Deep Left Field with Mike Wilner

Guests: Blue Jays shortstop Leo Jimenez and reliever Ryan Yarbrough; Jays’ prospects Josh Kasevich and Alan Roden The Blue Jays are playing much more entertaining baseball lately with the influx of youth around the trade deadline, and we catch up with one of the youngsters, Leo Jimenez, who has seamlessly fit into the middle infield after the injury to Bo Bichette and the trade of Isiah Kiner-Falefa. Ryan Yarbrough, the only veteran added at the deadline, talks about going from being a thorn in the Jays’ side to wearing their uniform, and we introduce you to a pair young up-and-comers who were already in the Jays’ system when the deadline dealing began – shortstop Josh Kasevich and outfielder Alan Roden started last season in A-ball in Vancouver and are now knocking on the door of the major leagues in Buffalo.

Guests: Los Angeles Angels outfielder Kevin Pillar and infield coach Ryan Goins, Blue Jays prospect pitcher Jake Bloss This week in Deep Left Field, we catch up with a couple of former Blue Jays who are now working together on the west coast. Kevin Pillar talks about contemplating retirement and Ryan Goins, already onto the next chapter of his baseball career, looks back on his days as Pillar’s teammate on those great Toronto teams of 2015-16. Also, we introduce you to right-hander Jake Bloss, the only piece of the Yusei Kikuchi deal who has yet to appear with the major-league team. For now.

Guests: New retiree Joey Votto, Blue Jays starter Bowden Francis, Jays infielder Will Wagner, Cincinnati Reds infielder Santiago Espinal This week, we share highlights of the impromptu scrum that Joey Votto did at Rogers Centre just hours after announcing his retirement from baseball. Also, we sit down with reigning American League player of the week Bowden Francis, introduce you to hot-hitting rookie Will Wagner and catch up with a beloved former Blue Jay, Santiago Espinal, who was in town with his new team.

Guests: Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Geddy Lee, lead singer and bassist of seminal Canadian rock band Rush This week in Deep Left Field, we are joined by honest-to-goodness Canadian rock royalty. Geddy Lee is here for an in-depth conversation about baseball and the Blue Jays, two of his great loves. We remember Jays history and discuss what went wrong this year, what he thinks of the current front office, and the renovations that forced him to move back a couple of rows at Rogers Centre. We also talk about his music, his family, his bandmates and more. Geddy’s book “My Effin’ Life” is currently available wherever finer books are sold.

Guests: Blue Jays starter Alek Manoah, outfielder Joey Loperfido On a special Monday bonus episode of Deep Left Field, and his insight into what’s been a miserable season for Bo Bichette. We also get to know one of the new guys acquired by the Jays at the trade deadline – Joey Loperfido, one of three players who came over from Houston in the Yusei Kikuchi deal.

Blue Jays President and CEO Mark Shapiro met with the media this week – for the first time since spring training – and we break down what Shapiro had to say. He touched on the Jays’ lost season, the future of Ross Atkins, what the Jays need to do to get back to being contenders and more. We analyze what Shapiro said, what he meant, and what that means to a fan base that seems to have lost faith in the front office and the direction in which they’ve taken the team.

Guests: Blue Jays starters Chris Bassitt and Kevin Gausman, Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Kevin Kiermaier We move into August with the Jays having dealt away nearly one-third of their big-league roster, including Kevin Kiermaier, who gave us his last 1-on-1 interview as a Blue Jay before being traded to L.A. You’ll hear his thoughts on a season gone sideways, his impending retirement and what he’ll take from his time in Toronto. Also, Chris Bassitt and Kevin Gausman join us to talk about how tough it is to go through trade deadline limbo on a team that’s out of the race and where the Jays go from here.

Guest: Toronto Star Baseball Columnist Gregor Chisholm In this special bonus episode of Deep Left Field, we recap the Blue Jays’ comings and goings at the trade deadline that just passed. The Jays traded eight members of their major-league roster and got back 13 minor-league prospects (plus one 32-year-old big-league reliever). How did they do? Did they do enough? Has Ross Atkins saved his job? We answered those questions and more with The Star’s Gregor Chisholm.

Guests: Blue Jays catcher Danny Jansen, starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi With the trade deadline looming, the Blue Jays are sellers for the first time in five years. Two of the most prominent free-agents-to-be, Danny Jansen and Yusei Kikuchi, who are very likely to be traded, join us to talk about what it’s like to be living with the uncertainty of where they’ll be playing next week, how they’re managing to stay focused and what playing in Toronto has meant to them.

Guests: Former Blue Jays first-round pick and top prospect Travis Snider In a special episode of Deep Left Field, we focus on mental health. Travis Snider joins us to discuss his career and why he wound up being a journeyman big-league outfielder as opposed to the can’t miss superstar that he was projected to be. Snider talks openly and honestly about mental health, the fragility of confidence, the weight of expectations – both his own and those placed upon him – and how to avoid the roadblocks that prevented him from fulfilling his potential on the field.

With the Blue Jays fighting against heavy odds trying to get back into a wild card race as they head toward the all-star break, we talk to a couple of former Jays about their all-star experiences back in the day. Tom Henke (1987) and Marco Estrada (2016) made the all-star team once each as Blue Jays and they get together to share their stories about being a part of the midsummer classic.

This week, on the 200 episode of Deep Left Field, we catch up with some of our favourites. Kevin Kiermaier talks about the mess the Jays continue to find themselves in, his poor season, the injury to Isiah Kiner-Falefa, the DFA of Tim Mayza and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s all-star nod. Mark Budzinski gives his thoughts on the tough road ahead and how the coaching staff works to help the team stay positive and try to turn things around. Marcus Stroman looks back at his time in Toronto and how he’s changed since then.

Guests: Canadian stars of stage and screen Ryan Bondy (“Book of Mormon”), Sandy Jobin-Bevans (Second City, “Just Like Mom and Dad”), Paul Sun-Hyung Lee (“Kim’s Convenience,” “The Mandalorian,” “Avatar: The Last Airbender”) The Toronto Blue Jays are about to hit the halfway point of the season and, despite snapping a seven-game losing streak on Tuesday, things are not going well. We have convened a panel to discuss what has gone wrong, why it has gone wrong, how we feel about it and how it can be fixed (...if it can even be fixed). Including great stories about a “Kim’s Convenience” tie-in to Edwin Encarnacion’s wild card walk-off in 2016 and the Great Shohei Ohtani Private Plane Watch!

The Blue Jays have been swept in back-to-back series. They’re playing their worst baseball with the most important week of the season beginning Monday – three games at Boston and then four at home against the first-place New York Yankees. With the team taking on water, literally and figuratively, it was time for an emergency bonus episode of Deep Left Field! We take your comments and questions: Should the Blue Jays sell, and if so, who? Retool or Rebuild? Should Ross Atkins be the one to oversee the changes? Who is really in charge? What to do with George Springer? Was Orelvis Martinez cheating or did he make an innocent mistake? These questions and more answered on this special bonus episode!

Guests: Blue Jays DH Justin Turner and infielders Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Spencer Horwitz This week in “Deep Left Field,” we talk to the resurgent Justin Turner, who has shaken off a terrible month of May to get back to his normal self in June. We catch up with Isiah Kiner-Falefa for his thoughts about the team’s current predicament and having to take over at shortstop with Bo Bichette on the injured list, and chat with Spencer Horwitz, who has done nothing but hit — and at a new position — since his call-up to the big leagues a fortnight ago. What would you like to hear on Toronto Star podcasts? Let us know in this survey and you can enter to win a $100 gift card.

Guests: Blue Jays broadcaster Buck Martinez, former Jays farmhand (and son of Tom Cheek) Jeff Cheek This week, we honour Tom Cheek, the forever voice of the Toronto Blue Jays, on what would have been his 85th birthday. We remember the Hall of Fame broadcaster with stories and memories from Buck Martinez, who Cheek pushed toward a post-playing career behind the mic, and Tom’s youngest son, Jeff. We also look at the Cavan Biggio trade and preview Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Weekend. What would you like to hear on Toronto Star podcasts? Let us know in this survey and you can enter to win a $100 gift card.

Guests: Former Blue Jays pitcher Jason Grilli, Jays’ associate manager DeMarlo Hale This week in “Deep Left Field,” we get Jason Grilli’s thoughts on the surprise (and welcome) retirement of Angel Hernandez and check in with DeMarlo Hale for his assessment of the Blue Jays through one-third of the season. Also, thoughts on Hernandez’ legacy, such as it is, as well as Alek Manoah’s injury and the Jays’ City Connect uniforms! What would you like to hear on Toronto Star podcasts? Let us know in this survey and you can enter to win a $100 gift card.

Guests: Blue Jays centrefielder Kevin Kiermaier, Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash, Jays fan Liz McGuire This week in “Deep Left Field,” we hear from Kevin Kiermaier on the Blue Jays’ rough first couple months of the season, including the virus that tore through the clubhouse and what he believes we’ll be seeing from here on out. We also catch up with former Blue Jay Kevin Cash, now the most-winning manager in Tampa Bay Rays’ history, and we check in on Liz McGuire, who garnered international attention after being hit in the forehead by a 110-m.p.h. foul ball off the bat of Bo Bichette. What you would like to hear on Toronto Star podcasts? Let us know in this survey and you can enter to win a $100 gift card.