Blue Jays news: Kevin Gausman resurgence, Alek Manoah's motivation, top prospect shines

The early days of Toronto Blue Jays spring training were understandably dominated by Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and the team's inability to come to an agreement on a contract extension with their face of the franchise just months before he's slated to hit free agency. On the heels of a another largely disappointing offseason, it was hardly the morale boost that fans were looking for.

But Guerrero Jr. remains a Blue Jay, at least for a few more months, and Toronto will still be playing baseball in 2025. So, how are things actually going on the field? How is the team shaping up, and what are its chances of hanging with the likes of the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox in the rugged AL East? Let's run through the latest news from Blue Jays camp.

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Blue Jays news: Kevin Gausman in vintage form in spring training

If Toronto is going to reverse course and make a playoff push in 2025, they're going to need much more from Gausman than they got last season, when the righty's strikeout rate cratered and his ERA ballooned by more than half a run up to 3.83 (just a 105 ERA+). The two-time All-Star simply never looked like himself, with an early-season velocity dip portending a rough season to come.

Which is why it's such a positive sign to see Gausman looking like he did against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday afternoon, allowing just one walk with two strikeouts over 1.2 innings of work.

That's the Gausman that has anchored Toronto's staff for the past few years, and the kind the team will need to see again if it wants to keep pace with the big boys in the AL East. The Jays have some rotation depth with Jose Berrios, Chris Bassitt and Max Scherzer, but Gausman is their ace, and he'll need to pitch like it.

Blue Jays news: Alek Manoah opens up on a tough two years

It wasn't too long ago that Manoah looked like he was going to fill that role, coming off a 2022 season in which he posted a 2.24 ERA over 196.2 innings while finishing third in AL Cy Young voting. But that feels like another lifetime now, as Manoah has spent most of the last two years in the wilderness: He was disastrous in 2023, eventually earning a demotion to the Minors that he was none too happy about, and while 2024 got off to a better start, it was cut short by elbow surgery.

It's been quite the odyssey, is what we're saying, one that Manoah hasn't handled very well at times. But as he continues his rehab in Florida, the righty seems to be in a much better headspace, telling the Foul Territory podcast that "it's been great" to work through the adversity he's faced over the last 24 months.

“Sometimes you got to get punched in the mouth, you got to get kicked down, to know how to get up,” Manoah said. “Those are things that you can’t really mimic or practice. Those are things that you got to go through to learn.”

Manoah added that his arm is "feeling great," which is good to hear given the physical discomfort he's had to work through previously.

“For me it’s about, you know, there’s a lot of people that don’t even get to that height of the mountain. So, for me to be able to get there and, yeah you know what, we struggled and there’s a lot of people that can say what they want or [their] opinions, and that doesn’t matter because I know I’m working my butt off each and every day to be right back there again and help this team win.”

Blue Jays news: Top prospect Arjun Nimmala putting on a show

The fates of Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette are very much in doubt as the two enter their walk years, but there's at least one ray of sunshine about the Jays' future: 19-year-old shortstop Arjun Nimmala, the team's top prospect who's been turning heads so far in big-league camp.

Nimmala is 2-for-4 with a homer so far this spring, looking every bit the part of a future cornerstone. Granted, he's still a long ways away from the Majors, having spent 2024 in Single-A. But his physical tools are awfully impressive, and if he continues to develop, expect him to lock down an infield spot in Toronto for years to come.