Expectations are high for the Blue Jays, but no higher than their own

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This article was published 07/04/2022 (1635 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

New branding plastered around the Rogers Centre on the eve of opening day told some of the story of what the Blue Jays hope to achieve this season.

The Next Level slogan could be found at every turn Thursday, when the Jays got in one last workout before Friday night’s opener against the Texas Rangers: flashing on the new 8,000-square-foot videoboards in centre field, painted on the dugout rooftops, displayed on canvas outside the elevator that players take to the clubhouse.

But the Jays, who missed last year’s playoffs on the final day of the regular season, see that next level as more than a post-season berth. They’re thinking World Series, and they aren’t afraid to say it.

“I want to earn a ring for the team,” said right-hander José Berríos, the Jays’ opening day starter against righty Jon Gray and the Rangers.

The Jays enter the season as legitimate contenders, with some oddsmakers predicting they’ll take on the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series come October. It marks a dramatic shift in expectations from the outside, after years in which they’ve been considered a fringe playoff hopeful with a bright future. Inside the clubhouse, they’re just happy to see others catching on to what they’ve been feeling for a long time.

“I think we’ve expected a lot more out of ourselves than any of you guys have in the past,” said shortstop Bo Bichette. “For us, I think it’s more, it’s kind of about time.”

That’s the attitude manager Charlie Montoyo and general manager Ross Atkins believe will take the Jays far this year.

“The funny thing about it, they’ve always felt that way,” Montoyo said in Florida before the Jays flew north this week. “It’s in them. They believe they can win and you don’t teach that … that’s their mentality.”

Atkins said every team strives to limit distractions in pursuit of a championship. The Jays are there, he added, because of the culture and camaraderie in the clubhouse. Players are focused on winning and committed to keep it that way.

“If these guys go out and enjoy one another, and enjoy the game as much as they have shown to in the past, they’re going to be successful,” the GM said.

Playing in a city that cares about baseball also helps, and there was already a hive of activity around the Rogers Centre on Thursday with a number of fans buying Jays gear, taking pictures and getting a glimpse of the revamped venue before the opener.

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“This is why you do it,” Atkins said, adding that the weight of expectations “is the least of my concerns … There’s so many (players) that compete at such a high level … with smiles on their faces. There’s going to be bumps, there’s going to be times where individual performances will have lulls, but I’m very confident this group will stay together and have a lot of success.”

Berríos says he enters the season prepared, mentally and physically, to pitch deep into October. Bichette says the Jays will do everything they can to get to a World Series. Atkins says the end game is pretty clear.

It isn’t a case of World Series or bust for the Jays, whose runway extends past this season given the age of their core and the length of their contracts. Bichette said he has had conversations with the front office about an extension, but right now he’s focused on the season. Extending Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. would extend their window to contend.

For now, reaching the next level is the goal. The road starts Friday.

Laura Armstrong is a Star sports reporter based in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @lauraarmy