"You work hard, you play hard"- Bo Bichette of the Toronto Blue Jays discusses team's bullpen ideology; what to expect from the Canadian team this season
The Toronto Blue Jays have high expectations going into the 2022 MLB regular season. Headlined by young stars such as Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the Blue Jays are looking to make the postseason after barely missing out a season ago.
The young Toronto Blue Jays have one of the most talented teams in all of baseball. This article will discuss what to expect from the team and the mentality the team has going into the season.
Bo Bichette can't wait to see the Rogers Centre rocking this season!
@BlueJays | @Boporter16Bo | @LaurenShehadi | #MLBTonight https://t.co/bmS8fZU6aU
"Bo Bichette can't wait to see the Rogers Centre rocking this season. 'You work hard, you play hard.' - Bo Bichette on the teams mentality ahead of the 2022 season - @ MLB Network
What to expect from the Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays have made many moves this offseason. Most notably, the Jays acquired star third baseman Matt Chapman from the Oakland Athletics. Chapman is one of the best defensive third basemen in baseball and is expected to play a major role this season for the Toronto Blue Jays. Below is the projected starting lineup for the Toronto Blue Jays.
- George Springer, CF
- Bo Bichette, SS
- Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 1B
- Teoscar Hernandez, DH
- Matt Chapman, 3B
- Lourdes Gurriel Jr, LF
- Cavan Biggio, 2B
- Danny Jansen, C
- Raimel Tapia, RF
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., one of the best young players in baseball, headlines a newly-loaded Blue Jays squad. Guerrero had a monster season a year ago, which included 48 home runs, a .401 on-base percentage, a slugging percentage of .601 and an on-base plus slugging percentage of 1.002. He led the American League in each category.
The Blue Jays have also recently acquired young outfielder Raimel Tapia from the Colorado Rockies. Tapia was traded in exchange for Blue Jays outfielder Randal Grichuk. Tapia provides the team with a much-needed left-handed bat. Tapia gives the team a contact hitter with speed at the bottom of the lineup. This is a perfect player to go with the slugging Blue Jays lineup.
The Blue Jays have also added to the pitching staff this offseason with the signing of star pitcher Kevin Gausman. Gausman, along with Hyun Jin Ryu and Jose Berrios, will headline a rotation that lost Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray during the offseason. While this loss is significant, expect the Blue Jays to have a much-improved rotation.
The Blue Jays have one of the best offenses in baseball. When you add in Matt Chapman and a more experienced Guerrero Jr., you have the potential to have one of the best offenses ever. It will be interesting to see how they live up to these high expectations.