ALCS Game 2 - Seattle Mariners @ Toronto Blue Jays, Monday October 13, 2025, 5:03 PM

[Michael Bradley]

Little has a BB/9 of 6.9 since June. No high leverage reliever is going to get away with that consistently. Varland since the trade has given up 6 home runs in 29 innings (counting the playoffs) with a lot of hard contact. Hoffman since May has a 5.30 ERA, 14 home runs allowed (52 innings), and a fWAR of -1.1. Yes, negative 1.1. These 3 are the highest leverage relievers on the team according to John Schneider's usage. It's baffling that Schneider is so quick to make pitching changes when these are the guys he wants to live or die with out of the pen.

Feels like the team needs to be more assertive with looking at recent results with relievers rather than basing usage on reputation or what they want in a perfect world. They obviously want Varland to be elite, but he's not. They think Little is 2015 Brett Cecil, but he's not. He's closer to Gregory Soto. Adjust your decision making and give other relievers who are performing better more of a chance.

[linery88]

I think I read the Jays have had 1 hit combined after the 2nd inning in either game this series. This is not a Vladdy problem, it's a team problem. He's working the counts, hitting the ball hard (generally on the ground like he's prone to). But others are either striking out or flying out weakly in a couple of pitches.

At some point, you have to give Seattle credit. They're a good team, and the exact type of team you don't want to face in the playoffs. Jays are tasked with beating this starting rotation 4 out of the next 5 games (Kirby x2, Gilbert, Castillo, Miller & Co.). Add in the fact Seattle has homefield advantage, a rested elite bullpen and Jays are also throwing out Bieber, Scherzer and without Bo this series; it's a gargantuan task.

These guys popped too much champagne and partied too hard after that Yankee's series. It's embarrassing to compare them to the 2019 Raptors who refused to celebrate after a series win, until the finals. This Blue Jays team was never serious.

People do this song and dance every postseason in baseball lmao the Mariners were popping champagne 36 hrs before playing us and they beat a trash Tigers team lol they were off like 3 days after that night. The Jays could've went straight to the batting cages after beating the Yankees and this series would still be the exact same lol

Media helped to create this narrative,and people run with it.its not like we are a basketball,football,or hockey team who could more likely pay a price for overdoing it than a baseball team.Everybody assumed we would cruise over the supposedly exhausted Mariners after their 15 inning game.I know i did lol.

[Mehar]

Little has a BB/9 of 6.9 since June. No high leverage reliever is going to get away with that consistently. Varland since the trade has given up 6 home runs in 29 innings (counting the playoffs) with a lot of hard contact. Hoffman since May has a 5.30 ERA, 14 home runs allowed (52 innings), and a fWAR of -1.1. Yes, negative 1.1. These 3 are the highest leverage relievers on the team according to John Schneider's usage. It's baffling that Schneider is so quick to make pitching changes when these are the guys he wants to live or die with out of the pen.

Feels like the team needs to be more assertive with looking at recent results with relievers rather than basing usage on reputation or what they want in a perfect world. They obviously want Varland to be elite, but he's not. They think Little is 2015 Brett Cecil, but he's not. He's closer to Gregory Soto. Adjust your decision making and give other relievers who are performing better more of a chance.

I would let Brendon Little go in the off-season, have Varland start off as a lower leverage relief guy in 2026, and have Hoffman (who you are stuck with for two more years return as a 7th/8th Inning Setup guy next year, where he excelled in Philadelphia). Some guys are not meant to be Closers, and Hoffman is one of those guys.

This team should then go out and spend its payroll dollars to fully address the bullpen with at least three high leverage guys who throw Strikes (A 9th Inning Closer, another lefty High Leverage Reliever instead of Little, and another guy to replace Dominguez who is a free agent). I would fully prioritize the Bullpen this off-season with guys who throw Strikes, instead of bringing back guys like Little who Walk a lot of people and run into control issues.