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The Toronto Blue Jays are surging back into playoff contention as their investments in some win-now veterans start to pay off.
After adding Andres Gimenez, Anthony Santander, Jeff Hoffman and Max Scherzer to the roster over the winter and locking in franchise slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. with a $500 million extension, the Blue Jays are starting to perform like those investments would suggest. The team has won six of their last seven series and decided to make a significant move with Guerrero before their latest one against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
“Manager John Schneider rolled out a fresh batting order for the Diamondbacks series, sliding Addison Barger into the second spot behind Bo Bichette,” per Mitch Bannon of The Athletic. “The tweak pushed Vladimir Guerrero Jr. down into the three-hole, a spot where he had a career .301 average and .917 OPS entering Thursday. The $500 million slugger owns a .265 average and .774 OPS in the second spot.”
In the latest series, Guerrero went 6-10 with three walks, seven RBI and a homer. And manager John Schneider revealed that those numbers as well as some one-on-one discussions with the slugger convinced him to make the change.
“I think Vladdy being comfortable with the three-hole is real,” the manager said. “You know, the numbers are what they are, and conversations with him are what they are.”
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As the Blue Jays look to keep their winning ways rolling, this latest change to the batting order could be a long-term solution that brings them all the way to the playoffs.
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Peter Chawaga is a veteran journalist covering Major League Baseball for The Sporting News. His MLB reporting has included feature interviews with commissioner Rob Manfred and Hall of Fame slugger David Ortiz, salary analysis, player rankings and more. He has covered baseball for Forbes, Yardbarker, Pitcher List, Athlon and other outlets.
With over ten years of newsroom experience, he has previously covered finance, technology, arts, and culture for newspapers, magazines, and websites nationwide. He graduated from Wake Forest University with a degree in English and journalism.
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