Blue Jays All-Quarter Century Team: Toronto's best since 2000

New York Times

27-05-2025

Jayson Stark's MLB All-Quarter Century Team inspired me. What would a team of the best Blue Jays from the last 25 years look like?
Sticking to production since 2000, I've compiled a roster of Toronto's top talent this century. There were some tough choices, having to weigh high peaks against lengthy runs, and you're going to disagree with a few, rightfully.
Advertisement
While The Athletic posted a ballot to vote for your own league-wide All-Quarter Century roster, feel free to express your dissenting Blue Jays opinions in the comment section.
Sorry, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the next 25 years can be yours. This era belongs to Delgado.
The Puerto Rican slugger leads the Blue Jays in all-time offensive WAR (according to Baseball Reference) and has the most total bases, RBI and runs scored in franchise history. Much of that came in the 1990s, but if you take only Delgado's 25.4 bWAR from 2000 through 2004, that's still the seventh most in franchise history and three more than Guerrero has racked up.
Delgado twice finished in the top five in American League MVP voting with the Jays this century, including a 2003 season in which he led the AL with 145 RBI. He's the only Blue Jay to drive in more than 135 runs in a season, doing so twice. Delgado never got his playoff moment with the Blue Jays, but he deserves a spot on this list.
It was the best summer fling the Blue Jays ever had. Semien's 45 homers in 2021 remain the most in a single season by any AL second baseman. Despite playing just one season in Toronto, Semien is the only Blue Jays second baseman to win a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger this century.
If you're looking for longevity, Aaron Hill is your guy. He had seven solid seasons with the Jays, earning MVP votes in 2009. But Semien's peak, albeit short, earns my nod as Toronto's quarter-century keystone.
I was surprised how easy this pick was. The other options were guys like Marco Scutaro, Yunel Escobar, José Reyes and Troy Tulowitzki. Bichette has doubled all their bWAR as a Blue Jay, sitting at 18.3 as of May 25.
Bichette also has double the hits, homers and runs scored of any other Toronto shortstop since 2000. He's also the only Blue Jay, at any position, to lead the AL in hits twice. I'll hear debate on other selections, but this is not one.
Eric Hinske, Troy Glaus and Matt Chapman had their moments, but this is another no-brainer.
The Bringer of Rain helped capture the best Blue Jays seasons the franchise has seen since winning the World Series. There were other big bats and big personalities on Toronto's 2015 and 2016 AL Championship Series squads, but Donaldson was the biggest threat.
Advertisement
His 2015 season, Donaldson's first in Toronto, remains the greatest by a Blue Jays third baseman. He put up 7.4 bWAR and led the AL in runs, RBI and total bases. Donaldson earned 23 of the 30 first-place AL MVP votes that year, becoming the second Toronto player to win the award, alongside George Bell. His Toronto tenure ended with a whimper, but there were plenty of bangs when it mattered.
This was the toughest pick. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. has a case. Alex Rios would've been the easy selection if he played even a moment of left field for Toronto. I almost talked myself into an Adam Lind/Reed Johnson platoon.
Ultimately, Stewart's start to the century was the best run in left the Jays have had since Bell left town. In three full seasons after 1999, Stewart hit over .300, tallied at least 10 homers and stole at least 14 bases. After four seasons away from Toronto, he came back to the Blue Jays for one final season in 2008. From Toronto's weakest position this century, Stewart stands out.
Wells was the bright spot in a dark era of Blue Jays baseball, both in jersey colour and result.
He logged 12 seasons in Toronto, never sniffing the playoffs or suiting up for a team that won more than 85 games. But Wells undeniably belongs on this list, sitting second in franchise bWAR this century with 29.1. He also leads the Blue Jays in hits, doubles and RBI since 2000.
On a better team, Wells may have earned more MVP love, getting votes just twice and never finishing higher than eighth. At the very least, he's earned the coveted centre field spot on Toronto's Quarter-Century Team.
Bautista was a baseball vagabond, playing for five different franchises in his first five MLB seasons. If not for a 2010 swing change, he's probably one of those deep-cut names you throw out when trying to impress other baseball fans. Instead, Bautista became a six-time All-Star and two-time home run leader, and his name rests forever on Toronto's Level of Excellence.
Advertisement
There are many individual moments that could've earned Bautista a spot on this team — the bat flip, the franchise-record 54 homers, throwing out Billy Butler at first base or the Darren O'Day beef. But the totality of Bautista's decade in Toronto makes it obvious. He sits atop the post-2000 Blue Jay leaderboards in bWAR, runs, homers and walks. He found a home and became one of the most iconic players in Blue Jays history.
Either Wells or Bautista top basically every Blue Jays hitting leaderboard over the last 25 years. But sitting there in third place, almost across the board, is Encarnación.
Breaking out alongside Bautista, Encarnación went from middling to masher for the 2010s Blue Jays. He became the perfect lineup protector for Joey Bats and the cleanup hitter on Toronto's ALCS teams. He put the parrot on his arm 239 times as a Blue Jay, sitting third in franchise home runs. Encarnación is the franchise leader in games at DH and the easy pick to represent this quarter century.
Can we agree on Halladay and move on? He was Toronto's lone representative on Stark's MLB Quarter-Century Team and remains the only recent Blue Jays pitcher to get in the Hall of Fame.
After that, things get messy. I feel you feverishly scrolling down to the comments to make cases for Ricky Romero, Marcus Stroman, A.J. Burnett, Mark Buehrle and maybe even R.A. Dickey.
But to fill out this rotation, I prioritized peak. Estrada is probably the most underrated member of Toronto's ALCS teams, allowing the AL's lowest hits per nine innings in 2015 and 2016. He also added a 2.16 ERA across six postseason outings. Gausman still has one year left to polish off one of the best big contracts in Blue Jays history, and Ray is the only non-Halladay starter to win the Cy Young this century.
The toughest pick was Happ, but go back and look at his 2016 season. He posted a 3.18 ERA, racked up 20 wins and was sixth in AL Cy Young voting that year. Maybe Aaron Sanchez and Romero had slightly better top years, but when you combine Happ's two Toronto tenures, he also sits second in strikeouts among all Blue Jays starters since 2000.
Advertisement
If B.J. Ryan stopped after his 2006 season, he might be locking down the ninth for this team.
Instead, the lights go down and Tsunami's thumping beat blares over the speakers for Romano. Even if you include the righty's dud 2024, he posted a 2.90 ERA across six seasons with the Blue Jays. The Markham, Ontario, native converted 105 of 118 save opportunities for Toronto, sitting third in franchise history in saves. He's not the Blue Jays closer anymore, but Romano is the best they've had in the last 25 years.