Toronto Blue Jays mistakes continue to hurt on the scoreboard

Errors are a part of the game. Even the greatest defensive players will bobble a ball hit to them, or rush a throw that they did not need to. Sometimes those errors prove costly, leading to runs or a tally in the loss column. For the Toronto Blue Jays, those mistakes have been particularly costly.

How costly have those errors been? In 68 games since the start of the 2020 season, the Blue Jays have allowed 50 unearned runs, 15 more than the next closest teams.

Toronto Blue Jays errors proving costly

As the Blue Jays look to compete in the dangerous AL East, they cannot afford to be giving away that many runs. They currently sit in the basement in the division, 1.5 games out of first. Obviously, it is still early and the standings are nebulous at this stage, but Toronto cannot afford to give these games away.

However, these defensive struggles should not be much of a surprise. Cavan Biggio and Joe Panik are the only active players to be credited with even one run saved defensively – Teoscar Hernandez has two, but is on the Injured List. Lourdes Gurriel has been particularly brutal, costing Toronto three runs in left in just seven games.

The Blue Jays did not exactly do much to address their defensive shortcomings this offseason. Marcus Semien had been signed to play at second, a position he had not appeared at since 2014. George Springer may be a good defensive outfielder, but he has yet to play this year and was brought in specifically to add even more firepower to what should be a loaded lineup.

If the Blue Jays are going to win, they are going to be putting a lot of pressure on their offense. The pitching staff is solid, but asking them to overcome nearly an unearned run per game is a lot to ask for. Toronto will need their lineup to produce in order to overcome those deficiencies on defense.

The Toronto Blue Jays errors have proven costly since the start of 2020. As they look to return to the postseason, they cannot afford to give away runs.