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MLB Insider Says Toronto Blue Jays Have One of Most "Aggrieved Fanbases" in Baseball

The Blue Jays haven't won a World Series in 30 years and are staring down a potential "abyss," according to Dave Schoenfield of ESPN.

Brady Farkas

Toronto Blue Jays center Joey Loperfido (9) catches a fly ball hit by Miami Marlins third baseman Connor Norby (not shown) in the sixth inning at Rogers Centre on Sept 28.
Toronto Blue Jays center Joey Loperfido (9) catches a fly ball hit by Miami Marlins third baseman Connor Norby (not shown) in the sixth inning at Rogers Centre on Sept 28. / Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
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The Toronto Blue Jays are at an organizational crossroads heading into 2025.

They have a roster that is too good to completely tear down, but it's not good enough right now to compete in the American League East.

They've struck out on Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto in successive offseasons and are facing the reality of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette heading into the final year of their contracts.

The Jays also haven't won a World Series in more than 30 years (1993) and haven't won a playoff game since 2016. As a result of all this angst, ESPN just listed Jays fans as No. 5 on its list of most aggrieved fanbases.

From a portion of the piece:

They've been passed in the AL East pecking order by the Orioles and the Red Sox as well. And Guerrero and Bichette? Free agents after 2025. Needing a bat, they pursued Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto the past two offseasons, but after losing out on Soto earlier this month, they adjusted by trading for ... Andres Gimenez, a second baseman with a .298 OBP and nine home runs. He's a lockdown defender, but the offense still needs help.

The Blue Jays have increased payroll the past two seasons, even paying a luxury tax for the first time in 2023, but that was only following years of underspending in their market size. The front office hasn't figured out how to get the team over the hump and now, coming off a losing season and failing to land Soto with Guerrero and Bichette perhaps departing next offseason, Toronto might be staring into the abyss.

Further complicating factors is that the Jays do not have a well-regarded farm system, so should they start selling off pieces, they don't have a bevy of young talent set to come in and usher in a new wave.

Perhaps that could be achieved by trading Guerrero Jr. and Bichette, but that would come with a great deal of pain as well.

The Blue Jays finished last in the division at 74-88 this past year and they appear to be running fifth again as we are just a month and a half out from spring training.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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