Olney: Blue Jays need to communicate better with players, fans

The Toronto Blue Jays are in the midst of a very disappointing 2024 MLB campaign.

Toronto sits in last place in the American League East with a 58-67 record after two straight years of being a playoff team.

On Monday, starting pitcher Chris Bassitt vocalized his displeasure with how the season has gone, bringing up the lack of moves made in the off-season.

“I can literally talk for 45 minutes on things that didn’t go great [for the Blue Jays],” Bassitt said on the Chris Rose Rotation podcast. “I just don’t think saying those things is what is best for the organization.

“The one thing I will say about the Blue Jays this year, we put $700 million into Shohei Ohtani’s basket and we didn’t get him. That was the reality and I think we really didn’t pivot to, like, another elite player.”

Bassitt’s comments have added more pressure to a Blue Jays front office that is also trying to decide the fate of star players such as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette while also looking to re-focus for next season.

ESPN’s Buster Olney believes that the Blue Jays’ front office has not been transparent enough to both the players and fans and that needs to change in order to improve as an organization.

“I do think the biggest thing that has come out of this year is that there needs to be more communication between the Blue Jays’ leadership and players and fans,” Olney told TSN 1050’s First Up on Tuesday. “When the ship is going off course and it’s not going well, the best leaders are out there telling us what the plan is going forward. To basically have silence all summer and for others to fill the gaps of that silence, is nothing but cancerous.”

Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro told reporters at the beginning of August that the front office believes in the talent on the team and expects them to be contenders in the 2025 season.

One of the biggest factors in making those expectations a reality for the team is to make long-term decisions about Guerrero and Bichette. Both players are scheduled to become unrestricted free agents at the end of next season, but the two players have had vastly different campaigns this year.

Guerrero has been one of the Blue Jays’ few bright spots this season with him hitting .317 with 26 home runs and 81 RBIs in 124 games. The 25-year-old first baseman has also repeatedly said that he would like to stay in Toronto despite the team’s struggles.

Bichette’s season went in the completely opposite direction. The 26-year-old shortstop had led the American League in hits in two of the last three seasons, but this year he batted .223 with four home runs and 30 RBIs before going down with a calf injury in July.

With the two faces of the franchise on the verge of free agency, Olney believes the team is going to be forced to make some tough decisions.

“As we’ve watched the Blue Jays flounder about all summer, I think they need to make some hard decisions and make choices to go in a hard direction,” said Olney. “At this point, the best thing for them if they want to build a face of the franchise is sign Vladdy and get him locked in.”

The prospect of possibly trading Bichette puts the Blue Jays in a precarious position. After a down season, the team may not see the offers they were expecting for the star shortstop and letting him start next season with the team may limit trade partners later on.

However, Olney thinks that might be a price the Blue Jays need to pay in order to move forward.

“If you sign Vladdy to a long-term contract, that gives you some political cover to do what you need to do with Bichette,” said Olney. “I think it would shock the casual fan at how low the return would be but if they make a deal for Bichette where you get 60 cents on the dollar, then you can move forward and start building the team you’re going to have.”