um, you have to. Two home runs does not cut it. When your backup catcher, uh, has more home runs than you, that's a problem for me. And I understand that he's not, he doesn't have protection in front of him, he doesn't have protection behind him, and some of the pitches he's trying to make work are probably borderline or outside.

And when you're pitching to somebody, if you can get them to swing at the borderline and outside pitches, you can probably throw a couple down the middle. He might not catch up to them, 'cause he's not expecting them, right? So it's tough. A lot needs to happen to go right for this team, and I just don't know.

I think they need one really good right-handed bat, I think they need one really good starting pitcher, and I think they need one more good bullpen arm. And the problem, Matt, and you know just as everybody else knows, everybody's looking for those three things. 

Mat Germain: That is the truth. And, like, [00:16:00] when I think of everything you said about Vlady Guerrero Jr.,

my mind automatically goes to Vernon Wells. Hmm. When Vernon Wells signed that big deal with the Jays, he talked about how it weighed on him, and all of a sudden he was trying to earn that money instead of just letting himself play as he had to that point. And so I know somebody with a big heart like Vlady Guerrero Jr.,

who really feels, you know, every emotion you can think of on the field, you know, how much weight is he putting on his own shoulders to go out there and earn that 500 million? And you can't do it with one swing. Like, you've gotta be... So again, you're expanding the zone, like you said. You're trying to do a little bit too much with every single pitch you're given, because you think that that's what you're supposed to be doing for that amount of money.

, So it, it, yeah, and that whole Bo Bichette thing, absolutely correct. I think the Jays were perfect for Bo, and Bo was perfect for the Jays. For some reason, certain owners, like I could speak about Pete Alonso with the Mets, he, they should have hung onto him, [00:17:00] right? Yeah. And, and so they're feeling that as well.

There's just certain players that fit on certain teams, and for whatever reason it works. And then they go somewhere else and it just falls apart on them. So I, I don't know what the Jays are going to do. What I will say, when I put the two and two together, Francisco Lindor could be looking for a new home.

Brent Cardy: Yeah. It's interesting, right? If it keeps going 

Mat Germain: that way, yeah. So he, to me, he would be a great addition with the Blue Jays. If, he's a mature bat, he's not as old as George Springer. He can take that role over from him afterwards. He probably needs a change of, of situation, to be quite honest. It's, things, uh, it's no longer his team, it's Juan Soto's team now.

A- and they've got Bo Bichette there, so it's kind of, , a new start for him. And, and I don't know how he would feel about that, 'cause I'm pretty sure he has a no-trade clause- Mm-hmm ... and all that kind of stuff. But in terms of talent, do the Jays have the talent to offer the Mets for a d- a [00:18:00] deal that significant?

Brent Cardy: So another thing I just came to mind when you said that was the Shapiro and Atkins thing. Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins, of course, were in Cleveland when Francisco- Yes ... uh, was there as well. Um, yeah, I mean, look, you can give them... You can move either Arjun Nimmala or JoJo Parker. You could package Andrés Giménez.

You could do a multitude of things. They do have some pitchers that you could throw in there. I d- I... They don't have the catching depth, but man, they sure have the outfield depth, and I'm sure there's a couple infielders you can put in, Major League-ready guys. Would you put in a Davis Schneider? Does he need a change of scenery?

You 

Mat Germain: know- Or Addison Barger. Would they be willing to deal Addison Barger for Francisco Lindor? 

Brent Cardy: I mean, it's a hell of a possibility, isn't it? I mean, you lose a little bit of power, but man, you gain that dynamic switch-hitting bat, which this team needs. Yeah, and they have money- And you, you make a plan to keep him healthy.

Mat Germain: Right, they have money coming off the books, too, with George Springer, Scherzer. Oh, for [00:19:00] sure, yeah. Yeah, lots of money coming off, so. Yeah. I'm just throwing it out there, 'cause to me, when you're looking at fits, people that need a change of scenery, that need a new start, and the Mets even need a new start.

Like, they need to get younger again, and they need to kind of revitalize everybody all at the same time. Yeah. The Jays are a mature team that wanna win now. So to me, that's just an automatic fit for both of them to say, "Okay, let's try it and see how it goes." 

Brent Cardy: Yeah, for sure, right? And I mean, we... Last time you guys talked on my show, we talked about, , where Yandy Díaz was gonna be at the end of the year.

Yeah. And I stupidly said the Mets, uh, because I thought, well, geez, the Mets need a first baseman, and the Rays were just gonna struggle, but the Rays are beating the living piss out of everybody. Yeah. Um, so yeah, I mean, I was wrong. But yeah, the Mets are... Man, they're something. They're just... I, I, and I still don't understand how Carlos Mendoza is still employed.

Well- That doesn't make sense ... 

Mat Germain: I think David Stearns is wearing it right now, where he's just saying, "You know what? If this is my doing, uh, I'm not really, uh, [00:20:00] in, in a strong position to be making decisions on, on that front yet." But I could see somebody like Alex Cora being somebody that they go after. Yeah.

You know? 'Cause they need some stability at, at that position, and somebody with a vision on how to make everything work. Yeah. Um, and that won't be questioned by all the players involved, including Lindor if they do keep him around. 

Brent Cardy: Yeah, that's a great point. Great point. 

Mat Germain: Yeah. I think that would be a strong add by David Stearns, but

We're not gonna fix the world's problems tonight, but I thought there were a couple of intriguing things. Uh, w- what are your thoughts on the tonight's starter, Dylan Cease? He was a big addition by the Blue Jays. He's facing off against Griffin Jax, who we never even thought was gonna be a, a, a starting pitcher.

So what are your thoughts on Dylan so far? 

Brent Cardy: So Dylan's been really good so far. You know, last few starts he's been solid. The strike outs are coming up. , I really like the fact that he's coming to Toronto with a willingness to adapt what he wants to do on the mound. He understands he needs to get deeper into games.

Last two starts he's gone through seven. [00:21:00] 

Mark Corbett: Mm-hmm. Um, 

Brent Cardy: and if you keep doing that, people are gonna start paying attention, and they're not gonna argue the price tag. Some might say, well, you know, he can get into seven, and the way he takes the ball every five days and the velocity, , it might even be an underpay by the end of this.

, So yeah, I, I, I'm excited to see where he goes. We have him here in Toronto for the next six and a half years- Mm-hmm ... so it's pretty exciting, and, uh, it's a hell of a signing. And we haven't had that top end velocity, , in the rotation as far as I can remember. Uh, you know, coming out throwing 99,, with a sneeze, right?

And locate it, too. , Pretty damn impressive. , He's got all the talent in the world to be re- something, somebody very special for sure. 

Mat Germain: So if you had to go out and get an arm, and I've mentioned this guy for the Rays because I think he would be a great fit there. Mm. They're gonna have innings pitched issues at some point, but there's a, a guy who's going to be a free agent at the end of the season, , Robbie Ray.

[00:22:00] Ooh. If they, if the Giants were to fall off, would the Jays... Yeah, and the Jays somehow got back into the fight- Right ... wouldn't he be a great addition to kind of polish up? 'Cause you're, you're talking about Dylan Cease as a number one or number two in a, in a rotation when you're going into the playoffs.

Yeah. To me, if you pair him with Robbie Ray, that would be really strong when you're actually looking at a series. 

Brent Cardy: I would say yeah. I mean, Robbie Ray won a Cy Young for the Blue Jays in 2021, right? Um, a lot of people remember the, uh, off-season after that. A lot of people, some people were surprised Robbie Ray didn't sign with the Jays, but I don't think anybody's upset that Kevin Gausman signed with the Jays, right?

Uh, so yeah, no, uh, for sure, I see the fit. Absolutely, and I don't think the price tag will be astronomical, , considering what he makes per year. Yeah. So yeah, I mean, I, I love the fit, bring on the tight pants and the fastball and the slider and let's see what happens. 

Mat Germain: I mentioned that to, uh, to, to Mark.

I said, "You know what? The Rays have some [00:23:00] problems getting girls in the seats. Well, this is a way 

Brent Cardy: to do it." Just get that other guy, the other guy who, uh, jumped for the fly ball and his behind was on national television, not the Trout, the poor guy. I mean... But 

Mat Germain: do you think Robbie Ray sits there with the equipment manager and says, "Listen, these pants are nice, but I need something tighter"?

Yeah. 

Brent Cardy: Probably. 

Mat Germain: It's an odd thing to have, like, where it's obvious, like compared to everybody else who's got a little bit of wiggle room. 

Brent Cardy: 100%, yep. It's the grunting on the fastball. Mark's probably like, "Oh, how did I let these guys run my show?" Right. Poor Mark. 

Mat Germain: So overall, uh, uh, like what do you guys have in terms of, uh, of draft?

Because I know that the draft, the mock drafts now are coming out. I don't know how many picks you guys have in this upcoming draft. Is there something, , near the top , or where are you guys selecting? 

Brent Cardy: I don't know to, to tell you the truth, to be honest with you. , [00:24:00] I don't think they lost any when they signed Cease.

Mm. Uh, 'cause I don't think Cease is qualified. I could be wrong, but, um- I haven't been paying 

Mat Germain: attention to what you guys have, uh, in, in the recent mock drafts. I've been so focused on who- Yeah ... they have the Rays taking second overall, and I was like, okay, well, you know, look, take a look down. No, I don't see anything else that's tempting.

No, I 

Brent Cardy: think the Jays would be at the bottom of at least of the first round of picking, 'cause they, . right If they, they, they took the East and they 

Mat Germain: win the worlds, or they didn't win the worlds. Right. Probably pretty high. So the reason I ask that, and it leads into my next question, is- Mm-hmm

you're talking about like we were just saying, the contender thing, right? Mm-hmm. Where you're always trying to keep that, that bottle full or... So it seems to me like the, the Jays more than any other team in the American League are kind of modeling themselves after the Astros. Mm. Where their system is not elite, but it's got enough of those ingredients in the key positions that they need in order to [00:25:00] supplement what they have at the Major League level.

Am I right to assume that? 'Cause I look at the records across the minors and, and there's only the New Hampshire really that's doing well. The rest of them are sort of, you know, well under 500. 

Brent Cardy: It's interesting. So yeah, you got guys you could put in there if, you know, more guys get injured, and God forbid they don't.

Mm-hmm. They're not guys that, when I think of a Jonatan Clase, right? Let's for example, switch hitter, great, good speed, but he's got poop for brains when it comes to, the basic fundamentals of the game. And that's why, you know, that drives your manager nuts when you can't drop bunts or you're running outs or you misplay balls, 'cause that guy's got no excuse.

He's got all the talent in the world and,, I understand why John Schneider gets frustrated with him. , There are certain guys that are really intriguing that could probably fill in for an aisle stint or two, right? , Josh Kasevich , is he a guy, right? He's batting .280 in triple A. He's got a homer and 14 RBIs.

Would love to see a little more power in his game, [00:26:00] but if he can make good contact and- Right ... move the ball forward, I mean, there's a guy that could fill it. So yeah, yes and no. I see it. Um, maybe that's kind of the- influence that James Click had or has had. Mm-hmm. Um, but something to keep an eye on. We are seeing more position players, , that were originally drafted by the Jays come up.

Guys like Barger, we saw Spencer Howard, even the 28th rounder David Schneider, just mentioned him. So we're seeing more guys. Yeah. , It'll be something to keep an eye on for sure. Piñango is an interesting guy. I don't, I won't, won't say he's a Jays guy, 'cause he was drafted by the Cubs. Right. 

Mat Germain: But we'll see.

The, um, the, the thing with the Blue Jays that I, I think I'm right on this- Mm-hmm ... is that money-wise for this year, do they have space to actually add, unless they move salary along with it? 

Brent Cardy: Well, I think they're gonna pay tax anyway, so I think they can add. I, you know, I don't think there's a... I think they're a little bit [00:27:00] away from the biggest Dodgers-Mets tax bracket.

Okay. So they got some room. Um, but I don't think they're too concerned about it. They are in win now mode. You're not gonna pay Eric Sogard 4 million to play a position for somebody else. 

Mat Germain: Yeah. 

Brent Cardy: That's true ... they're not gonna, keep tolerating poor performances. They will have some guys come back from inju- injury.

I do believe they will go on a run. Um, they might have to make some moves to supplement the injuries though, and it's hard because you went into the season with eight guys. You know, we're talk- we were talking about, okay, well shit, is, uh, Berrios gonna pitch out of the bullpen? Is Scherzer gonna pitch out of the bullpen?

Now we're l- you know, we're using Spencer Miles and we're talking about Chad Dallas starting on the weekend. Like, this season has gone off the rails so far, so, uh, it just feels like it's only gonna get better from here. It has to. 

Mat Germain: Yeah. The, the odd thing is, I, I wonder, like, the Rays are always on the edge of all of these, , new ways to approach the game, right?[00:28:00] 

Sure, yeah. And what they're doing with Mason Engler and Griffin Jax is just so unique in, in taking a... What really was w- if you would've asked most Rays fans this off-season, "Who's gonna take the closing position now that Pete Fairbanks is gone?" 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: Most of them would've said Griffin Jax, and suddenly he's your, your starter.

Like, th- that, there's not many teams that would do that, and if anything, it's the opposite. You have a, Aroldis. Chapman that, , can't figure out starting, so he goes to the high leverage. Um, there, there's Garrett Whitlock who did the same for a while, and a, and a bunch of other names that you can go on.

But- I, I've, I rarely see a high leverage reliever, but then I think, okay, well, a lot of guys in college are closers before they become starters- Yeah ... in, in the minors and move their way up, right? Yeah. So there's, there's some validity to it, where once you're that dominant with two pitches, you're just tinkering with the third or fourth and, and trying to get them, you know, to be [00:29:00] as, as, uh, as polished as they need to be.

So is there a guy in, in the pen right now for the Blue Jays that, you know, you think would look pretty decent as a starter if they, if they had to go that way? 

Brent Cardy: I think it's Spencer Miles for me. Yeah. The real fly pick. He's got, uh, he's working on... What pitch are we... He's working on a change-up. So he throws 98, he can top 98.

, The thing I love about him is the composure. He does not get rattled. Um, I've been very impressed by that, you know? And then, eh, hits the angels, a lot of swing and miss, blah, blah, blah. But he's still started and still th- threw shadowed innings. Uh, the only concern I have is the injury history. He's only thrown 21, 22 professional innings.

Mm-hmm. , 14, 14 minor league innings, 22 big league innings. I think I have those numbers right. Um, so he's got all the potential in the world. Louis Varland's another guy that a lot of people have talked about with that velocity and the pitch mix and the, uh, the, [00:30:00] uh, determination and the mindset, but I love his mindset as a closer, man.

I just love how he comes up and just says, "Here, this is my best. Hit it or don't." I'd love to see him get in the zone a little bit more, , but he throws the ball hard. 

Mat Germain: What does that all mean for Jeff Hoffman? 

Brent Cardy: So this means Jeff Hoffman is gonna be, , thrown in s- the seventh or eighth, and if Varland's not available, the ninth.

He's, , was pulled out of the closer role and now, , has kind of earned his way back into the circle of trust. , His velocity is up. , The slider's looking better. Mm-hmm. The splitter's looking better, and the composure is looking better, too. You know, it's actually the best I've seen it in a long time.

Mm-hmm. So, you know, if you can take a little bit of that pressure off to get the optimum performance for Hoffman, so he's pitching in the seventh and the eighth, you know, if he has a couple stinkers here and there, that's fine. Mm-hmm. , But you know, it's been good so far with this Hoffman seventh, eighth, R- Tyler Rogers in the middle, and , Louis Varland in the ninth.

So it's been good. Would love to see [00:31:00] another, , impactful lefty. Mason Fluharty's done a good job, but I still think Mason Fluharty's playing above his weight. , They got Joe Mantiply when they sent Brandon Littell down, who is just a tough luck case, and he hasn't been that much better in Buffalo.

Mantiply is a veteran, been around the league a long time, and he's done a good job, , but I wouldn't say he's a high impact guy either. You know what I mean? Yeah. 

Mat Germain: , When you were mentioning Jonatan Clase, all I kept thinking in my head was, you know, the Rays have Chandler Simpson, and if you saw him when he originally came up into the outfield, he, he was a raw product.

And he, like, people rave about the amount of work and attention to detail he's putting in just to get that to be above average and beyond. And, and so to me, when I think of Jonatan Clase, that's what I see the potential being on his end as well, 'cause they have very similar profiles, maybe not as high as a hit tool.

Yeah. But, but I think if, if Jonatan Clase recognized who he was and played the game the [00:32:00] same way Chandler Simpson does- 

Brent Cardy: Oh, yeah ... 

Mat Germain: he could get there, 'cause he does have that speed factor as well, and I think he has the hand-eye that if he, he did everything the same way Chandler did, that he could be that kind of role player.

And you see how much of an antagonist Chandler is. Like, the Blue Jays need that. They need that distraction. Like, I find a lot of times w- what they do on the bases and everything is so generic and, and expected that it's not really throwing anybody off, so you, you get to kind of go into a rhythm when you're playing the Blue Jays.

And they have, like you mentioned, they have to get streaky and hot in order to score those runs and get things going. So I wonder if they're learning lessons on that front as well, if you'll see them play more small ball down the road , and incorporate some of those things, you know, into their game.

Brent Cardy: Yeah, for sure. I think they have to, uh, be- because they're not getting the power that they need from the middle of the order. I mean, Okamoto's gonna hit them in bunches. Um, but you weren't [00:33:00] counting on Okamoto to hit them in bunches. You're ca- counting for the big guy to do it. Mm-hmm. Um, so yeah, no, they're gonna have to play small ball.

Vladdy is playing small ball. He's stealing bases. He's, you know- I saw that, yeah ... celebrating his walks, so, you know, it's great, but we need more power. We play in the American League East. Mm-hmm. I'm all for kind of that 50/50 mix of when you're not getting your home runs, okay, hit singles, steal bases, move the runners over, all that stuff.

Mm-hmm. Um, but you need the long ball for sure. You know? Springer gave you 32 of them last year, and, , we're not seeing that right now, so it's gotta turn around soon. 

Mat Germain: So I'll finish it off with two questions for you. Hmm. Number one, who represents the Blue Jays at the All-Star Game? 

Brent Cardy: I would still say it's Vladdy and Dylan Cease.

Okay. That's, that's who I'm gonna go with. Vladdy's still batting around .300. Cease is carving the Rays up already. So yeah, I'm gonna go those two. 

Mat Germain: And what's the record that the Blue Jays will [00:34:00] have at the All-Star Game? At the All-Star break? 

Brent Cardy: Mm-hmm. I don't, uh, if I were to guess, usually we play about 88, 90 games before the All-Star break.

Mat Germain: Yeah, let's say it's 88. 

Brent Cardy: Let's say it's 88. I would probably say- I would say 42 and 46. 

Mat Germain: So still under 500. Okay. Still under 

Brent Cardy: 500, but- Mm-hmm ... but we're still in contention for a wild card spot, 'cause the American League is drizzling poo-poo. 

Mat Germain: It's crazy, eh? Yeah. Well, thanks a lot for j- joining us, uh, Brent. I wish Mark could have had his say.

I know he enjoys having the conversations with you and having you on. , I think that the Blue Jays and Rays are nowhere near done telling their story for 2026. , There's still a lot of, of great baseball to be had between the two. , I'm just hoping that, , some way, some how it can be, , competitive enough, you know, towards the end of the season when they start [00:35:00] meeting up again- 

Brent Cardy: Yes

Mat Germain: for them to actually have, , meaningful games. 'Cause I lo- Of all the, the teams and the rivalries, if you wanna call them that, they always seem,, a little bit edgier, for the Rays side of things anyways, when it's against the Yankees and the Blue Jays. Like, there's this, we've gotta prove we're as good as and then beyond, each other.

So they drive each other to be better, and I, I feel like that's a good warm-up for the playoffs as well. 

Brent Cardy: I 100% agree with you. We saw it last night. You know, it was 5-5, you know, close game. Tough loss for the Blue Jays, close game so far tonight as we talk, so, uh, the, the competitive between the two teams is there.

So let's see what happens when these guys get healthy. Very intriguing. 

Mat Germain: Should be. Yeah, I don't expect them to lie down at any point. Yeah, who 

Brent Cardy: knows? 

Mat Germain: - Thank, thanks again for coming on, , Brent, and, , we'll, , we'll be sure to have you on again probably when Mark is a lot healthier and able to use his, uh, commanding voice to introduce [00:36:00] everybody and keep the flow going and, , get his two cents in when, when it makes sense.

So, uh, appreciate you coming on, and, uh, we'll have you again on real soon.

Brent Cardy: Thanks, Mat. Great job, buddy.

Mat Germain: Not a problem. I'm not gonna close it off the same way you would, Mark, 'cause I'm not as masterful. But I will give you the bong.