What Blue Jays need to accomplish in their final 6 games

As the Toronto Blue Jays enter the final week of their 2023 campaign, the team still has some unfinished business to attend to.

Their playoff odds sit at a robust 97.4%, but they still have some work to do in order to wrap up a wild-card spot. Entering Tuesday's action, the Seattle Mariners sit three games behind Toronto, with the tiebreaker in the AL West club's favour.

If Toronto can produce even a 2-4 record down the stretch, the team has to feel good about its chances, and it may not have to win at all since Seattle is in a funk. As a bonus, all of Seattle's remaining games come against the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros, who are in a hard-fought battle for the AL West title.

Even so, the Blue Jays are a franchise that missed the playoffs in 1987 by going 0-7 in its final seven games, so it's worth emphasizing that Toronto actually needs to clinch a postseason berth before doing too much worrying about how it'll fare in a wild-card series.

Locking in a spot is goal number one for this week, but there are also a few notable smaller objectives for the Blue Jays to accomplish between now and Sunday.

Get Brandon Belt up to speed

Belt has been on the IL since Sept. 11 and has appeared in just one game since Sept. 2 due to back spasms and a stomach virus.

The 35-year-old is nearing a return, which is excellent news for the Blue Jays considering he is the team's best left-handed hitter — and has been their most effective offensive producer on a per at-bat basis in 2023.

As good as Cavan Biggio has been, he's miscast in the middle of Toronto's order. The team's lineup will look far more threatening with Belt inserted back in.

The issue for Belt is that with the Triple-A season over, there's no opportunity for a rehab assignment for the veteran to get in-game work. That means as soon as he's ready, the Blue Jays should try to get him into every possible game — even if they've already clinched.

One of the theories about Belt's slow start to 2023 (.534 OPS in April) is that he didn't take enough spring training at-bats. Toronto needs to get him as involved as his back will allow in the games to come.

Get a sense of where Jordan Romano is at

Romano is coming off a rough outing in Tampa Bay on Saturday and is dealing with a cracked fingernail — the type of injury that would be laughable for most professional athletes but matters for pitchers.

This isn't expected to cause serious trouble for Romano in the days ahead, but if he continues to struggle with the issue, it might be worth reconsidering the Blue Jays' bullpen pecking order.

Midseason import Jordan Hicks has plenty of experience as a closer and he's put together 13 scoreless outings in a row.

Romano can ease concerns with a couple clean innings, but Hicks is waiting in the wings. The Blue Jays won't have the luxury of being patient with their longtime closer if he's not 100%.

Contemplate resetting the rotation

The way the Blue Jays' rotation is currently aligned, Kevin Gausman is set up to pitch in the regular-season finale on Sunday — making him unavailable for a wild-card start on a conventional rest schedule.

Gausman is clearly Toronto's best starter, and that's a suboptimal situation the team would like to avoid if it possibly can. If clinching a playoff spot comes down to the final day of the season, the Blue Jays will lean on their ace, but otherwise a bullpen day makes the most sense.

If the team is getting ready for a wild-card series, it will have a rest day on the Monday following the last game of the regular season, giving it the ability to rest its relievers. The Blue Jays could also bring up someone capable of a lengthy multi-inning outing like Bowden Francis.

Expect the Blue Jays to do everything they can to line up Gausman for the first wild-card game if they have that luxury.

Unfortunately for the Blue Jays, the veteran does not have a track record of excelling when given a large amount of rest. In 48 career starts with six or more days of rest, the right-hander's ERA sits at 4.54.

Decide if the Cam Eden experience will continue

Blue Jays fans have not seen much of Cam Eden since he was promoted on Sept. 20, which isn't surprising considering the speedy outfielder plays a hyper-specialized role as a pinch-runner.

Although Eden's utility is narrow, his speed is a weapon, and he's coming off a special season of stealing bases with the Buffalo Bisons, going 53-for-57. There is a recent precedent for Toronto carrying a running specialist on its playoff roster with Dalton Pompey in 2015 — and the Canadian outfielder was extremely useful.

In those playoffs, Pompey appeared in five games and stole four bases despite taking just one plate appearance. Eden could have a similar impact if given the opportunity in 2023.

Santiago Espinal is a logical candidate to leave off a postseason roster thanks to the subpar season he's having offensively and defensively. To the veteran's credit, he's hitting .306/.346/.403 in his last 30 games. He also has a long track record of hitting left-handed pitching well. Leaving him out is not a no-brainer.

Keeping Eden would be a bold move, but it could pay off in a big way. There's a reason Terrance Gore — a renowned speedster with just 74 regular-season at-bats at the MLB level over eight seasons — has been rostered for five different playoff runs with four different franchises.

Give Davis Schneider a chance to break out

Following an incredible start to his MLB career, Schneider has gone cold. In his last 33 plate appearances he hasn't recorded a single hit, with just one walk to his name. His best method for getting on base lately has been getting hit by pitches.

Despite this downturn, which has accounted for 24.4% of his brief MLB career, he's still slashing .270/.400/.595. It would be difficult to leave him off a postseason roster unless the team believed he was truly lost at the dish, which might be a defensible position based on what he's done lately.

Schneider has lost his status as an everyday player for the Blue Jays, but he could still bring value as someone with power and positional versatility off the bench who can start against left-handed pitchers.

The Blue Jays would love to see some life from the rookie in 2023's final chapter, but to do so they'll need to give him playing time. That's a tough balance to strike at the moment.

Schneider is a guy who should get as many at-bats as possible if the team is able to clinch a spot earlier in the week, but if things go down to the wire, manager John Schneider might have a hard time pencilling him into the lineup.