A four-game sweep of the Yankees, right in the middle of the playoff race. That’s not just a statement, but a seismic shift. The Yankees are pulled to the Rogers Centre and left with a clean sweep by the Blue Jays, 4-0, knocking them off the top of the AL East.

For the Bleacher Creatures, it’s a tough pill to swallow, and that includes their broadcaster, Michael Kay. Just before the sweep, Kay took a sharp dig at the Blue Jays’ legitimacy, which got a strong rebuttal from the Jays analyst in no time. And now we are almost certain that we may be in for a long, heated battle in the AL East.

“The Blue Jays are not a first-place team, I’m sorry,” Kay mentioned. “If you look at the run differential, the Yankees’ run differential is +105. The Blue Jays, after a 12-5 win, finally got in the positive yesterday; they’re +4. Do you realize they should be a .500 team because of a +4 run differential? And the Yankees should have at least four or five more wins with a +105 run differential. They’re not playing great baseball. I’m sorry, they’re not.”

As per Kay, the Blue Jays’ lackluster run differential suggests their strong first half might not hold up. And he seems to believe that what the Blue Jays have done so far is just a fluke.

And then, with a sweep, the Blue Jays left the mark… “Here in Toronto first time, and I can think of a certain Yankee broadcaster in fact who was going to have to go on his show tomorrow. And admit that the Blue Jays are a first-place team because the standings prove it,” Blue Jays analyst Jamie Campbell responded.

Well, the dominance shown by the Blue Jays against the Yankees was extraordinary. Starting from the first game that went 5-4 in favour of the Jays, the rest followed with 12-5, 11-9, and 8-5. You can imagine how the Jays outperformed the Yankees across all departments.

Still, the Yankees are the favorite to win the division. They reached the postseason last year, while the Blue Jays last entered the postseason in 2023. Moreover, it was back in 1993 that the Jays won the World Series. But now, if we go by the current performance, the Jays are dominating in the AL East.

The Blue Jays are topping the chart for the first time since 2016, the year marked with an early loss in the playoffs. This year, the team is still going strong. But their pitching staff?

The Blue Jays’ weak point: Pitching staff 

Well, the Jays are currently ranked 3rd in terms of average (.258) and 23rd in terms of ERA (4.26). It shows the need to replenish their pitching squad faster. Whether it’s injuries, inconsistency, or just a lack of depth, the staff hasn’t delivered the way the team had hoped.

Alek Manoah is yet to recover from last year’s injury. Kevin Gausman, typically the steady ace, has had his moments but hasn’t been as dominant as in previous seasons (4.18 ERA). Veteran Max Scherzer, who was taken with much hype, hasn’t delivered the expected outcome yet and is sidelined with injuries.

So, a huge gap prevails in the Blue Jays’ pitching depth.

Now, if the Blue Jays want to stay in the playoff picture, fixing the pitching staff, either through internal improvement or by adding high-leverage arms at the trade deadline, needs to be a top priority. Otherwise, even a solid offense might not be enough to carry them.

And if you remember last year’s offseason, the Blue Jays came with a unique perspective towards trading.

Like most things in baseball, the trade deadline is when things REALLY start to happen. For instance, of the 68 trades made last July, 60 went down in the final week right before the deadline. Hence, it’s likely the Blue Jays will wait until late to make their moves, too. Especially since they’ll have a better idea by then about where guys like Anthony Santander, Yimi Garcia, Max Scherzer, and Alek Manoah stand health-wise.

While the team is setting a good standard in the division, a few good names might just catapult them beyond October.