Blue Jays and 4 MLB teams already being reminded of their fatal flaws

There isn't a single perfect team in MLB right now. Heck, even the Los Angeles Dodgers, a team many think is breaking baseball, have played two fairly tight games. They were up 4-2 before pulling away late on Opening Day, and held on by the skin of their teeth, winning their second game of the season by just one run.

The 2026 season has only been going on for a couple of days, but these teams are already being reminded that they have weaknesses to overcome if they want to hoist the Commissioner's Trophy in October or November, starting with the defending American League champions.

Toronto Blue Jays: Bullpen

The few Toronto Blue Jays fans who were willing to give Jeff Hoffman a second chance after a mostly rough first season back with the franchise that drafted him were left disappointed on Friday when the right-hander surrendered a game-tying home run to Shea Langeliers. The Jays wound up winning the game in extra innings, but Hoffman's blown save only reminded Jays fans of how shaky 2025 was late in games.

Hoffman was signed to be their lockdown closer after an outstanding stint with the Philadelphia Phillies, and he mostly struggled. Not only did the 33-year-old blow seven of his 40 save opportunities in the regular season, but he gave up a whopping 15 home runs in just 68 innings of work. As if that wasn't bad enough, while he did pitch well for much of the postseason, Hoffman, of course, surrendered a game-tying home run to Miguel Rojas, of all hitters, with the Jays just two outs away from a World Series title. Toronto went on to lose that game in extra innings, and few, if any, players deserve more blame for that than Hoffman.

Watching him blow Friday's save opportunity, and do so by giving up yet another home run, is just infuriating. Hoffman is the closer, and will continue to get save opportunities, but you'd have to think that if these home run issues persist, John Schneider will begin giving guys like Tyler Rogers and Louis Varland chances to close games. This version of Hoffman just isn't going to cut it if the Jays are trying to get over the World Series hump.

Pittsburgh Pirates: Defense

The Pittsburgh Pirates went out of their way to improve their offense, and that showed on Opening Day, as they scored seven runs. Some Pirates fans might point to a rare poor Paul Skenes start as the reason they lost that game despite their offensive onslaught, but while Skenes wasn't his usual dominant self, there are reasons to be concerned about their defense.

While going all-out to improve what was a league-worst lineup made sense, Pittsburgh made sacrifices it could ill-afford defensively. The Pirates went from an above-average defensive team overall to a team with issues on that side of the ball everywhere you turn. Ryan O'Hearn, a natural first baseman, is their right fielder. Brandon Lowe, the worst defensive second baseman by OAA last season, is their starting second baseman. Oneil Cruz, a subpar defender in center field, remained at that position on Opening Day.

On one hand, these guys hit on Opening Day. Lowe went deep twice, O'Hearn did so once. Cruz led off Pittsburgh's season with a hit and scored their first run of the year on Lowe's first home run. Unfortunately, while those players scored five of the Pirates' seven runs, Cruz was responsible for giving up three or four of those from two brutal miscues in center field. The sun wasn't helpful, but MLB-caliber center fielders don't make these blunders.

The Pirates will score many more runs than they did in 2025, but their defense will also cost them more runs, and that could prove to be costly.

Chicago Cubs: Lack of an ace

Opening Day is so fun, not only because it's the start of a new year, but because the best pitchers each team has to offer take the bump most of the time. Matthew Boyd was Craig Counsell's choice to take the ball for the Chicago Cubs' season opener, and the pick made sense. Boyd was an All-Star and their best starter in 2025, even though he had a subpar second half. Unfortunately, Boyd struggled mightily in this game.

The southpaw allowed six runs on six hits in just 3.2 innings of work against the lowly Washington Nationals. He did strike out seven batters, but he left the game with the Cubs in a 6-2 hole. That's not what you want from your "ace."

Now, the Cubs have a good rotation overall. Boyd, despite the rough outing, is a good pitcher. Edward Cabrera has a ton of upside. Cade Horton had a stellar rookie year. Shota Imanaga was once an All-Star. Jameson Taillon is rock-solid as a back-end starter. Justin Steele is really good too, when healthy. Are any of these guys bonafide aces, though?

Winning a World Series without having a starter you can pencil in for a dominant outing every fifth day is difficult, and something the Cubs will have to overcome.

San Francisco Giants: Lineup

The San Francisco Giants have been shut out in each of their first two games of the season. Now, to be fair, facing Max Fried and Cam Schlittler to open your season is not an easy task, but not a single run? Only four hits in two games? Yikes.

There are pieces to like. When Rafael Devers is right, he's one of the best hitters in the world. Matt Chapman and Willy Adames are two high-end power-hitting infielders. Luis Arraez is a three-time batting champion. I just don't think there's enough firepower, though.

The Giants ranked just 17th in runs scored and 19th in home runs in 2025. They'd figure to be a bit better with a full season of Devers, but the only changes made were the additions of Arraez coming off a down year and Harrison Bader, a defense-first outfielder who has hit ninth in the order. The one possible needle-mover the Giants had available to them, Bryce Eldridge, is in Triple-A to start the year.

The starting pitching shouldn't be bad. I don't expect Logan Webb to have another clunker as he did on Opening Day, Robbie Ray pitched well in his season debut, and veterans Tyler Mahle and Adrian Houser are solid. The lineup faced tough pitching to begin the season, but not scoring a single run only adds to the already existing concerns.

San Diego Padres: Starting pitching

Even without Robert Suarez, the San Diego Padres might have the best bullpen in the league. Does that matter, though, if they don't have many leads to protect? The state of their starting rotation might make it difficult for there to be so many late Padres leads.

Nick Pivetta, their Opening Day starter, allowed six runs in just three innings. It's really hard for any team to win a game with their starter struggling to that extent. Michael King pitched better on Friday, allowing just one unearned run in five innings, but it felt as if King, a pitcher who issued four walks and threw just 46 of his 82 pitches for strikes, was lucky to only give up the one unearned run.

Those are the best starters San Diego has to offer, and they both come with significant question marks. Can Pivetta repeat his breakout year? Can King stay healthy? If those two pitchers aren't pitching the greatest, how can anyone expect the likes of Randy Vasquez, Walker Buehler and German Marquez to do so?

There's a lot to like about this Padres team, but with how important starting pitching is, watching Pivetta struggle mightily and King not pitch quite as well as his final line might indicate, it's hard to believe strongly in this team having much success in 2026.

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