It was a rough week for the Blue Jays

It was a rough week for the Blue Jays

From Deep Left Field with Mike Wilner by Toronto Star

April 9, 2026 · 1h 13m · Season 5

About this episode

This episode discusses the recent struggles of the Toronto Blue Jays, featuring insights from players and a former team member.

Guests: Blue Jays starter Eric Lauer and reliever Joe Mantiply, Dodgers 1B coach Chris Woodward This week in Deep Left Field, we go over what was nearly a winless Week That Was for your Toronto Blue Jays, with two key players hitting the injured list and another set for regular-season- ending knee surgery. It was a rough week both on and off the field for the Jays, many of whom have been struggling with a bug that's tearing through the clubhouse. Eric Lauer believes he may have been Patient Zero for what he calls the "Flu Jays," and he joins us to talk about the team's rough start as they suffer through illness and injury. We meet the new guy, 35-year-old Joe Mantiply, who is here to help stabilize the bullpen with Brendon Little having been shipped out to Buffalo. Former Jay Chris Woodward, now first-base coach of the L.A. Dodgers, stops by to talk about winning the World Series at his former home and to reminisce about the early-2000s Jays teams he was a part of. All that plus the mailbag at deepleftfield@thestar.ca!

People in this episode

Host: Mike Wilner

Guests: Eric Lauer, Joe Mantiply, Chris Woodward

Topics covered

  • Toronto Blue Jays
  • baseball injuries
  • player interviews
  • team struggles
  • flu outbreak
  • bullpen stabilization

Keywords

  • Blue Jays
  • Eric Lauer
  • Joe Mantiply
  • Chris Woodward
  • injuries
  • baseball
  • Flu Jays
  • bullpen
  • Toronto Star

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Toronto Blue Jays, L.A. Dodgers, Toronto Star

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