Speaking on the '6ix Inning Stretch' podcast this week, former Toronto Blue Jays infielder Whit Merrifield had interesting commentary on the Blue Jays offensive woes in 2026.

As is well-known by now, the Blue Jays finished last in the majors in runs scored, a far cry from the dynamic offense that got them to the World Series in 2025. Vladimir Guerrero's regression (nine home runs) was one of the biggest stories in the sport, but the woes of the entire offense aren't all on Guerrero.

Injury issues plagued the Jays all season as well, with Anthony Santander missing the entire season and Addison Barger playing only nine games. Beyond that, Alejandro Kirk, George Springer, Daulton Varsho, Jesus Sanchez, and Guerrero all took their turns on the injured list. Kirk missed two months at the beginning of the season.

Merrifield compared the Jays offensive problems to a sickness, essentially saying that one little thing can infect an offense and spread around the clubhouse. He mentioned that poor approaches or poor mechanics can spread.

Outside of Ernie Clement's uber-aggressiveness, it didn't really feel like approach was an issue for the Jays. After all, the Jays were Top-10 in the league in batting average. Getting hits wasn't the problem. The biggest issue was the overall lack of power, where Toronto had the fewest home runs in baseball.

A nine-year veteran of the Kansas City Royals, Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves, Merrifield hit .280 for his career with 218 stolen bases. He led the American League in steals three times and was a three-time All-Star, including with the Jays in 2023.

He led the majors in hits in two separate seasons and he also led the majors in triples once and doubles once.

He was with the Blue Jays for part of 2022 and 2023, spending 1.5 seasons in the organization. He got to the playoffs both years.

Well, the Blue Jays can make small roster moves and waiver claims, but real free agency doesn't kick off until five days after the World Series ends. At that point, there will be about one month of baseball activity until the probable lockout takes place.

It will be interesting to see how the Blue Jays handle that month. They could be super aggressive so as to beat a potential change to the sports financial landscape, or they could be passive and wait to see what the financial landscape looks like after a new CBA is agreed upon.