Is it time for another fresh start for the Blue Jays in 2024? Not exactly

This is an excerpt from The Buzzer, which is CBC Sports' daily email newsletter. Stay up to speed on what's happening in sports by subscribing here.

A fresh start (or something like that) was the unofficial theme for the Toronto Blue Jays heading into last season.

Coming off a deflating first-round sweep at the hands of Seattle, the Jays had overhauled their outfield (quite literally) as part of their efforts to return to World Series contention. Daulton Varsho and Kevin Kiermaier, both exceptional glovemen, were brought in to patrol the turf in front of the stylishly reconfigured fences and trendy new patios installed during a massive stadium renovation aimed at turning the musty Rogers Centre into something resembling an actual ballpark. Pricey free-agent righty Chris Bassitt promised to bolster an already-strong pitching rotation, and surely young slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr., would rebound from a down year.

But the more things changed, the more they stayed the same — or got worse. The 2023 Jays won just 89 games (three fewer than the year before) to finish third in the stacked American League East before once again getting swept in the best-of-three Wild Card round, this time by a Minnesota team that had lost 18 consecutive post-season games.

Instead of recapturing his 2021 MVP-calibre form, Guerrero regressed even further at the plate as Toronto fell from fourth in the majors in runs scored to 14th. 2022 Cy Young finalist Alek Manoah struggled so badly that he was demoted to the lowest rung of the minors. A remarkably deep and durable pitching rotation — led by strikeout artist Kevin Gausman, the steady Bassitt and the rejuvenated Jose Berrios and Yusei Kikuchi — dragged the Jays' sleepy bats into the playoffs,