This story was excerpted from Keegan Matheson’s Blue Jays Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Welcome to the midway point of the season.

Through 81 games, the Blue Jays have floated somewhere around the middle, too. A roster absolutely stacked with star players has shown some incredible flashes, but as John Schneider said, they’ve been “consistently inconsistent.” The lows, even at 44-37, have felt particularly low. 

Winning the American League East isn’t impossible, but with the Rays dominating and the Orioles getting better by the week, it doesn’t feel realistic at this point. The focus is, as you hear in so many sports, just getting into the postseason. Anything can happen in October, and the Blue Jays’ job is to get there in a place -- and a seed -- that allows them to make a run. 

After general manager Ross Atkins spoke with the media Wednesday, here’s where he and Schneider think it all stands.

THE BIG PITCTURE

They’re a hot streak away, essentially. The Blue Jays need that eight-game winning streak or nine or 10. This roster is fully capable of doing that, but too often, there’s been a dud series stuck in the middle that nixes any momentum.

They’re a hot streak away, essentially. The Blue Jays need that eight-game winning streak or nine or 10. This roster is fully capable of doing that, but too often, there’s been a dud series stuck in the middle that nixes any momentum.

Atkins: “We’re very much in the Wild Card hunt and I feel very good about the potential of this team playing even better. Obviously, you’d love to be at the top of the division and have a better record, but I feel like we’re standing in a solid position.”

Schneider: “I’ve seen us be really good and I’ve seen us be a little inconsistent. I love the team that we have and I think that we’re firmly in the hunt for a playoff spot. That’s always a good thing this time of year. There’s a lot of better baseball ahead for us. We haven’t really fired on all cylinders. One day we’re hitting, but we’re not pitching or vice versa. There’s a lot of chances for us to play in sync, like I always say, and get everything firing at the same time.

MANOAH'S COMEBACK(?)

You’ve probably seen the box score by now. Alek Manoah allowed 11 earned runs on 10 hits over just 2 2/3 innings in the Florida Complex League on Tuesday, facing Yankees prospects who were mostly 18 or 19 years old. 

The line can’t be taken at face value given the setting and the fact Manoah is working on some specific things, but it can’t be completely disregarded. There’s nothing good to spin from that line, but both Atkins and Schneider remain focused on the process at this point, not the results.

Atkins: “The velocity was up. The goal we’d given him was not to throw harder, but to get back to the form he was in a year ago. The goals we’ve given him, he is clearly making progress. Those outcomes were obviously unfortunate and not what anyone was looking for, but it’s not what we’re studying, either. What we’re pointing to for progress are really clear, specific areas in which he’s making [progress].”

Schneider: “The things that we were talking about -- in terms of strike-throwing, delivery, tempo, velocity -- [were] all positive. The rest of the stuff, you can take it with a grain of salt. You factor today into it, but we’re very pleased with the work that he’s put in. Results aside today, the stuff that we’ve been talking about, he’s going in the right direction.”

THE TRADE DEADLINE

The moment the calendar reads July, the attention turns to the Trade Deadline. Teams are already laying the groundwork and this is where the GM’s head is at just over a month out: 

Atkins, big picture: “It’s very, very early. To date, the dialogue is around understanding goals and I think it’s still unclear for some teams with the parity. Every team is doing its due diligence, seemingly a few more doing the due diligence to add.”

Atkins on Toronto’s needs: “Looking at our team right now, the obvious area would be adding a starting pitcher. We need to balance that with the progress of Alek Manoah and Hyun Jin Ryu. In addition to that, we’ll think about how we can improve in absolutely any area.”