Adedokun Waliyu 
Manny Machado of the San Diego Padres breaks his bat as he hits a two-run single in the fifth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on Wednesday, July 19, 2023, in Toronto.
By general manager Ross Atkins’ estimation, 20 of Major League Baseball’s 30 teams still consider themselves post-season contenders and are approaching the Aug. 1 trade deadline accordingly.
The next two weeks will expose some of those as pretenders and in the process sharpen the Blue Jays GM’s shopping list.
In the meantime, it’s on to the quest of sustaining some momentum beyond the all-star break and setting the team up for a meaningful, deep run into the high-stakes portion of the season.
Oh, yes, and perhaps finding a way to score some runs with even a modest level of consistency.
Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins speaks to reporters during an end-of-season media availability at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ont. on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022.
Pitching Coach Pete Walker of the Blue Jays is thrown out of the game by umpire Malachi Moore in the second inning against the San Diego Padres at Rogers Centre on July 18, 2023 in Toronto.
The Toronto bats went silent for a second consecutive night at the Rogers Centre as the Jays meekly fell 2-0 to the San Diego Padres. The loss set up a potential series sweep for the southern California visitors on Thursday afternoon, while slipping the Jays’ post-all-star break record to 3-2.
