Blue Jays’ Vladimir Guerrero Jr, Bo Bichette, George Springer’s slow starts draw honest take from John Schneider

The Toronto Blue Jays are off to a tough start to the 2024 season, sitting at the bottom of the American League East with a 13-14 record. In every single area, this ball club is struggling. A big reason for their offensive woes is the lack of production from top guys such as Vladimir Guerrero Jr, Bo Bichette, and George Springer.

Vladdy is slashing .206, Bichette is batting .216, and Springer is hitting .228. That’s your 1-2-3 hitters with a combined average of around .220. Certainly not going to cut it. Blue Jays manager John Schneider was asked about their slow starts and appears to believe it’s only a matter of time until the trio gets going at the plate.

Via Keegan Matheson:

“It’s a matter of time, really. I know people talk about it. I’m not going to move them. They’re going to be pitched the same way.”

Schneider makes a good point. Moving any of them lower down the order isn’t exactly going to change anything.

Historically poor start for Blue Jays

There have been such high expectations for Toronto in the past few years, being considered a World Series contender at various points. But, they’ve failed to live up to the billing, with early playoff exits in the last two seasons.

It’s no secret that Guerrero Jr hasn’t been the same player since 2021. Bichette and Springer have performed relatively well across the last couple of seasons, but it hasn’t changed much. In 2024, the Blue Jays rank 25th in runs scored, 23rd in hits, 22nd in average, and 21st in slugging. They’re also 23rd in home runs, much in part to the poor play of Vladdy, Bo, and Springer.

In fact, after Wednesday’s loss to the lowly Kansas City Royals, the Jays sat on just 98 runs through their first 25 games, the sixth-fewest in franchise history, per StatsCentre. It’s important to note Toronto only scored 95 through their first 25 outings in 2022, but that resulted in a quick visit to the playoffs, losing in the AL Wild Card.

What’s even worse is Toronto is almost invisible offensively at home, scoring 3.5 runs compared to 3.9 on the road. The Blue Jays have some tremendous fans who want to see this team perform. That’s not happening right now. They’ve lost four straight and just got pummeled 12-2 by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the series opener on Friday, with Shohei Ohtani silencing the boos with a moonshot homer.

The Blue Jays also got no-hit already this season by the Houston Astros just days into the beginning of the campaign. If Toronto’s main stars don’t figure it out soon, we could see some big changes at the trade deadline. This is a difficult division and the front office will make moves if they’re not staying competitive. Guerrero Jr seems like the likeliest player to be traded given his decline since the 21′ season where he smacked 48 home runs and hit .311.

Toronto continues their three-game set with the Dodgers on Saturday afternoon. Yusei Kikuchi takes the hill, while the lineup is tasked with facing Tyler Glasnow, one of the most electric arms in the game when healthy.