OverDrive - Matheson on Guerrero Jr.'s lack of power, Barger's return to the team and Manoah back in Toronto

Episode Date: May 8, 2026

MLB.com Blue Jays Reporter Keegan Matheson joins to discuss the Blue Jays and Angels' series, the Blue Jays' large injury list, Addison Barger making his return to the lineup, the team aiming to improve, Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s lack of power, Alek Manoah back in Toronto.

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Let's head down to the park now. Here's our good buddy Kegan map. Listen from MLB.com. Kagan, do you grab yourself a Trey of Savage jersey or what? Yeah, guys, I was out front, 10 a.m., just like everyone else. I mean, you need to make a decision of how much you value your own time. You know, you're putting in seven or eight hours before a game, and how much do you value an hour of your own time?

I think it's something that you need to look within an answer, but a lot of people have a different answer than me, fellas. My God, I was coming down the street, And I thought again that I was late. I thought it was like a 3.30 start and I had screwed up. But just a giveaway day, baby, the black jerseys are back. Yeah, they sure are tonight. And I guess we just got a full detail of all the injury updates.

Why don't we give you the floor here, if you don't mind, like Barger, his return, what we're hearing on Burrios, Scherzer, Lucas, et cetera. Give us a little bit of a breakdown before we get to the series tonight. There's a lot of them, guys. I feel like this is my time for my John Schneider impression, you know, start to list them off. But Addison Barger, I thought we would see active tonight, because that's what the Blue Jays have been saying. They're facing a lefty, maybe not the best matchup. He's going to get here today.

He'll be active tomorrow. They've got a bit of an awkward decision on what they do with that roster spot. Is it Davis Schneider, Lenin Sosa, Yohenric Pinango, who's been playing too good to be sent down, I think. The bigger one today for me, guys, was Jose Berrios. He's going to meet with Dr. Keith Meister, who's the last guy you want to see if you're a pitcher. he has been rehabbing and pitching through a crack in his elbow. Not a doctor, don't play one on TV, all that stuff. It doesn't sound like the easiest thing to do,

pitching through a stress fracture in your elbow. He got an MRI that showed some more inflammation. We'll see how that's going, but the Blue Jays still need Berrios back. Man, I know this last six, eight months has not been good for Berrios, but I still look at Jose Barrios as a guy who for a decade has been really damn durable and really important in this league. so he is further away now. Max Scherzer got a shot, cortisone shot in his forearm.

That's five days until he starts throwing again. A lot of these guys bumping back and bumping back. Alejandro Kirk swinging a bat. I guess I'll end on good news. Alejandro Kirk is not hitting a ball yet, but he's swinging. He's getting closer, and man, this team needs Alejandro Kirk. It's about go time, isn't it, Keegan? I think you talk to anybody in Major League Baseball.

They're always like, man, we got a bunch of games left. A lot of time, a lot of time. but there's only so much time where if the people leading the division stretch it out, you just run out of it, and it doesn't matter how early it is in the season. So I'm sure Schneides, the players, everyone is expecting in this next two to three weeks stretch here that they've got to gain some ground. You have to, and people only say it's early, O'Dog, when they're not doing well. You know, you don't see teams off to a 10-and-1 start saying, it's early, this doesn't matter.

It's always that soft excuse, and it sounds baseball-y, so we accept it. I don't like accepting it. You know, these games really, really count. These games really matter. In an American League east where the Yankees are heading up top, the rays are a lot better than people realize, because we don't talk about the raise a ton. They look very good this year.

The Wild Card is going to be crowded. The American League is just a mess right now. Every team in the American League, outside of those top two in the AL, it's kind of in this messy middle ground. The Blue Jays have got to separate themselves, guys. I don't care about the injuries or what's happened so far. This is when it needs to happen because their schedule later in May and through June guys, like pop up that schedule, it's not going to make you more optimistic.

It's a really rough schedule of playoff caliber teams who are also going to be getting healthier. The Blue Jays need to get this back over that 500 mark. You know, that's the tricky spot where we can start talking about momentum. Now it just feels like you're aggressively treading water. You know, every win is just that one extra thrash into the water to keep your head above it. for one more day. It doesn't feel like momentum's being built, and that series down at the drop did not help.

So, Keekin, where are you at with Vladdy? I mean, you know, do you just need flat out more from him, or does he be a difference maker? Are you all right with his play? It matters to me, Noodles, the type of team Vladdy is on. Now, if you show me a guy with a 3.30 average and a couple of home runs in early May, number one, I'm going to expect we're talking about

like a 150-pound outfielder who's trying to slay. slap the ball and run down the line as fast as he can. Not big Flattie, right? When you look at this guy, when we know everything about him, you're looking for power, you're expecting power. And it matters Flattie's fit on this roster as well. If the rest of the Blue J's lineup was hitting for power, it's okay that Flattie's doing that.

And Cosima Okamoto playing like he has, which is just incredible, has helped this. But this lineup is built around Flattie hitting for power. If he's doing that, then George Springer in the lead-off spot, whoever's at number two, the bottom of the lineup, where they try to make a mess and be aggressive. All of that looks so much better when Vladdy's hitting for power. It helps the identity. Right now, I still think they are searching for that identity from last year, or maybe it's a new one.

They haven't found it yet. And when Vladdy does something everyone else tends to follow, so I think if Vladdy starts playing to his identity, which is the dude who can hit the ball further than anyone else in this building, everyone will follow. Lekegan Matheson, live from the Rogers Center. Jay's Angels tonight, Alec Manoa back in town, a member of the bullpen for the Angels. I'm curious, you know, what you've seen, what you've heard from Manoa, and what we can expect out of him this weekend if he actually gets into a game. Yeah, we talked to Alec Manoa there an hour or two ago,

and he was detailing, guys, the injury he dealt with in spring training where one of his fingernails fell off, and it sounds about as gross as it is. He was detailing how it happened, which I won't put everyone in. through here, but he's back, he is healthy, and Alec Manoa guys is the ultimate lesson about being excited about pitching prospects, right? You go back to 2021 and the 22, he's the top three Siamfisher, and not only was he good, he looked like that old school, that throwback, workhorse, you know, a guy who might throw 200 innings, which nobody does anymore. Manoa looked like that guy, and he had the moxie, he had the swagger that everybody loved, but it's easier to pull

that off when you are one of the best in the league. and his last couple of years here, it didn't land, the injuries got in the way. So I'm excited to see him get a fresh start. And I think getting to the West Coast on the Angels where there's lots of opportunity is a good way to do that. Now, him in the bullpen, he is not the profile of pitcher. I would think of coming out of the bullpen. We'll see how that happens. But he certainly looks to be in good shape, good mental spirits.

So wishing that he gets another run at this. You know, because when he was good, man, that was a special time in Toronto. When it looked like you had the ace for the next 10 years, it's a lesson on how quickly these can change, unfortunately, especially with the pitcher. Kagan, did you go out and hammer beers last thing with Gibby? You know what? I've been nervous because Gibby has been over my right shoulder here. I saw him prior to the game, and he was asking how the book was doing, and I told him, Gibby, it's going great because of your incredible forward.

And he said, you know what, Keggs, to be honest, didn't read it. So I think I need to get that replacing. You know, right now I think it says Buck Martinez on the top of the book, a spectacular read or something. I just need to get, I got to be honest, didn't read it, John Gibbons. I think that would move some books. So it's good to see him, man.

He's always talking crap, one of the best in baseball. Yeah, that's an endorsement from John Gibbons, because it's honesty. I mean, he would love the book. He'd love the book if you read the book, but he's the best. He just hasn't yet. Keegan Matheson from the park, Jay's Angels, enjoy the weekend. We'll do it again early next week.

You got her, fellas. Take care. There he is. Keegan Matheson. This May, it's Asian Heritage Month. Discover an unforgettable music. Podcasts to playlist that span east, south, southeast, and West Asian artists. Voices shaping our world.

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