TORONTO — Baseball’s stretch drive is here and the Toronto Blue Jays are in the mix as they aim to return to the post-season after reaching the World Series last fall. With 12 games to go entering play Monday against the visiting Detroit Tigers, here’s a look at five things to watch over the season’s final fortnight. SWEET STROKE Blue Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr., is showing signs that he may be ready for a long-awaited breakout. Over the weekend, the face of the franchise homered at Rogers Centre for the first time this season. It was part of a 4-for-5 day that included a curtain call from the sellout crowd. He entered play against Detroit with a .333 batting average and .898 OPS (on-base plus slugging) over 12 games in September. Most of Guerrero’s offensive numbers this season are below his career averages. But if the first baseman gets hot like he did last October — look out. MUSHY MIDDLE The American League has never seemed weaker and that may be good news for the reigning AL champions. A .500 record might just be good enough for a division crown in the mediocre West Division as well as the middling Central race. The third wild-card spot will likely go to a team with a similar mark. Detroit squeaked in last year with a record of 87-75. The Blue Jays, who took a 75-75 record into their opener against the Tigers, were just one game behind the Cleveland Guardians in the race for the final berth. TREY DAY Bullpen days have been the norm in recent weeks due to injury woes to Toronto’s starting pitchers. Some much-needed relief may soon be on the way. Trey Yesavage, who has been out six weeks after undergoing knee surgery, was scheduled to make a rehab appearance for triple-A Buffalo on Tuesday. Fellow right-hander Shane Bieber (shoulder) is also making progress but his timeline is less certain. Slugger Anthony Santander (shoulder) has been playing with the Bisons and could be a late-September addition. TIEBREAKERS Baseball’s old “Game 163” setup to break ties was retired a few years ago. If teams finish with the same regular-season record, Major League Baseball has a list of criteria to determine which club gets the spot. The Blue Jays hold the tiebreaker over the Guardians thanks to a better head-to-head record. However, if Cleveland wins the Central and Chicago falls into the wild-card spot, the White Sox have the tiebreaker edge on Toronto. PLAYING THE ODDS The Blue Jays’ playoff odds were slim at best in late July when the team was 10 games under the .500 mark. Entering the opener against Detroit, Toronto had won 11 of 17 games to greatly improve its chances. Every opponent the Blue Jays play the rest of the way — Detroit, Texas, Baltimore and Cincinnati — currently has a sub-.500 record. At the start of the day Monday, Toronto had a 43.4-per chance of qualifying for the post-season per FanGraphs. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2026. Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press
