PHILADELPHIA — The Toronto Blue Jays lost 7-6 in extras Sunday, capping a slogging weekend of nearly 11 game hours and 32 innings across three games. Toronto’s series win against the Philadelphia Phillies came at the end of a three-city trip with four extra-innings games and plenty of new faces arriving after the trade deadline.

“If me and the staff are tired,” manager John Schneider said, “imagine how the players are feeling. They’re gassed. They’re leaving it all out there.”

From centre field solutions to Jameson Taillon’s adjustments and a new bullpen mix, here are three takeaways from Toronto’s post-deadline trip:

Is the Blue Jays centre-field solution already here?

The Jays might still poke around centre-field options this winter, looking to replace Daulton Varsho for 2027 and beyond, but there are some contenders already in place.

Just days after Brett Bateman came over from the Chicago Cubs for Kevin Gausman, the 24-year-old was promoted to the big leagues.

He ambushed the first pitch he saw from Zack Wheeler and ripped a double to the left-field wall. In three games this weekend, Bateman notched three hits, walked twice and drove in a run in the series finale. There are still obvious areas for improvement against left-handed pitching and perhaps bunting, but Bateman flashed plus outfield defence, solid contact and impressed the Jays staff.

“The contact, the speed, the discipline, the defence, all that kind of stuff, I think is a pretty different profile than we’ve had here in a while,” Schneider said.

Bateman’s defence and speed, alone, should make him part of the Jays’ 2027 outfield mix in some fashion. His floor, as many evaluators suggested at the deadline, is a big-league fourth outfielder. The real question is whether Myles Straw will join him.

Even with some better play after the deadline, Straw still owns a .218 average and .267 wOBA on the season. His expected numbers (.257 xBA and .296 xwOBA) are much higher, a fact Straw and Toronto’s hitting coaches joke about often, but it still hasn’t been a great season for the 31-year-old. He knows, with an $8.5 million team option at the end of the season, these next seven weeks are an opportunity for Straw to earn his spot on next year’s team.

“Hopefully, things go well the next couple months,” Straw said. “I want to be able to come back here next year. However I’ve got to do that, to make someone happy up in the front office to come back, I’ll do that.”

Like Bateman, Straw has a high floor because of athleticism. He’s also one of the clubhouse’s most important characters and a leader Schneider asked to step up after veterans left at the deadline.

Maybe the Jays will look for more impact in centre next year, but the free-agent options appear bleak, and there might not be any fits on the trade market. There’s a real chance Toronto’s centre-field solution is already on the roster.

What Jameson Taillon did when he was designated for assignment

When Taillon was designated for assignment July 27, he booked a flight. The right-hander, after 15 sideways starts with the Chicago Cubs, flew down to Charlotte, N.C., looking for answers.

“I don’t want this to be a shot at anybody, but I just hadn’t really felt right for a while,” Taillon said. “We were trying everything with the Cubs, and we hit a point where it was the end of the road. Nothing was really changing. So I was like, ‘I’m gonna go take action and see if a different voice will help.’”

The 34-year-old, pausing the worst season of his MLB career, returned to his offseason workout facility, Tread Athletics. He worked on engaging his core and gaining momentum down the mound to increase velocity. He toyed with throwing his cutter harder, a pitch that has an expected slugging percentage of .801 against this year. He’s mixed in a gyro slider for a new weapon against lefties, too.

“Not having to worry about results for a week, just getting to worry about process and working on drills,” Taillon said. “I thought that was refreshing.”

Taillon still believes he has a lot left to offer an MLB pitching staff, despite his 5.92 ERA with the Cubs. He wasn’t ready to roll over and retire after 10 seasons. After three days in North Carolina, Taillon will get a chance to prove it with Toronto, acquired for future considerations a day before the deadline. His first shot came in Toronto’s 5-4 win over the Houston Astros last week.

It’s hard to say exactly how much changed after three days of drills and one start with the Jays. Taillon’s four-seam fastball velocity was up 0.7 miles per hour. His 16 harder cutters earned four whiffs on seven swings and resulted in one hard-hit ball. The gyro slider, Taillon said, wasn’t great, and his command was sporadic after 10 days without starting. He allowed three earned runs across four innings.

“I thought it was a little rusty,” Taillon said. “I thought my command was not what it is, typically, but I thought the stuff was pretty good and sharp. I just need to dial in the command going forward.”

With Trey Yesavage heading for a second opinion on his meniscus Monday and Spencer Arrighetti still working through foot problems, Taillon should get some run in Toronto’s rotation. His second chance to flash his post-DFA adjustments will come against the Boston Red Sox on Monday.

The Jeff Hoffman hole

Jeff Hoffman, at times, frustrated fans with blown saves and some well-documented homers allowed. But the righty’s deadline trade to the Minnesota Twins has left a clear hole in the Jays’ bullpen pecking order. Louis Varland still has the ninth, and Tyler Rogers should get most eighth innings, but there’s a hole in the seventh. That space has a trickle-down effect.

Even a week after the deadline, Hoffman remains second on the Jays in total batters faced in high-leverage situations (62). We’ve basically seen the entire bullpen thrust into leverage roles since the deadline, but Schneider pointed to Braydon Fisher, Mason Fluharty and Spencer Miles as the preferred options to step up.

“It’s an opportunity for different guys to step in and get some big outs,” Schneider said. “An opportunity to turn into someone like Jeff.”

All three of those options have shown flashes of being a true leverage relief option this year. Miles, as a reliever, owns a 1.93 ERA this season. In save situations this year, Fisher owns a 0.77 ERA. Fluharty has more appearances than any other reliever in baseball.

Actually filling Hoffman’s role isn’t really the Jays’ biggest challenge, though. The struggle comes when the innings that Miles, Fluharty and Fisher previously filled must be taken by somebody else. Toronto’s bullpen has elite weapons, but the depth has been up and down.

We saw the consequences of those new roles this weekend in Philadelphia, with plenty of fresh faces in leverage and stressful innings unfolding. Chase Lee took save situations, Lazaro Estrada saved a game in extras, and Brendon Little was called for big outs. That’s the sort of thing that will certainly continue. Either players embrace their new roles and succeed, or Hoffman’s absence will loom large.