The 2018 Toronto Blue Jays season was the 42nd season of the franchise in Major League Baseball (MLB), and the 28th full season of play (29th overall) at Rogers Centre.
Offseason During his end-of-season press conference on October 3, 2017, general manager Ross Atkins confirmed that the Blue Jays would decline their mutual option on José Bautista and allow him to enter free agency. Atkins also announced that the team would retain their entire coaching staff entering 2018. On October 11, the team dismissed their assistant athletic trainer, Mike Frostad, as well as head strength coach Chris Joyner. Darrell Ceciliani, Bo Schultz, and César Valdez were outrighted to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons on November 1. The following day, Brett Anderson, Darwin Barney, Miguel Montero, and Michael Saunders became free agents. On November 4, José Bautista's $17 million mutual option for the 2018 season was officially declined by the Blue Jays, making him a free agent. Leonel Campos, Taylor Cole, Raffy Lopez, and Luis Santos were outrighted to Triple-A on November 6, and pitcher Taylor Guerrieri was claimed off waivers from the Tampa Bay Rays. Former Blue Jays pitcher Roy Halladay died on November 7, when his ICON A5 amphibious airplane crashed into the Gulf of Mexico near the Tampa Bay area of Florida. He was the only person in the airplane. The Blue Jays organization later announced plans to honour Halladay before their game on Opening Day and throughout the 2018 season, by retiring his number and wearing a black 32 patch on their jerseys for the year.
On November 20, the Blue Jays acquired Gift Ngoepe from the Pittsburgh Pirates, outrighted Chris Rowley and Harold Ramírez, lost Rob Refsnyder on a waiver claim by the Cleveland Indians, and added Conner Greene, Danny Jansen, Reese McGuire, Thomas Pannone, and Rowdy Tellez to the 40-man roster in order to protect them from the Rule 5 draft. The Blue Jays organization experienced a spike in positive tests for performance-enhancing drugs during November. Six players with the Dominican Summer League Blue Jays and one with the Gulf Coast League Blue Jays were suspended after testing positive. The team announced on November 23 that they would begin an internal investigation into the positive reports. Late in the month, it was announced that assistant general manager Andrew Tinnish had been hired by the Atlanta Braves, who had recently hired former Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos. On December 1, Tinnish announced he had withdrawn from his position with Atlanta and would remain with Toronto. Also on December 1, the Blue Jays non-tendered Ryan Goins and Tom Koehler, and traded minor league outfielder J. B. Woodman to the St. Louis Cardinals for infielder Aledmys Díaz. Head athletic trainer George Poulis, who had been with the Blue Jays organization for 18 years, was hired by the Atlanta Braves on December 5.
On January 6, 2018, the Blue Jays traded Edward Olivares and Jared Carkuff to the San Diego Padres for infielder Yangervis Solarte. Ezequiel Carrera, Josh Donaldson, Dominic Leone, Aaron Loup, Kevin Pillar, Aaron Sanchez, and Devon Travis each avoided salary arbitration with the Blue Jays on January 12, agreeing to one-year contracts. Marcus Stroman and Roberto Osuna were unable to reach agreements with the team prior to the deadline. Dominic Leone and prospect Conner Greene were traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for outfielder Randal Grichuk on January 19. Curtis Granderson's one-year, $5 million contract became official on January 23. MLB revealed their top 100 prospects list on January 27, with Blue Jays prospects Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, and Anthony Alford ranking 3rd, 14th, and 47th respectively.
Roberto Osuna lost his arbitration case with the Blue Jays on February 3, and was awarded the team's $5.3 million contract instead of his requested $5.8 million. Jerry Howarth, the team's play-by-play announcer, announced his retirement on February 13 after 36 seasons with the Blue Jays. On February 15, Marcus Stroman announced through his Twitter account that he had lost his arbitration case and would make $6.5 million for the season instead of his requested salary of $6.9 million. Later that day, the team announced Jaime García had been signed to a one-year, $8 million contract that included a 2019 team option.
Trades Date Team in transaction Acquired Traded November 20, 2017 Pittsburgh Pirates Gift Ngoepe Cash considerations or a player to be named later December 1, 2017 St. Louis Cardinals Aledmys Díaz J. B. Woodman January 6, 2018 San Diego Padres Yangervis Solarte Edward OlivaresJared Carkuff January 19, 2018 St. Louis Cardinals Randal Grichuk Dominic LeoneConner Greene
Free agency In Date Player Former team Details November 16, 2017 Deck McGuire Cincinnati Reds Minor league contract with an invitation to spring training December 4, 2017 Luis Santos Minor league contract with an invitation to spring training January 18, 2018 Al Alburquerque Chicago White Sox Minor league contract with an invitation to spring training January 23, 2018 Curtis Granderson Los Angeles Dodgers One-year, $5 million contract January 25, 2018 Rhiner Cruz Atlanta Braves Minor league contract with an invitation to spring training February 8, 2018 Jake Petricka Chicago White Sox Minor league contract with an invitation to spring training February 8, 2018 John Axford Oakland Athletics Minor league contract with an invitation to spring training February 12, 2018 Craig Breslow Cleveland Indians Minor league contract with an invitation to spring training February 15, 2018 Jaime García New York Yankees One-year, $8 million contract2019 team option
Out Date Player New team Details November 22, 2017 Jeff Beliveau Cleveland Indians Minor league contract with an invitation to spring training November 22, 2017 Leonel Campos Cleveland Indians Minor league contract with an invitation to spring training December 7, 2017 Raffy Lopez San Diego Padres Minor league contract with an invitation to spring training December 13, 2017 Mike Bolsinger Chiba Lotte Marines One-year, $800,000 contract December 20, 2017 Tom Koehler Los Angeles Dodgers One-year contract December 21, 2017 Chris Smith Washington Nationals Minor league contract with an invitation to spring training January 9, 2018 Mike Ohlman Texas Rangers Minor league contract with an invitation to spring training January 24, 2018 Ryan Goins Kansas City Royals Minor league contract with an invitation to spring training February 1, 2018 Miguel Montero Washington Nationals Minor league contract with an invitation to spring training February 5, 2018 Darwin Barney Texas Rangers Minor league contract with an invitation to spring training February 21, 2018 Michael Saunders Pittsburgh Pirates Minor league contract with an invitation to spring training
Waivers In Date Player Former team November 6, 2017 Taylor Guerrieri Tampa Bay Rays
Out Date Player New team November 20, 2017 Rob Refsnyder Cleveland Indians
Spring training Blue Jays pitchers and catchers reported to spring training on February 14, while position players reported on February 19. Seung-hwan Oh signed a one-year, $2 million contract with Toronto on February 26. To make room on the roster, Ezequiel Carrera was designated for assignment. Carrera later cleared waivers and was invited back to spring training. Nick Tepesch signed a minor league contract with the Blue Jays on March 3, and was invited to spring training. Early in spring training, it was announced that Troy Tulowitzki had a bone spur in his right ankle, and that he would miss the start of the Grapefruit League season. On March 4, manager John Gibbons stated Tulowitzki was unlikely to be ready for Opening Day. Top prospects Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette made their Grapefruit League debuts on March 8, and combined to go 6-for-8 with two RBIs and three runs scored in Toronto's 9–3 win over the Baltimore Orioles. The Blue Jays made their first cuts of spring training on March 10, optioning Rowdy Tellez to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, and sending Jon Harris, Sean Reid-Foley, and Jordan Romano to minor league camp. The following day, Ryan Borucki and Thomas Pannone were optioned to Buffalo, and Ezequiel Carrera was released.
On March 12, Gibbons announced that Marcus Stroman would not start on Opening Day due to shoulder inflammation he suffered early in spring training. Major League Baseball announced an 80-game suspension for Thomas Pannone on March 16, after he tested positive for a banned performance-enhancing substance. On March 20, Gibbons revealed that J. A. Happ would start on Opening Day, and be followed in the five-man rotation by Aaron Sanchez, Marco Estrada, Marcus Stroman, and Jaime García. On March 26 and 27, the Blue Jays returned to Montreal's Olympic Stadium for two games against the St. Louis Cardinals. The team finished spring training with a 14–18 record and one tie.
Standings American League East
American League Wild Card
Records vs opponents
Record Games Left Opponent Home Road Total Home Road Total AL East Baltimore Orioles 10–0 4–5 14–5 – – – Boston Red Sox 3–6 1–9 4–15 – – – New York Yankees 3–6 3–7 6–13 – – – Tampa Bay Rays 4–6 2–7 6–13 – – – Totals 20–18 10–28 30–46 – – – AL Central Chicago White Sox 2–1 2–1 4–2 – – – Cleveland Indians 2–2 2–1 4–3 – – – Detroit Tigers 2–2 1–2 3–4 – – – Kansas City Royals 3–0 2–2 5–2 – – – Minnesota Twins 0–3 2–1 2–4 – – – Totals 9–8 9–7 18–15 – – – AL West Houston Astros 1–2 1–2 2–4 – – – Los Angeles Angels 1–2 2–2 3–4 – – – Oakland Athletics 0–4 0–3 0–7 – – – Seattle Mariners 1–2 3–1 4–3 – – – Texas Rangers 1–2 2–1 3–3 – – – Totals 4–12 8–9 12–21 – – – National League Atlanta Braves 1–1 1–1 2–2 – – – Miami Marlins – 2–1 2–1 – – – New York Mets 1–1 1–1 2–2 – – – Philadelphia Phillies 2–1 2–1 4–2 – – – Washington Nationals 3–0 – 3–0 – – – Totals 7–3 6–4 13–7 – – – Season Totals 40–41 33–48 73–89 – – – Month Games Won Lost Pct. March 3 1 2 April 25 15 10 May 28 9 19 June 26 14 12 July 24 9 15 August 28 13 15 September 28 12 16 Totals 162 73 89
2018 draft The 2018 Major League Baseball draft began on June 4 and concluded on June 6. Round Pick Player Position College/School Nationality Signed 1 12 Jordan Groshans SS Magnolia High School (TX) June 12 2 51 Griffin Conine OF Duke June 20 3 88 Adam Kloffenstein RHP Magnolia High School (TX) June 12 4 116 Sean Wymer RHP TCU June 12 5 146 Christopher Bec C Maine June 12 6 176 Addison Barger SS C. Leon King High School (FL) June 12 7 206 Nick Podkul 3B Notre Dame June 12 8 236 Joey Murray RHP Kent State June 12 9 266 Jake Brodt 1B Santa Clara June 12 10 296 Cal Stevenson OF Arizona June 12
Regular season Opening Day
+Opening Day starters Position Name Catcher Russell Martin First baseman Justin Smoak Second baseman Devon Travis Shortstop Aledmys Díaz Third baseman Josh Donaldson Left fielder Curtis Granderson Center fielder Kevin Pillar Right fielder Randal Grichuk Designated hitter Kendrys Morales Pitcher J. A. Happ
March and April