OverDrive - Griffin on Schneider and Atkins' extensions, the impact in Toronto and the bounce back after the World Series

Episode Date: March 23, 2026

GriffsThePitch.com Columnist Richard Griffin joined OverDrive to discuss John Schneider and Ross Atkins' contract extensions with the Blue Jays, following up after a World Series defeat, Bo Bichette's departure, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. carrying his dominance, Dylan Cease's impact on the team and more.

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He is, Griff. How would you answer that? Are the Js better today than they were 12 months ago? Well, I would say they're better than they were on opening day last. year. I mean, opening day last year we were talking about Max Scherzy. We debated whether he'd ever get to 15 starts for the year.

And he seems healthy this year. I think, I mean, I've made this point that they learned from the Dodgers and they went out and signed more pitchers and as you guys pointed out, they signed them early in the process. And you look at the Dodgers, Yamamoto, was the only starting pitcher to go more than

a hundred innings. So the fact that they've got three guys, the Jay's have three guys on the IEL to start the year, I think that they looked at the model of the Dodgers and went, oh, but we'll get the right five by October, and they'll be healthy, and we'll roll.

So, yeah, they're a better, they have a better chance at the beginning of the year of repeating a playoff berth. So, Richard, how big of an impact losing Bo will be on this team in the organization? Well, I think it's going to be dependent on Okamoto.

I think Varsho will provide power if he's healthy all year. They were missing him a lot early in the season. It's interesting how they went out and got Hazel Sanchez. I think a guy relying on a guy like Lucas for an entire season might have been a stretch. So they went out and they filled a void with somebody who's been there and done it. So I think they will miss Bo. I love Bo as a player. But in terms of defense, they're better at.

at shortstop in terms of finally at 30 years old getting Ernie Clement an everyday position where he doesn't have to move around. That's positive. Barger is going to have to play in right field almost every day with moves to third base when Okamoto needs a day off. And, yeah, so I really don't think that they will miss Bow's offense and they're better on Bo's defense. Griff, I first got to tell you,

You've got to get to some ball games and get some tanning in. You and noodles and Brian are looking a little pale. You guys might want to go catch some games and catch some grace. George Hamilton's asking you that question right now. Griff, I wanted to touch on Vladdy. He kind of slid under the radar with his offensive numbers last year because of the team's success, which is fine. But after the monster contract, I mean, how many homers did he have? They have 23 bombs last year or something?

Like, what are your expectations? Do you think he'll get to that point offensively? I think for those types of players in that level, you're just looking to have a season, and it's like Judge does it every year, where they don't talk about your salary because they put up the numbers where it becomes almost irrelevant. Do you think he can do that?

Yeah, I agree with you, O'Dag. In terms of salary, you don't want to be talking about how much money he's making. And I think the turning point for him is going to have been when we look back the postseason, from start to finish to the postseason, the fact that we know as professional athletes, Hayes, you should learn from this, is that confidence is 50% of the battle. I mean, you can have mechanics, you can be a great athlete. But Vlad was always pressing to be in that group of the 10 best hit. the 10 most productive hitters because the extra pressure then of his contract.

And then carrying it through the postseason and then into the World Baseball Classic, I think that confidence is there. You can almost see it in the spring broadcast while I'm under my tanning lamp here at home. But the fact is I think he can carry it through. I think he can from day one be one of the 10 best power hitters in the major league. leagues. I mean, he walked twice and struck out zero times during the entire WBC. So his knowledge of the strike zone, his confidence, I think the ABS system is going to help him because he's always complaining about the strike zone. So now he's got a chance to back that up.

And if he's right, he's right. But I think he's going to be one of the top hitters. And there's another aspect of replacing Boa that's going to really be good. Something to chew on brought to you by Boston Pizza, Canada's favorite sports bar. enjoy $15 lunch at BP where you get an entree of a side and a drink and you get it all in 20 minutes or less. So fast lunch doesn't have to be fast food. So for a $15 fast lunch at your local Boston pizza, Griff, I want to ask you this question. We've been posing online. Now, these are our own projections.

These are not courtesy of like Fanduel or Vegas or anything. And they're extreme projections. They're like everything went well type of stuff. Which Blue Jay season-long projection is most likely to happen in your opinion? Vladi hits 40 plus home runs. Dylan sees 220 plus strikeouts or Jays win 95 plus games. Well, I'm going to exclude the 95 plus out of the equation because that's a killer division again. I mean, Boston, Yankees and Baltimore all, I think, got better.

The Yankees are going to get better because they got money to spend and they always do. So I'll take 95 out of it. Vlad, we were talking about, I think Vlad, for, 40 plus home runs should be, he should be in that equation. But I'll take Dylan Cs at 220Ks. This guy takes the ball. He's like a burrios with more strikeout ability. Takes the ball every five days.

He goes out there. And the difference between him and Scherzer came here to lead and Cese came here to learn and to get better. And I think that working with Pete Walker is going to help. I think that not having to be the, acclaimed number one guy and his staff is going to help. And 220 is my choice. Griff, you just mentioned Burrios, where do you see that story going?

Because it obviously was a really disappointing ending the way things were handled, like just with the way he handled his own situation, the way he performed at the end of the season. If you could put your thinking cap on to where it goes, where does it go? Oh, we've been putting our thinking. cap on for exit philosophy for all winter. And I thought for sure that he was going to be traded because of bailing out on the postseason on the World Series. I just thought they had an agreement. You guys have mentioned it. There's no way he's taking his opt out and leaving 24 and 24 million

on the table. So he is there. I thought he was going to be traded either before spring training or during spring training when somebody had an injury. Now the monkey wrench is that he's got an injury, which has never happened. So I think as soon as he's healthy and ready to pitch, he will not be in the equation after the trade deadline in July. I think that if he proves himself healthy, that they'll move him because of sort of the feeling in the clubhouse that he's no longer, you see television shots of the starters together, and he's not in that group. He's never in that group. So I think the die has been cast there and that he will be

somewhere else by the trade deadline. With Richard Griffin, gristapitch.com, Exit Philosophy is the podcast. So today it was announced Ross Atkins gets an extension. John Schneider gets an extension. Both of those were formalities. You knew they were coming. Final year of their deal. They just won the

World Series. But this sets up for Shapiro and Atkins to be running the operation for 15 plus years if Ross and Mark get to the end of their deals. And John Snyder to be here for a long time as well. Finish this sentence. In five years, the legacy of Shapiro,

Akin, Schneider will be out of Cleveland. They will have forgotten about Cleveland. At that point. And to me, they are like Beeston, Gillick, and Cito Light. You know,

a trio of guys moving forward together. They're now under contract. It's, you know, to see Mark, or, yeah, Mark Shapiro basically is rewarding Ross Atkins. And to me, Ross is still the same Ross that we thought should be run out of town. But I think the complex in Florida is like a Lamborghini to an introvert. You know, you go into a bar all of a sudden, you're more popular, you're more, you know,

you're likely to have more success. And this is what has happened in the recruiting thing. You've got the new facility, the new ballpark. winning the reputation, and that got Ross his extension, and John Schneider is a big part of that because he was a success too. Griff, it's always great catching up with you. We're going to be doing it a lot moving forward. We look forward to it.

Jay's back in action later this week, so enjoy opening day, and we'll do it again soon. Thank you for this. 54th opener in a row. Oh, boy. There you go. Keep her rolling, Griff. There he is, Richard Griffin.

Great senior. the exit philosophy podcast and griff's the pitch.com. Unmistakably Canadian. It's the music that raised you. The artists raising the bar. Hi, this is Brian Adams. Hey, my name's Brett Emmons. I'm from the glorious sons.

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