As the calendar flips toward September, the Toronto Blue Jays are making moves that could define their 2025 season. With a playoff berth hanging in the balance, the club has shuffled its starting rotation and watched a resurgent George Springer electrify the lineup, signaling that the stakes couldn’t be higher for this battle-tested team.
On August 27, 2025, the Blue Jays announced a series of tweaks to their starting rotation, most notably providing right-hander Jose Berrios with some much-needed extra rest. At first glance, this might seem like a minor adjustment, but the timing and rationale behind the move reveal a calculated strategy. The rotation shakeup is designed to align Toronto’s best arms for a crucial series in the Bronx against the New York Yankees from September 5 to 7—a matchup that could have massive implications for the postseason race.
Following their series finale against the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday, the Jays have a well-timed off day before hosting the Milwaukee Brewers for a three-game set this weekend. The schedule then heats up with a Labor Day trip to Cincinnati, setting the stage for the high-stakes showdown in New York City. September is here, and for the Blue Jays, it’s go time.
The rotation’s new look is both a testament to Toronto’s depth and an indication of the front office’s urgency. Eric Lauer, who hadn’t started since August 16 when the Jays torched the Texas Rangers 14-2, took the mound for the finale against Minnesota. Meanwhile, Shane Bieber is set to make his home debut on Friday—a much-anticipated return after elbow surgery. In his first outing back last Friday, Bieber pitched six innings without issuing a walk and secured the win as Toronto bested Miami 5-2.
“It’s confidence. I thought that last year, he was very defensive,” teammate Chris Bassitt said of George Springer, but the sentiment could just as easily apply to the team’s approach. The Blue Jays are attacking September with purpose, lining up Kevin Gausman to start Saturday against the Brewers and Max Scherzer to follow on Sunday. When the Jays travel to Cincinnati, Chris Bassitt will get the nod, with Berrios slotted for Tuesday’s game, giving him a breather that could pay dividends down the stretch.
Berrios has had his ups and downs of late. Though he delivered a solid performance last Saturday against the Marlins, he did surrender three consecutive hits in the seventh inning, forcing the Jays into a wild extra-innings affair that they ultimately won. The hope is that a little extra rest will help the durable righty, who rarely misses a start, regain his sharpest form ahead of the season’s most pivotal games.
Toronto’s rotation for the all-important Yankees series is now set: Bieber will open, followed by Gausman and Scherzer. The Jays have already clinched the season series against New York, but this upcoming set in the Bronx is expected to be a litmus test for both clubs as the postseason looms. After the dust settles in New York, Toronto will have six regular-season series remaining—four of them at Rogers Centre, where the Jays have excelled all year.
Entering play on August 27, the Blue Jays sat atop the AL East with a 77-56 record, including a dominant 43-22 mark at home. Only the Brewers and Detroit Tigers have notched more home victories this season, underscoring just how tough Toronto has been in front of its fans. That home-field edge could prove crucial as the playoff push intensifies.
But pitching isn’t the only story in Toronto. Nearly five years after signing a franchise-record six-year, $150 million contract, George Springer is turning back the clock and powering the Jays’ offense in spectacular fashion. After a 2024 campaign that raised questions about his future, the 35-year-old outfielder is enjoying a renaissance. On Tuesday night, Springer belted two jaw-dropping home runs—one measured at 433 feet, the other at 445—making him the first Blue Jays player since Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in 2019 to hit a pair of homers over 430 feet in a single game.
Springer’s resurgence has been nothing short of remarkable. He’s batting .303 with 24 home runs and a robust .932 OPS, providing the kind of production that once made him a World Series MVP with the Astros. “Going back a couple of months, he should have made the All-Star team, and he just continues to do it,” manager John Schneider said Tuesday. “We’ve joked with him about, ‘Can you still put up these numbers when you’re playing the field?’ I think yesterday and today back that up. George has been so good. He’s been so consistent. I’m just really happy for him, personally, to have this bounce-back year.”
Much of Springer’s success can be attributed to a carefully managed workload. The Blue Jays have used him as a designated hitter in 59 games this season, allowing him to stay fresh as the grind of a long campaign wears on. But with the postseason in sight, Springer has returned to left field, starting there on both Monday and Tuesday. The plan is to keep rolling him out in the outfield as the stakes rise, maximizing his impact on both sides of the ball.
Credit is due to the Jays’ hitting staff, including David Popkins, Lou Iannotti, and Hunter Mense, who have worked closely with Springer to refine his approach at the plate. “I give all the credit to him working really, really hard with the hitting coaches and changing that thought process,” Chris Bassitt observed. “The guy I faced in Houston was just one of the best hitters in the world, obviously. You had a lot of good guys on those teams as well, but he was constantly on the attack. Looking at it now, how he’s planned it, I see that type of hitter with confident swings. I don’t ever feel like he’s on his heels.”
Springer and Max Scherzer, now 41, are defying the sport’s aging curve and anchoring a team that refuses to slow down. As the Blue Jays brace for the most important stretch of their season, both veterans are expected to play pivotal roles—Springer with his bat and glove, Scherzer with his arm and experience.
Injury news hasn’t spared Toronto, either. Ernie Clement, who received stitches in his leg after being spiked on August 26 and is also dealing with a broken bone in his left middle finger, was nonetheless available for Wednesday’s rubber match against the Twins. That kind of toughness is emblematic of a team that’s all-in for the stretch run.
With the rotation set, Springer surging, and the postseason race tightening, the Blue Jays are gearing up for a September to remember. The next few weeks will reveal whether this blend of savvy veterans and hungry stars can deliver the October magic that’s eluded Toronto in recent years.
