Pedro Martinez told John Schneider's Blue Jays to keep pushing, and Toronto suddenly has a real opening to make that warning matter.
Martinez recently said he's happy the Blue Jays are “coming up again” and added that, with a little help, they can give the Yankees a scare.
That comment lands because Toronto is still hanging around the race instead of drifting out of it. The Blue Jays entered Wednesday at 39-40, which keeps every good week meaningful.
The Yankees are still the bigger target. They finished Wednesday at 47-31, so Martinez wasn't tossing out empty praise or treating Toronto like a finished club.
What makes his take interesting is the wording. He didn't say the Blue Jays had arrived. He said they can make things uncomfortable, and that's a much more believable bar in late June.
That fits the way Toronto is built right now. This team doesn't need a miracle to matter. It needs cleaner pitching, steadier bullpen work and a little deadline help.
Last year changed the expectation, too. The Blue Jays reached the World Series in 2025, so nobody inside that clubhouse is measuring this season like a rebuild.
Pedro Martinez sees pressure building in the AL East
Martinez's point also works because the Yankees have not turned the division into a runaway. A lead in June gets attention, but it doesn't close the door on a team sitting within striking distance.
For Schneider, that's the message worth keeping. His club doesn't need to play perfect baseball for 3 months. It needs to stay close enough that July additions and hot stretches actually count.
That's where Martinez's “little help” line carries weight. Toronto has already been connected to rotation help in trade chatter, which tells you rival evaluators see the same opening he does.
The Blue Jays are not built like a last-place spoiler. They're built like a team trying to get back into the fight fast, especially with a front office that just doubled down on Ross Atkins with a new deal.
There's also a mental side to this. When a star like Martinez says your club can rattle the Yankees, that hits fans one way and players another. It sharpens the standard.
Toronto still has work to do, and the standings say that part clearly. But Martinez didn't frame the Blue Jays as a nice story. He framed them as a team the Yankees should keep watching.
Can the Blue Jays really scare the Yankees in the AL East?
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