Inbox: What must happen for playoff berth?

Coming off a 1-2 series in Seattle that opened with a pair of tough losses, the Blue Jays round out their road trip with a two-game set in Washington beginning Tuesday.

The loss of George Springer had the potential to be a far greater loss than any other suffered on this trip, but the Blue Jays are optimistic that the star center fielder won’t miss significant time with a left ankle sprain. Help could be on the way, too, with lefty Tim Mayza working back from elbow inflammation with a Tuesday return possible.

Looking ahead to the postseason race, here are your questions:

What needs to happen for the Blue Jays to make the playoffs?
-- @realMicahOommen

Hit in the late innings, slam the door shut with late leads and win games within their division.

Too often, the Blue Jays jump on the opposing starter in the early innings but coast the rest of the way. That won’t work in the regular season, and it certainly won’t work in the playoffs if they qualify. The bullpen has been the obvious flaw at many points this season, but the simplest path to the postseason for the Blue Jays is beating teams in front of them. This upcoming stretch is key, with matchups against the Nationals, Tigers and Orioles, but they’ll need to beat some heavyweights, too.

I have a couple roster-move questions. If Nate Pearson joins the roster, who comes off? Once Cavan Biggio comes back, who comes off the roster?
-- @SarniaStingFan

Pearson’s addition could be big, and the bullpen will feel the squeeze. Mayza’s return will add to that, too. Connor Overton is on that line, along with Trent Thornton, but what do the Blue Jays do with Rafael Dolis? The right hander owns a 5.46 ERA and isn’t the same pitcher we saw in 2020 by any means.

Biggio will be returning to an uncertain role following the emergence of Santiago Espinal, so Breyvic Valera is on the line in that case. As always, though, these things tend to work themselves out with other injuries or cold streaks. It’s a good problem to have.

What is the plan for Thomas Hatch? He was expected to be a big piece of the puzzle for the Blue Jays this year. Is the bullpen an option now or no?
-- @jaysandheat13

This could be tied to Ross Stripling, who’s on the IL. If Stripling were healthy, that gives the Blue Jays more insurance for their rotation and makes it a little easier to shorten up Hatch in a bullpen role if needed. Right now, though, he’s next in line if a starter goes down, so he’ll stay stretched out.

Call Kevin Smith up?
-- @Brennan_L_D

Full credit to Smith, who’s bounced back from a brutal 2019 season and recaptured his '18 form. He’s hitting .286 with 19 home runs and a .947 OPS down in Triple-A, playing both shortstop and third. Espinal’s emergence has quieted the calls for Smith, but he’s earned it. Consider Smith an injury away, and he’s going to be one of the more interesting situations to watch in Spring Training 2022.

I know it’s talked about a lot, but why do you think the Blue Jays can’t hit late in games?
-- @OLatt_9

The million-dollar question, and if I had an answer, the Blue Jays would have me wearing a branded polo in their front office. Part of it could be attributed to inexperience, but that’s on an individual basis. Broadly speaking, the later innings bring out the best relievers who throw the hardest, so the Blue Jays’ ability to hit high velocity is part of this. It’s a game of adjustments, and the Blue Jays are losing that from the seventh inning on.

A wise man once commented that most of a manager’s job is to handle the bullpen. Keeping in mind Blue Jays offense from the seventh inning on is among the worst in the American League, what do you think of Charlie's performance this season?
-- @DaveyKeon61

This is why voting on the Manager of the Year Award is always such a difficult task. Someday, I’d love to have a shiny new metric that measures just how well a manager does, but until then, we’re left to break down decisions on the bullpen, bunt calls and other in-game decisions. As the Blue Jays have navigated three different homes, Montoyo’s abilities as a manager of people have mattered just as much, and his background in development was clearly valuable in 2019 and ’20, but we’ll see the true test down the stretch. How hard does he push Jordan Romano? Does the leash get shorter on cold streaks? These six weeks -- going through crunch time in a true postseason race -- will tell the full story.