3 Blue Jays players who won’t be back next season if they miss the playoffs

If the Toronto Blue Jays are to miss out on the postseason this year, these three players may not be back for the 2022 season.

The Toronto Blue Jays showed in the 2020 season that they were indeed on the rise after clinching the eighth and final postseason berth in the American League. They were active in the offseason when signing outfielder George Springer to a massive contract and at the trade deadline with their plethora of moves.

Despite all of that, the Blue Jays currently sit in fourth place in the AL East behind the Tampa Bay Rays, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. They are only 4.5 games back from the second AL Wild Card spot, but while they are still in it, there are only so many postseason berths to go around.

If the Blue Jays were to miss out on the postseason this year, the question remains: Who won’t be on the roster next year? Here are three possibilities.

The Blue Jays’ largest acquisition at the trade deadline was former Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Jose Berrios. Also at the deadline, the Blue Jays gave a call to the Washington Nationals, inquired about the services for left-handed reliever Brad Hand and worked out a deal.

So far, Hand’s stint with Toronto has not gone the way the team had hoped.

In his second game with the Blue Jays, Hand surrendered two earned runs on two hits and was assessed the loss in their 5-2 extra innings loss to the Cleveland Indians on Aug. 2. Then, most recently, Hand surrendered three earned runs on two hits (two home runs) in Toronto’s 8-5 loss to the Nationals on Aug. 18.

Overall, Hand has accumulated a 7.50 ERA, a 1.67 WHIP and five strikeouts over 6.0 innings of work (eight games).

Hand is set to become a free agent at the end of the season. If the struggles continue, one has to imagine that the Blue Jays will look elsewhere for bullpen help.