Jesse Burrill

One of the smaller questions surrounding the Blue Jays has been answered this week. On Tuesday, Ross Atkins addressed the media at the Winter Meetings, and among the many topics he covered was the future role of right-hander Louis Varland. He will remain in the bullpen and will not be stretched out as a starter in 2026 (per Sportsnet). Varland was acquired at the trade deadline and appeared in 23 regular season games with the Blue Jays, posting a 4.94 ERA with 28 strikeouts. He followed that with an MLB-record 15 postseason appearances, delivering a 3.94 ERA and 17 strikeouts. There had been some early offseason chatter that Varland may be stretched out as a starter, as he made 23 starts over four seasons in Minnesota, but after the Blue Jays signed Dylan Cease and Cody Ponce earlier this offseason, they are opting to keep Varland in a relief role. The Blue Jays' bullpen remains in flux; Nick Sandlin and Yariel Rodríguez have already been removed from the roster, and more moves are expected. For now, it's a safe bet to pencil Varland into one of the club's eight bullpen spots for 2026. Featured image courtesy of Brad Penner, Imagn Images.

The Blue Jays certainly mean business this offseason. In a surprising move, the team has announced that RHP Yariel Rodriguez has been outrighted from their 40-man roster. Toronto now sits with 38 players on the roster, with the Cody Ponce signing still pending. Rodriguez, a Cuban native, signed a five-year, $32 million contract in February of 2024 after three strong seasons pitching in Japan from 2020 to 2022. The Blue Jays originally tried him as a starting pitcher in his first professional season. He made four starts in April before being placed on the injured list due to spinal inflammation. When he came back at the end of June, he had a 4.17 ERA, a FIP that matched, and looked like a potential starting rotation building block for years to come. In 2025, Toronto shifted him back into the bullpen, a role in which he excelled while in Japan, and it looked like he had really found a home. On the whole, he had a 3.08 ERA, a team-high 73 innings pitched out of the bullpen, and in terms of Win Probability Added, his 2.29 WPA led all Blue Jays relievers. Because of that performance, the outright off-the-roster move caught many people off guard; the Jays aren't pressed for 40-man roster space, and from the outside looking in, it doesn’t seem like anything forced their hand, so the timing seems odd. It's possible that the Blue Jays simply chose to get ahead on some business, much like when they non-tendered Alek Manoah earlier this season to get some roster clarity, and maybe the team is doing the same with Rodriguez here. Still, the question remains: Why move on from Yariel in the first place? While his season-long numbers look solid, there were some stark differences between the first and second halves that cause some concern. Yariel Rodriguez first half vs second half: - ERA: 2.47 vs 4.21 - WHIP: 0.93 vs 1.51 - K%: 25.6% vs 16.9% - BB%: 8.9% vs 15.3% More baserunners, more runs, fewer strikeouts, and more walks, none of those pointed in the right direction. His average fastball velocity, as high as 96.8 mph in June, dropped to 94.8 mph by season's end, which was just another cause for concern. By October, he wasn’t even on the World Series roster, despite being one of the better relievers for chunks of the summer. Ultimately, the Blue Jays saw enough warning signs to take a gamble, expose him to waivers, and risk losing him for nothing but $7 million in salary relief. All other 29 teams also passed. Rodriguez remains in the Blue Jays organization, as he doesn’t have enough service time to decline the outright assignment in favour of free agency. As things stand, he will train this winter and try to earn his spot back on the 40-man roster, or potentially become a trade candidate if the Blue Jays are willing to retain some of the $17 million remaining on the contract. For the Blue Jays, this move creates options. They didn't need the roster spot today, but the Blue Jays are clearly going to add more to their roster. With the additions of Ponce and Dylan Cease to the starting rotation, it has pushed some of the other potential starting options (Eric Lauer, maybe Jose Berrios) into potential bullpen roles to begin the season. As of now, the Blue Jays bullpen looks like: RHP - Jeff Hoffman, Yimi Garcia, Louis Varland, Braydon Fisher, Tommy Nance, Jose Berrios LHP - Brendon Little, Eric Lauer This list doesn’t include names like Mason Fluharty, Justin Bruihl, and Paxton Schultz, all of which helped the Blue Jays at various points in 2025. One silver lining of Rodriguez’s situation is the potential opportunity to be a starting pitcher again. Behind Berrios and Lauer, the Jays' starting pitching depth includes: Ricky Tiedemann, Bowden Francis, Lazaro Estrada, and Adam Macko, with Gage Stanifer not far behind. Rodriguez has the chance to spend most of the season in Buffalo, and if things go well for him, he can force his way back onto the roster. How his story unfolds remains to be seen. Maybe he returns to the bullpen and regains his early-season form, maybe he converts to a starter and something clicks for him, maybe his best success will come outside of the Blue Jays organization. Situations like this can still pay off. Myles Straw was in a similar situation in Cleveland before the Blue Jays made a trade, and Straw was a key part of the Jays' success in 2025. Whether or not that happens in Toronto, I doubt we’ve seen the last of Yariel Rodriguez. As for the team, this move adds another layer of intrigue. They’ve already made two impact signings to the rotation, and with the winter meetings arriving, clearing a spot on the 40-man roster may be a sign that something else may be coming. One thing is for sure: the Blue Jays certainly aren’t afraid to make some challenging decisions, as they look to find the pieces to push the team to baseball glory.

What a way to begin the offseason! The first major free agent came off the board on Wednesday, and unlike in past off-seasons, it was the Blue Jays who made the first strike, signing right-handed pitcher Dylan Cease to a seven-year, $210 million contract, with the hopes that not only would the 30-year-old lead the Blue Jays to postseason glory in 2026, but throughout the deal. It's not hard to see why the Jays targeted Cease; no pitcher in baseball has more strikeouts over the last five seasons. He has finished top five in Cy Young voting twice in his career, and he’s been incredibly durable, making at least 32 starts in every season since 2021. Pair all that with the fact that he seems to be a good fit in the clubhouse and that there may be some more untapped potential in his arm, and it's a no-brainer to see why the Blue Jays were willing to make him their ace for the next seven years. With any free agent signing, especially one of this magnitude, there is always risk involved. What if all the walks and fly balls he allows catch up to him? And what if he actually does get hurt? All of those concerns are valid, and honestly, there isn't a pitcher in baseball who doesn’t come with at least some level of concern, but it's that last point in particular that should be explored more. Pitcher health is never a for-sure thing, but the Blue Jays have historically been able to do a good job of keeping their veteran starting pitchers healthy. Kevin Gausman has made 30+ starts in each of his four seasons in Toronto, Chris Bassitt did the same in his three years here, and, dating back to additions like Robbie Ray, Yusei Kikuchi, and José Berríos, many of the starters they have brought into the organization have stayed healthy. Is this simply because the team can identify which pitchers will hold up physically? Is this something the coaching and medical staff can teach? Or is there some amount of luck involved? The most likely answer is that it's probably a little bit of all three, but pitcher injuries are rampant all over baseball, and the Blue Jays are going to have to make sure the staff stays healthy if they want to repeat as American League champions in 2026. As things currently stand, the rotation of Gausman, Cease, Trey Yesavage, Shane Bieber, Berríos, and the newly acquired Cody Ponce looks good on paper, but it does come with some concerns. Yesavage took a massive innings leap in ‘25, Gausman is entering his age-35 season, Berríos ended the year on the injured list, Bieber is still building back up from Tommy John, and as good as Ponce was in the KBO, returning to MLB comes with its uncertainties as well. So, it's crucial that Cease stays healthy and effective on the mound, as pitching injuries could be a significant downfall for the 2026 Jays team. Father Time comes for everyone, and it will come for the Blue Jays pitchers, too. Aaron Nola was long known as one of the most durable pitchers in baseball. He had made 30+ starts in seven straight seasons (excluding the COVID-shortened 2020 season) until the injury bug got to him, as he made only 17 starts in 2025. Gerrit Cole is another example. From 2017 to 2023, he was the model of consistency. However, at the age of 33, he missed the first 75 games of the season due to an elbow injury, which ultimately led to him missing the entire 2025 season as he underwent Tommy John surgery. Now, this isn't just a problem that the Blue Jays are trying to solve; pitching injuries have been an epidemic around Major League Baseball. It got to the point where, in December of 2024, the league released a study that it called MLB’s Report on Pitcher Injuries. There's a lot to it, but some key findings were that velocity chasing, pitch design trends, and max-effort throwing all put more pressure on the elbow and shoulder, contributing to an increased risk of injury. Now, to turn this back to Dylan Cease, his fastball velocity was the highest of his career in 2025, averaging 97.1 mph, and it wasn't just his fastball that saw a velocity spike: His four-seam fastball, slider, and knuckle curve were all thrown at the hardest average velocity of his career, and the spin rates on each pitch were at or near his career highs as well. Now, there is a lot more that leads to injuries than just throwing harder. There are several cases of pitchers throwing harder and continuing to have success. There’s no reason to think Cease couldn't follow that path. Yet, injuries can feel random at times. Yimi García injured his ankle when he slipped getting into a cold tub back in July. In 2015, Michael Saunders injured his knee by just stepping on a sprinkler head, and all the way back in 1993, Rickey Henderson got frostbite because he left an ice pack on his leg too long and had to miss three games. The real question becomes, do the Blue Jays know what it will take to keep Cease healthy? In reality, they just might. They have a proven track record of doing so, and according to reporting by Sportsnet's Shi Davidi, Cease has already met with pitching coach Pete Walker and assistant pitching coach Sam Greene, who answered questions about how they could help him grow into a true number one starter. One can assume that included coming up with a plan to keep him on the mound. The Blue Jays just made their biggest financial investment in a free agent in franchise history. So, no matter how you look at it, the team is going to be relying on Cease heavily as they look to repeat as American League champions. Keeping him healthy and effective will go a long way toward making that dream a reality.

Adding roster depth doesn't always lead to the sexiest moves of the offseason, but as the Blue Jays showed last season, it is absolutely crucial to building a dominant team. Small moves like signing Eric Lauer to a minor league deal, adding Myles Straw in a minor trade, and claiming Tyler Heineman off waivers were all moves that helped the Blue Jays reach the World Series. Not all minor moves pay off; Joey Votto, Spencer Turnbull and Richard Lovelady never had their moments in Toronto. But part of building depth comes from recognizing where you can add talent. The Blue Jays will undoubtedly make some additions this winter, with some being headline names and others being small moves that could pay off later. In this piece, we’ll take a look at the corner infield positions and see where the Blue Jays might look to add depth. FIRST BASE Vladimir Guerrero Jr.: .292/.381/.467, 23 HR, 3.9 fWAR Vlad needs no introduction. He's the undisputed starting first baseman and is one of the truest superstars in the sport. He elevated that spotlight to a new level in the postseason, producing a 1.289 OPS and eight home runs to do his part to get the Blue Jays to the brink of the title. Guerrero has also been incredibly durable, playing 156+ games in each of the last four seasons. He’ll be relied on heavily again in 2026 as Toronto looks to repeat as American League champions. Ernie Clement/Anthony Santander Behind Guerrero, the only returning players who logged time at first base last season were Ernie Clement (12 games) and Anthony Santander (one game). Clement can fill in admirably in a pinch, but he is best suited to play elsewhere on the diamond. Santander has just 14 career games at first, and while giving him more reps there could help ease Toronto’s outfield logjam, it's hard to rely on him in that position until that happens. Look for the Blue Jays to add some first base depth before the start of spring training. Riley Tirotta - .268/.359/.417, 12 HR, 111 wRC+ (with Triple-A Buffalo) The Blue Jays don’t have a “true” first baseman in Buffalo right now. Tirotta is the closest candidate, having played 55 games at the position in 2024. Last season, he became a lot more versatile (something the Blue Jays emphasize in their farm system), as he played games at first base (36), third base (43), and right field (30), as well as second and shortstop. He hasn't appeared on any of FanGraphs' preseason lists of Jays top prospects or Jays Centre's top prospect rankings, but he has produced above-average offence in recent years. If the Blue Jays stand pat, then Tirotta could see some time in Toronto this summer. Other Names To Know: Damiano Palmegiani Peyton Williams THIRD BASE Addison Barger .243/.301/.454, 21 HR, 2.2 fWAR Because of the Blue Jays' positional versatility, Addison Barger may see more time in right field than at third base. But at the moment, he is pencilled in as the everyday third baseman. Barger had a breakout season in 2025, and Toronto will once again rely on his bat to spark the offence. Defensively, he grades better in the outfield, but because of his elite arm strength (96.5 mph average), he’s valuable at both positions. Until injuries or future roster moves dictate otherwise, he’s likely to get the first look at third base. Ernie Clement .277/.313/.398, 9 HR, 3.2 fWAR If Barger isn’t the starter, then Clement is next in line. He played all four infield positions in 2025 (and likely will again in ‘26) but saw most of his work at the hot corner. His glove is elite; Statcast's Fielding Run Value ranked him as a top 10 infielder last season, and the eye test backs it up. As of now, Ernie is slotted to be the everyday second baseman, but any addition up the middle could push him back to third. If he’s able to replicate his 2025 breakout, the Blue Jays will happily pencil him in every day. Charles McAdoo .247/.318/.413, 16 HR, 114 wRC+ (with Double-A New Hampshire) McAdoo came over in the Isiah Kiner-Falefa trade at the 2024 trade deadline and looked right at home in his first full season with the organization. He’ll be 24 years old next season and has a real chance to take a step forward to big league relevance. There is some swing and miss to his game (27.7% K-rate in 2025), and he may eventually shift to first base. But the Blue Jays let Vladimir Guerrero Jr. stay at third for a while and may do the same with McAdoo. He ranked as Jays Centre's 14th best prospect on our end-of-season list. Other Names To Know: Cutter Coffey Sean Keys Tucker Toman On the whole, the Blue Jays have impact at the top, but once you get past Guerrero, Barger and Clement, the depth falls off quickly. In recent years, the club has let go of Will Wagner, Spencer Horwitz, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Ty France, all of whom provided coverage at the corner infield spots. With that in mind, the Jays will need to prepare for potential injuries or underperformance, and they will likely look for reinforcements through trade or free agency this offseason. Those additions may not make headlines, but as this team just showed, the under-the-radar moves could prove crucial as they aim to repeat as American League champions in 2026.

At just 22 years old, Trey Yesavage has already lived a fascinating life. When most of us are his age, we're still trying to figure ourselves out, searching for a career, trying to find love, or even just trying to find a way to move out of our parents' basement. Yesavage isn’t your typical 22-year-old. By now, we all know the story. Drafted in July of 2024, he began 2025 in Single A before making a meteoric rise throughout the system to the big leagues, and then making three appearances in the World Series. It's as much of a fairytale moment as you can get in baseball without winning the championship. Shortly after the season concluded, the fairytale continued for Trey, as he announced on his Instagram that he and his girlfriend, Taylor, had gotten engaged! (Congrats from all of us at Jays Centre!) It capped off what will certainly be an extremely memorable year for Yesavage and his family. Getting engaged is a sign of commitment, a sign that no matter what happens, two people will be there for each other through thick and thin. An engagement shows that you're connected; it’s represents the bond that the two of you have formed as you take on the world together. And just like Trey and Taylor did, maybe it’s time that the Blue Jays should make a commitment of their own by offering Yesavage a long-term extension to keep him in Toronto. As things currently stand, Yesavage is still set to be a Blue Jay for years to come. He is in his pre-arbitration seasons and won’t be eligible for arbitration until 2029. He doesn't become a free agent until after the 2031 season, when he will hit the market as a 29-year-old. It wouldn’t be unheard of for the Blue Jays to offer a guaranteed contract to a player as young as Yesavage. The Boston Red Sox just did it with their star outfielder Roman Anthony, giving him an eight-year, $130 million contract extension this summer. Jackson Merrill signed a nine-year, $135 million deal with the Padres in April, while Jackson Chourio, Bobby Witt Jr., and Corbin Carroll also signed similar early-career extensions in recent years. The Blue Jays, however, have not historically been a team to do this; the only pre-arb extension they’ve ever given out was the three-year, $3.7 million pact they made with a then 22-year-old Roy Hallyday in 2000, and it’s been 25 years since then. The case for the extension makes sense. Yesavage has already shown he can get big league hitters out and do it on the biggest stage in baseball, despite being so young and inexperienced. Nothing in baseball is guaranteed, but if the Blue Jays believe that Yesavage is going to be a front-line starter for years to come, then giving him a small pay raise now, in exchange for long-term cost certainty, may be a smart investment. Star pitchers in baseball can make upwards of $35 million a season, and if Yesavage ends up signing a contract now, the Blue Jays could potentially have a starting pitcher who is worth that much money on a much cheaper deal, which could help keep the team competitive into the 2030s. For Yesavage, it makes some sense, too. I'm sure that engagement ring wasn’t cheap, and being able to have some cost certainty throughout his career would be a major plus. Having guaranteed money attached to your name can provide a sort of comfort, a consistent feeling knowing that no matter what happens in your career, whether it's an injury or poor performance, the income will still be coming. With the arbitration process, that isn't necessarily a guarantee. The main question that is going to have to be answered is how certain the Blue Jays are that Yesavage is going to be good and consistent for a long time. Pitchers are inherently injury-prone; the action of throwing the ball over the head causes a lot of strain on the elbow and shoulder, which can be a precursor to severe injuries. Yesavage also had a massive innings jump this year (174.2, compared to just 93 in his final season in college), and the fact that he throws with such a high arm angle means he puts more torque and pressure on the elbow than pitchers who throw more from the side, potentially putting him at higher risk for elbow issues going forward. The last time the Blue Jays had a pre-arb pitcher pitch so well at the highest level was Alek Manoah, who debuted in 2021. He pitched to a 3.22 ERA over 20 starts that year and followed that up with a 6.0 bWAR season, where he made the All-Star team, made 31 starts and finished third in Cy Young Award voting. If the Blue Jays were to have given Maonah an extension then, nobody would have questioned it. It looked like Manoah was set to be the next Blue Jays ace. Yet injuries, setbacks and a decline in command, derailed his career. The Blue Jays DFA’d him in September, and he is now a member of the Atlanta Braves. If the Blue Jays had given Manoah the big extension, then they would be stuck paying for a pitcher that isn't helping them win today. In hindsight, the fact that they didn’t looks like a smart move by the front office. Now, Trey Yesavage isn’t Alek Manoah; they're different pitchers with different paths. For every story like Manoah’s (or, say, Nate Pearson’s) there comes along a Roy Halladay or a Dave Stieb who becomes the backbone and anchor of a pitching staff. The Blue Jays will factor in injury risk, but at some point, the potential of Yesavage might be too high, and the Blue Jays may want to explore an extension sooner rather than later. Especially as the offseason rolls on.

I love Bo Bichette. Honestly, how could you not? It's hard to have been a Blue Jays fan over the past five-plus seasons and not appreciate everything he has done on the field. Just a quick look at his Baseball Reference page will tell you all you need to know. Since his debut in 2019, Bichette has been a two-time All-Star, accumulated 21 bWAR, and twice has led the league in hits. He’s top ten in Win Probability Added and Offensive WAR. Off the field, Bo has been just as valuable. He’s used his status and platform to help fund a new baseball stadium, provide equipment and gear, and cover other costs for youth baseball in Florida, and in February 2023, he brought teammates to his hometown of St. Petersburg, Florida, to support the “Play Ball” program to bring baseball to underserved communities. Bichette has always been soft-spoken, a man of few words, and usually tends to avoid the spotlight, but no matter how much he tries, the spotlight is going to find him this winter. He enters free agency as a 28-year-old with a lot of big league success already, and is certainly set up for a massive payday. Whether or not that payday comes from the Blue Jays will be a different story. Bo has expressed interest in returning to Toronto, and Ross Atkins has mentioned the Jays will be in Bichette’s market, but, as with anything in sports, especially baseball, there are no guarantees. Until he’s signed his name on the dotted line, the Blue Jays need to think about a backup plan, just in case their star shortstop signs elsewhere. Now, let’s be clear, I want Bo Bichette back in Toronto. There is something incredibly poetic about a star who is drafted by, developed by and performs for one team throughout their entire career, and while Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is on pace to be the first player to do that as a Blue Jay, the plan was always for Bo and Vlad to do it together, to lead Toronto to World Series glory. That was something we all hoped for in the summer of 2018, when we were checking in on New Hampshire Fisher Cats box scores to see what our young future superstars were doing. But should that poem not be written, and Bichette does leave Toronto, here are five options the Blue Jays have when it comes to replacing him on the roster. 1 - Add a New Shortstop Let's be clear, if the Blue Jays go this route, there isn’t an option available that is as attractive as Bo Bichette at the shortstop position. Based on the 2026 Steamer WAR projections, the next best options are Ha-Seong Kim, Willi Castro, and Miguel Rojas. Kim makes the most sense out of the three, as he’s a plus defender and already has a 4+ WAR season under his belt, but the bat isn’t on the same level as Bichette’s, so the Jays would need to add another bat elsewhere. On the trade market, it's hard to find a match. Most teams that have star shortstops don't seem likely to trade them. Only J.P. Crawford and, to a lesser extent, Gavin Lux are shortstops of note who have one year remaining on their contract. Maybe it's worth a check in on the Nationals to see what’s happening with CJ Abrams or the Marlins with Xavier Edwards, but none of these moves seems likely, and odds are this won't be the route the Blue Jays go if/when they have to replace Bichette. 2 - Add a Second Baseman and Move Giménez to Shortstop Full-Time Even if the Blue Jays do sign Bichette, this seems like a realistic maneuver for the Blue Jays anyway. Bichette was willing to play second in the World Series, and Andrés Giménez is stellar at the shortstop position. If Bichette and Giménez both agree to it, it seems like it could work. In terms of other players to fill the second base void, the top free agents at the position are Gleyber Torres, Jorge Polanco, and Luis Arraez. Arraez is a bat-to-ball master, but the defence is atrocious (-35 outs above average, -27 fielding run value in his career at second), so as much as the Jays value contact, this may not be a fit. The other two could make sense if the Jays go this route. 3 - Add a Third Baseman and Use Clement at 2B, Giménez at SS This seems like the most likely move out of the three so far. After Bichette’s injury in September, Ernie Clement played 2B in 13 of the 19 remaining games, as well as six more in the ALDS and ALCS, and although his Gold Glove-calibre defence is valuable anywhere, having him up the middle certainly will help. Davis Schneider could also stand in at second if needed as well. This would open up the option for the Blue Jays to add an impact bat at the third base spot, and the options here become much more attractive, Alex Bregman could reunite with his old teammate George Springer and play at the hot corner here, while Eugenio Suarez just hit 49 home runs across two teams last year. Maybe a trade offer for the Twins’ Royce Lewis might make some sense as he enters his final year of team control. Replacing Bichette’s bat won't be easy, but this would give the Jays a fighting chance at doing so. 4 - Add an Outfielder and Use Clement/Barger/Giménez at 2B/3B/SS This is where the Blue Jays' flexibility comes in handy, as they really have too many players for not enough spots. Addison Barger has shown that he can play third base, which is important as right field/DH will likely be filled by Springer and Anthony Santander. Getting Barger's bat into the lineup at third base instantly makes the team better. But the Jays are always looking to add talent, and they could choose to improve on the Davis Schneider/Nathan Lukes platoon they used last season. Earlier this week, we took a look at some of the top free agent outfield options and whether they would fit in Toronto. And yes, Kyle Tucker, Cody Bellinger, or Kyle Schwarber would instantly make the team better. In fact, those three players were the only position player free agents who had a higher fWAR than Bichette in 2025, so don't be surprised if the Blue Jays look this way if Bichette does not return. 5 - Stick With the Internal Position Player Options and Go Hard on Pitching Instead If the Blue Jays were to report to camp tomorrow with the players currently on the roster, they’d honestly be okay. Yes, losing Bichette would hurt, but aside from him, Ty France, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa, the Blue Jays are bringing most of the lineup back, and they don’t necessarily have to add another bat. In this scenario, the Blue Jays can do what they’ve been really good at over the last few winters, and that's sign free agent pitchers. Right now, The rotation has Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage, José Berríos, and Shane Bieber as locks, but Yesavage just had a massive increase in innings pitched, Bieber is still on his way back from Tommy John surgery, and both Gausman and Berríos have a ton of career innings under their belts and are on the wrong side of 30. This could be the perfect time to go “all-in” on pitching, by throwing some money at Framber Valdez, Dylan Cease, or Ranger Suárez. They could also check in with the Marlins on Sandy Alcantara, the Twins on Joe Ryan, the Brewers on Freddy Peralta, or the Nationals on MacKenzie Gore. And maybe they call the Tigers about Tarik Skubal, just in case. There are quite a few free agent relievers available on the market (Edwin Díaz, Robert Suarez, Pete Fairbanks, Devin Williams, and others). The Jays could sign one or two of those arms and try to go all in on run prevention. It's a recipe that has worked in the past, and if pitching and defence wins championships, then the Blue Jays will be well on their way. Ultimately, I hope this isn’t a path the Blue Jays have to explore. If everything goes well this offseason, Bo Bichette will be back in Toronto, and hopefully, some reinforcements will come along with him. But just in case things don’t work out in our favour, the sky is not falling, and the Blue Jays have plenty of alternative options as they try to get back to the Fall Classic and, this time, be on the right side of history.

The Blue Jays coaching staff has already seen some changes this offseason. Mitch Bannon of The Athletic reports that Blue Jays assistant hitting coach Hunter Mense is leaving the team and will be joining the San Francisco Giants as their hitting coach. Mense had been with the Blue Jays since the 2022 season. Working with hitting coach David Popkins and fellow assistant coach Lou Iannotti, Mense coached the Blue Jays to a .330 wOBA in 2025, the third highest in baseball. In San Francisco, Mense will reunite with the Giants' new manager Tony Vitello, whom Mense previously played for at the University of Missouri. For the Blue Jays, this marks the second departure from the big league staff, as bench coach Don Mattingly stepped away from the team earlier this month. Featured image courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck, Imagn Images.

The Blue Jays are expected to be one of baseball's busiest teams this offseason. After coming as close as they could to winning a World Series without actually getting one, there is hunger to finish the job and bring World Series glory to Toronto, which this franchise hasn’t felt since the early ’90s The offseason comes quickly when you play baseball into November, and with the GM Meetings starting in Las Vegas this week, the time to lay the groundwork is now. The team already has some clarity for 2026, as Shane Bieber picked up his player option and will be an integral part of the rotation going into next season. The team's main area of need will still be pitching, and there is no doubt that the Jays will be adding there, but it won't be surprising if they look to add on the position player side as well. The biggest question will be what the front office does with Bo Bichette. He’s been a key contributor to the team over the last half-decade. General manager Ross Atkins said that he would be “in his market,” suggesting that Toronto intends to stay engaged in negotiations with its franchise shortstop. With all that being said, the Jays might get creative with how they fill out their roster going into 2026, and looking into an outfield upgrade may be one way to do that. On paper, the outfield looks pretty set. Daulton Varsho will anchor center, with Anthony Santander and George Springer splitting right field and DH duties. In left field, Toronto often leaned on a Nathan Lukes and Davis Schneider platoon last year, a setup that will likely continue unless one of them is moved. With Addison Barger and Myles Straw also on the roster, it’s already a crowded picture. Now, the Blue Jays have liked a certain type of player in recent years. They value defence and run prevention tremendously, and with the DH spot already filled, it's hard to see the team acquiring a player who would be a negative in the field. Moreover, their offensive style involves putting the ball in play and avoiding strikeouts, and it's hard to see the Blue Jays going away from that. Finally, with so many players talking about how much of a family this team is, I don't think they would want to ruin clubhouse chemistry either. MLB Trade Rumors recently came out with their top 50 free agents (with contract estimates). So, let's take a look at the top outfielders on the list and see if there is a match to be made. OF Kyle Tucker - 11 Years, $400M Kyle Tucker and Bo Bichette are perhaps the two biggest names on the free agent market this winter. Although Tucker isn't on the same level as an Aaron Judge or Juan Soto, he’s not that far behind, and since 2021, he’s put up between 4.0 and 5.0 fWAR every year. That includes 2024, when he only played 78 games and then missed three months with a shin contusion. He battled injuries again in his lone season with the Cubs. There is no question, though, that any team will get better by adding Tucker. His career 81.7% contact rate lines up with what the Blue Jays like to do, and in the field, he’s just okay. Baseball Savant has him at a 0 run value for 2025, with a decent arm but not as much range. If the front office wants to go “all-in” and make a push to win the World Series at all costs in 2026, then Tucker may be the guy, but if the Blue Jays do end up re-signing Bichette, it seems unlikely they will spend for two high-end offensive free agents, so odds are Tucker would be signing elsewhere. OF/1B Cody Bellinger - 5 Years, $140M Another winter, another round of free agency for Cody Bellinger. The former MVP has had a lot of ups and downs during his career and is now just turning 30 years old. Last season, he had an .813 OPS with 29 home runs, and added 13 stolen bases with it. On paper, Bellinger seems like a much better fit for the Jays. He’s a plus defender in both corner positions and can hold his own in center field. And with Ty France becoming a free agent, having a guy who can stand at first base can be relevant too, as they will need a backup to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. With the bat, John Schneider would get another left-handed hitter to go along with Varsho and Barger in the lineup, which could add more versatility to the team. Last season, Bellinger's contact rate jumped to a career high 84.2%, and he actually hit better against left-handed pitchers (180 wRC+) than right-handed pitchers (105 wRC+). Pair that with the fact he doesn’t have a qualifying offer attached to him, as long as he passes the character concerns test, then there could be some serious interest here. OF/DH Kyle Schwarber - 5 years, $135M Kyle Schwarber's power is undeniable. A 56-home run, 150 OPS+ season doesn't come out of nowhere, and if he were to come to Toronto, he automatically would become the Blue Jays' most prolific power hitter since Jose Bautista. As fun as having that power bat would be in Toronto, I don’t think Schwarber will end up wearing Blue Jay Blue come late March. For one, he’s extremely limited as a defender. He only appeared in eight games in the outfield last year, which means he’s limited to DH only, and unless the Blue Jays make a change with Springer or Santander, there likely isn’t room for him on the roster. What's more, while most teams would love to add a 50+ home run bat to their team, the sub-70% contact rate Schwarber had last year doesn’t line up with how this team runs its offence. If the Blue Jays are going to add an impact outfielder, odds are they will look elsewhere. Honourable Mentions: Ryan O'Hearn, Willi Castro, Austin Hays, Cedric Mullins, Mike Yastrzemski None of these names are high-impact, All-Star-type players, but all of them still contribute, and it wouldn't be surprising to see the Blue Jays add one to the bench this season. O’Hearn played some corner outfield and first base and hit both lefties and righties well last season. Castro is also incredibly versatile and was productive in the first half of last season, while Hays can crush left-handed pitching (.949 ops in ‘25) and would be a good platoon partner. Yastrzemski can do the same against right-handers. Mullins is a long way from his 30-homer, 30-steal season, but he can still play a good center field and steal some bags in the process. Don't be surprised if the team looks to add one of these players as the free agency process continues. The good news is the Blue Jays thrive on versatility. Barger and Schneider regularly see work in the infield, and there is a chance Santander could see some time at first base, which could open up some playing time, so there are paths the Blue Jays could take to make things work. Realistically, Toronto adding a top-tier outfielder seems unlikely. Bellinger might be the best fit, and Tucker would absolutely be the biggest splash, but with Bichette’s contract looming and pitching a clear priority, the Blue Jays' focus will likely be elsewhere. Still, just like the game on the field, the offseason can be unpredictable, and the front office's best move may be the one that surprises everyone.

The offseason sure comes at you quickly. While most teams in baseball have been in offseason mode for weeks, the Blue Jays (and the Dodgers) have barely had any time to catch their breath. Free agents will officially be eligible to sign with new teams as of this evening, just five days after Game 7 of the World Series, and the Blue Jays are going to have to shift quickly. 2026 is going to be another pivotal year for the franchise, and the groundwork starts now. As we approach the offseason, here is where the Blue Jays' 40-man roster stands: Under Contract: 1B - Vladimir Guerrero Jr. OF/DH - George Springer SP - Kevin Gausman 2B/SS - Andrés Giménez SP - José Berríos OF/DH - Anthony Santander C - Alejandro Kirk RHP - Jeff Hoffman OF - Myles Straw RHP - Yimi García RHP - Yariel Rodríguez RHP - Shane Bieber Springer, Gausman, Bieber and García will all be free agents after the 2026 season, with the Blue Jays having a club option on Straw, and Berríos has the option to opt out of his final two years after 2026. Arbitration Eligible: These are players that will either be Blue Jays next season or non-tendered. You can learn more about the Jays' arbitration decisions here. OF - Daulton Varsho LHP - Eric Lauer RHP - Nick Sandlin INF - Ernie Clement RHP - Ryan Burr C - Tyler Heineman Players Under Team Control That Are Not Yet Arbitration Eligible: RHP - Bowden Francis LF/2B - Davis Schneider RHP - Louis Varland LHP - Brendon Little 3B/RF - Addison Barger RHP - Braydon Fisher RHP - Trey Yesavage Toronto Blue Jays 2026 Depth Chart via FanGraphs Most of the key players from the 2025 World Series run will be back, but the Blue Jays do have some notable players who have elected free agency this winter. Free Agents: SS - Bo Bichette RHP - Chris Bassitt RHP - Max Scherzer 1B - Ty France RHP - Seranthony Domínguez INF - Isiah Kiner-Falefa Like most teams, the Blue Jays face a roster crunch this offseason. Players on the 60-day IL had to be re-added to the 40-man roster after the season. With six players hitting free agency and six players coming off the 60-day IL, the numbers lined up quite nicely for Toronto. Maybe this was part of the reason Alek Manoah got DFA’d when he did, because the Blue Jays anticipated this. So, the Blue Jays haven't had to free up any space on their 40-man roster yet, but they soon will. The front office will certainly be making some additions to the roster in the coming months. The decision of whether or not to bring Bichette back will be a massive talking point, and there seems to be interest in a return. The same is true of Bassitt, as both players have publicly expressed interest in returning to the Blue Jays this upcoming season. After the playoff runs both players had, you would expect the Blue Jays would want them back, too. It's not only players on the major league roster that Toronto needs to think about. The Rule 5 draft in December will force the team to add certain prospects to the 40-man roster to protect them from being claimed by other teams. Some notable candidates to be protected include: LHP - Ricky Tiedemann SS - Josh Kasevich OF - Yohendrick Pinango C - Brandon Valenzuela OF - Victor Arias The Blue Jays thrived in 2025 by building their team with depth and using every roster spot to its fullest. And seeing how they came just as close as they could come to winning a World Series (while falling just short), it's a safe assumption that they will use that strategy again. Looking at the current 40-man roster, here are some names that may be on the outside looking in when the 2026 season starts: RHP - Dillon Tate RHP - Paxton Schultz LHP - Justin Bruihl RHP - Tommy Nance LHP - Easton Lucas RHP - Robinson Piña RHP - Ryan Burr This is where it gets tough. Each of the first five names on this list contributed, and at some points significantly, to what the Blue Jays were able to achieve this year. Bruihl pitched postseason innings for the club, Nance had a sub-2.00 ERA, Schultz threw 24.2 innings with some stellar moments, and Lucas had back-to-back great starts early in the season. Even Piña and Burr have the potential to be big league arms, but both dealt with injuries that caused them to end up on the 60-day IL. Every single one of these players could be on a big league roster somewhere, but the Blue Jays' roster seems mostly set, and these players are on the bubble. On the position player side, it becomes much harder to see the Blue Jays moving on from anyone. Leo Jiménez makes the most sense if the Blue Jays think they can improve in that spot, but he did have an .818 OPS in Buffalo in his limited time and is still just 23 years old. Jonatan Clase is another candidate, but like Jiménez, he is still just 23 years old, and the Blue Jays targeted him at the trade deadline just two seasons ago. Joey Loperfido was the odd man out on the postseason roster, and Straw is making more money than his skill set is probably worth, but it would be incredibly shocking if the Blue Jays decide to move on from either of those players. As the Blue Jays shift from World Series mode into offseason planning mode, plenty of questions remain. They are almost certainly going to reload for another World Series run in 2026, but with a crowded 40-man roster already, tough choices are coming. Having too much talent and not enough space is a good problem to have, but the Blue Jays are falling victim to that here. Ultimately, they may look to make a trade at some point this offseason to clear up some roster spots, but no matter what happens, it may force the team to move on from a valuable piece before Opening Day.

The 2025 Toronto Blue Jays season had some magic to it. It didn’t end the way anyone hoped or the way it felt destined to. For most of the year, it seemed like the baseball gods had chosen this team. But not all great stories end in triumph; some end in heartbreak. And for the 2025 Blue Jays, baseball’s cruel side showed up in the biggest moment. But two things can be true at the same time: You can feel the hurt and pain that losing Game 7 of the World Series in extra innings gives you, but you can also appreciate the ride it took to get there. You don’t make it to the last game of the World Series by accident. Out of the 180 regular-season and postseason games the Blue Jays played this season, they won 104 of them, and within those victories, there were several moments of joy, happiness, and euphoria that the Blue Jays gave us. Before we all go back and look back at the heartbreak, here are five moments that defined the magic of the 2025 season. 5) Bo Bichette's HR vs TEX (05/28/2025) You could argue this was the point where everything started for this team. Coming into this game, the Blue Jays were 26-28, eight games back in the AL East, and the offence had suddenly gone incredibly cold. They had scored just four runs in the previous four games, including getting swept by the Tampa Bay Rays in their first visit to George M. Steinbrenner Field. This was the rubber match in Texas, and the Blue Jays still had yet to score a run through eight innings. The good news is the Blue Jays were getting stellar pitching on that day; the combination of Paxton Schultz, Eric Lauer, Braydon Fisher and Brendon Little had held the Rangers to just one hit while striking out 12 through eight frames. Cue up the top of the ninth. Ernie Clement leads off with a hard single to right field, a Nathan Lukes sac bunt followed, and then Alejandro Kirk came off the bench and flew out, putting the Blue Jays one out away, Bo Bichette, who wasn't in the lineup because of lower back soreness, came up to hit for Michael Stefanic, and on a 0-1 pitch did this: From this point on, the Blue Jays found their offence again and proceeded to win 11 of their next 13 games, and the season was rolling from there. 4) Addison Barger/Bo Bichette Back-to-Back HRs vs ARI (06/17/2025) At this point in the season, the Blue Jays were starting to find their way; they had cut the Yankees' AL East lead down to three games and were returning home after a long nine-game road trip that ended with them getting swept by the Phillies. The Blue Jays got out to a 2-0 lead after three innings. A Vladimir Guerrero Jr. RBI double in the first opened the scoring, and he followed that up with a home run two innings later. Chris Bassitt started and ran into trouble the third time through the order, and after seven innings, the Diamondbacks were up 4-3. Entering the bottom of the ninth, Davis Schneider struck out against Shelby Miller to start the inning. Things started to feel bleak, as the Blue Jays were quickly staring a fourth straight loss in the face. Then, Bo Bichette fell behind 1-2, got a splitter down and in, and sent it back out 399 feet to left-center field to tie the game. Just five pitches later, with Rogers Center still buzzing, Addison Barger took a splitter in the zone and hit one 408 feet to complete the comeback, giving the Blue Jays yet another dramatic come-from-behind victory. 3) The Mason Fluharty Game vs LAD (08/10/2025) In a game that would turn out to be a World Series preview, the Blue Jays found themselves in a battle with the Dodgers. After a historic sweep of the Rockies, in which the Jays scored 45 runs in three games, the team was dealing with its own Coors Field hangover. They had scored just two runs total in the first two games, but after Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Addison Barger went back-to-back in the eighth, they found themselves with a chance to salvage the rubber match of the series. Jeff Hoffman came in with two outs in the bottom of the eighth with two men on. He clearly didn’t have his command that day, walking Will Smith and Freddie Freeman to force in the tying run before finally inducing a pop out to end the inning. Ernie Clement then hit a lead-off homerun in the top of the ninth to restore the Blue Jays' one-run lead, and Hoffman was back out for the ninth. He proceeded to go, walk, walk, sac bunt, and yet another walk, and John Schneider was forced to make a move to try to salvage the game and avoid the sweep. Enter Mason Fluharty, who at that time had not been having a good season. His ERA sat at 5.15, and he had previously been sent down to Buffalo due to poor performance. But the rookie was ready for the challenge. First up was Shohei Ohtani, without a doubt one of the toughest outs in baseball, who had already homered in the game. Fluharty got him swinging on a sweeper out of the zone after a nine-pitch at-bat, for a massive second out. Next up was another former MVP in Mookie Betts, and three pitches later, he had grounded out to third, and Fluharty had earned the first and (so far) only save of his big league career. He got the Blue Jays a much-needed win, and he and the Blue Jays escaped a West Coast road trip with a winning record. 2) Alejandro Kirk's Grand Slam in Game 162 vs TB (09/28/2025) In terms of regular season hits, few were bigger than Kirk's on the final day. It was a game that, if the Blue Jays won, would secure them the American League East for just the second time in the 21st century, and most importantly, give them a first-round bye to the American League Division Series. The Blue Jays made their statement quickly. After Kevin Gausman allowed a run early, the Blue Jays got the bats going, with four of their first five hitters reaching base. That set up Alejandro Kirk for a massive moment. Kirk himself would add another homerun in this game, and the Blue Jays would soar to a 13-4 victory, ultimately winning the AL East for just the second time since 1993, and shortly after that, their historic run to the World Series was underway 1) George Springer’s Grand Slam on Canada Day (07/01/2025) If you were to ask any Blue Jay fan what the biggest highlight of the regular season was, it wouldn't take that long before someone would mention George Springer's historic grand slam on Canada Day. At the time, the Blue Jays were rolling. They were coming off a 4-2 road trip through Cleveland and Boston and were set for a massive series against the (at the time) AL East-leading New York Yankees. After taking the opener of the series 3-2, the Blue Jays were set to face a sold-out, passionate crowd at Rogers Centre for one of the most anticipated dates on the baseball calendar. The Blue Jays were down early, as the Yankees had a 2-0 lead. In the bottom of the fourth, the Jays got to Yankee ace Max Fried. Springer led off the inning with a solo home run, and six batters later, Andrés Giménez added a three-run shot of his own. The Yankees then tied the game in the top of the seventh. After an Ernie Clement RBI single, the stage was set for George Springer to have his moment: From that point on, the Blue Jays didn’t look back. By the end of the series, the Blue Jays took the lead in the division and held onto it for the remainder of the season. This was game three of what would be a 10-game winning streak for the Blue Jays, and from that point on, the rest of baseball must have taken notice and realized this Blue Jays team was for real. Honourable Mentions: Braydon Fisher's lockdown relief performance in extra innings (9/15/2025 vs TB) Jonatan Clase's game-tying home run in the ninth (06/09/2025 vs STL) Trey Yesavage's MLB debut (09/15/2025 vs TB) No matter how this season ended, the 2025 Blue Jays gave fans across the country something to cheer about. The moments they created will live on, not just in Blue Jays franchise history, but in the history of households all across Canada.

No matter what happens from this point forward, the World Series will end in Toronto. On Tuesday night in L.A., the Blue Jays got to Shohei Ohtani, both on the mound and at the plate, as they were able to break through late and escape with a 6-2 win against the Dodgers to even the World Series at two games apiece. Coming into the game, the Blue Jays had every reason to come out flat. Just 18 hours earlier, they were dejected after spending six hours and 39 minutes in a gruelling battle with the defending champions. On the 297th pitch of the night, Freddie Freeman’s solo home run off Brendon Little gave L.A. a 2-1 series lead. It felt like the Dodgers had all the momentum in the world, especially with Ohtani set to take the mound in Game 4. But there is an old cliché in baseball that momentum is just the next day’s starting pitcher, and in this case, momentum would turn in the Toronto Blue Jays' favour, thanks to a strong performance from Shane Bieber. Bieber's first three starts this postseason were a bit of a mixed bag. Against the Yankees in the ALDS, he allowed three runs and didn’t make it out of the third inning, but he followed that with a six-inning and two-earned run performance in Game 3 of the ALCS against the Mariners. Then in Game 7 of the ALCS, Bieber gave up seven hits and two earned runs and didn’t get through the fourth inning. But Bieber turned it on and threw a gem in what potentially could be his final start of the 2025 season. After walking Ohtani to begin the bottom of the first, Bieber retired the next three to escape the inning. He got Teoscar Hernández to ground out to begin the second, but then he walked Max Muncy, and Tommy Edman singled, advancing Muncy to third. Following an Enrique Hernández sac fly, the Blue Jays found themselves in a position they’ve been in every game this series: losing 1-0. Bieber then found his groove. He retired 11 of the next 13 hitters before being lifted with two on and one out in the 6th inning. The final line for Bieber was 5.1 innings pitched, four hits, and, most importantly, just one earned run allowed. Bieber was able to settle in thanks to the offence, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was at the center of it. In the top of the third inning, just after the Dodgers had taken the lead, Nathan Lukes singled with one out to set up Guerrero, who, after getting ahead in the count 2-0 and fouling back a fastball to make it 2-1, was able to do this to a sweeper up in the zone: The home run was Guerrero's seventh of these playoffs, which increased his franchise record for most home runs in a single postseason. He now joins only Randy Arozarena as players with 25 hits and seven home runs in one postseason. Most importantly for the Blue Jays, it gave them the lead. With the score still 2-1 into the sixth inning, Bieber allowed two of the first three hitters to reach base, and John Schneider went with the rookie left-hander Mason Fluharty to escape the jam. He couldn't have executed any better. A one-pitch out to Muncy followed by a three-pitch strikeout of Edman, and Fluharty got out of the inning unscathed. The Blue Jays' win probability jumped from 54.7% to 70% after just two outs. A one-run game against this Dodgers lineup never feels comfortable, but in the top of the seventh, the Blue Jays finally broke it open. It started with a Daulton Varsho leadoff single and an Ernie Clement double (that just missed clearing the fence). In true Blue Jays fashion, Andrés Giménez worked an eight-pitch at-bat off a tough lefty, fouling off a couple of two-strike pitches to punch one into left field for a two-run single. Andrés Giménez vs. Anthony Banda via Baseball Savant Bo Bichette launched an RBI single, and Addison Barger added one of his own, and just like that, the Blue Jays had added four more runs and had a 6-1 lead. All that was left to do was to get nine more outs, and the Blue Jays had a plan. They immediately turned to Chris Bassitt, pitching on back-to-back days for the first time in his career, and once again, he delivered. Enrique Hernández grounded out softly to short, and then, after a strikeout of Alex Call, Bassitt was set to face the top of the Dodgers order. He got Ohtani to swing at a pitch in off his hands for an easy groundout. Inning over. Bassitt was left out for the eighth, and after a lead-off single by Mookie Betts, a strikeout of Freeman, and a Will Smith double play, the righty had done his job. Bassitt’s postseason line is remarkable: 6.1 IP with just one hit, one walk, and eight strikeouts. He’s quickly turned into a high-leverage relief option for the Blue Jays at a time they needed one most. Louis Varland gave up two hits and a run in the ninth, but ultimately the Blue Jays were able to seal the deal and even up the series at two games apiece. In a way, Game 4 was a microcosm of the Blue Jays' season: get down early, get good starting pitching, string multiple hits together to start a rally, and get a massive home run from the superstar. It's a script that not even Hollywood could write. If the Blue Jays find a way to get a win in Game 5, then they'll have a chance to win the World Series at home over the course of the weekend. That would be the happy ending every fan is dreaming of.

The World Series has arrived, and for the first time in 32 seasons, it will feature the Toronto Blue Jays. The Blue Jays' season has felt like a fairy tale in a way. Coming off an 88-loss last-place finish in 2024, expectations were tempered entering the season. But then the Blue Jays started winning, and they didn't stop. Their 18-10 record was the best in the Grapefruit League, and fast forward six months later, they won the American League East for the first time in a decade. Three weeks after that, the Blue Jays had beaten the New York Yankees in the Division Series and the Seattle Mariners in the Championship Series. They are now just four wins away from being World Series champions. Standing in their way are the Los Angeles Dodgers, the reigning champions, one of baseball’s true powerhouses. They have won their division in 12 of the last 13 seasons and are loaded with multiple-time All-Stars, former MVP winners, and a starting rotation that most teams envy. They’re here for a reason, and they will be a formidable test for the Blue Jays. But the Dodgers are beatable, at least that's what manager John Schneider said at media day on Thursday. And he’s right. Both of these teams are good teams and deserve to be at this stage. In baseball, anyone can win. As always, the Fall Classic will be loaded with storylines to follow, from Bo Bichette’s health, to Teoscar Hernández's return to Toronto, to the lingering Shohei Ohtani narrative from his 2023 free agency saga. Those storylines will dominate the headlines, but beyond them, several more under-the-radar storylines will play a role in deciding whether the Blue Jays finally end their 32-year championship drought or if the Dodgers' dynasty will continue. 1) Myles Straw vs. Roki Sasaki Blue Jays fans will remember this fondly. In a trade back in January, the Blue Jays acquired $2 million in international bonus pool space and Myles Straw in exchange for a PTBNL or cash. The assumption at the time was that the Blue Jays were going all out to acquire Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki. The deal took a lot of scrutiny, as Straw was set to make $6.4 million in 2025 and an additional $7.4 million in 2026, which at the time pushed the Blue Jays over the first CBT threshold. All that for a player who played strong defence and had some speed, but was ultimately held to just four ABs in 2024 and spent most of the season in the minor leagues, where he had just a .651 OPS in Triple-A. To make matters worse, the Blue Jays didn’t even end up signing Sasaki, as just a few hours after the Straw trade was announced, Sasaki revealed that he was signing with the Dodgers, and the Jays looked like they had taken Straw and his salary for nothing. But of course, that’s not how it played out. Straw had a productive season for the Blue Jays. He played in 137 regular season games, filled in at center field when Daulton Varsho wasn’t able to play, and even added four home runs to boot. His 2.9 bWAR ended up being the sixth highest on the Blue Jays, while Sasaki battled injuries and struggled at times, only putting up 0.3 bWAR. Straw hasn’t forgotten about the trade either. The Blue Jays ended up using the international bonus pool money to sign 18-year-old right-handed pitcher Seojun Moon out of Korea, and Straw took the time to meet the pitcher when he was in Toronto in September. He joked, “I like to keep up with the prospects, especially to see where my trade money went.” If Sasaki ends up facing Straw in a high-leverage moment late in a game, this storyline may become extremely relevant. 2) Redemption for Brendon Little If the Blue Jays had lost the ALCS against the Mariners, one of the key reasons would have been the blown save by Brendon Little in Game 5. Little came into the game with a 2-1 lead in the 8th inning and was unable to get an out. After a solo home run to Cal Raleigh and then back-to-back walks, Little was pulled. The inherited runners came in to score, and the Jays lost 6-2. It was a devastating moment for Little, who addressed the media post-game, saying, “It feels terrible,” and “I couldn't have pitched worse,” as he looked like he was trying to hold back tears the whole time. Little had been a rock for the Blue Jays most of the regular season; he ended with a 3.03 ERA on the year and an MLB-high 79 appearances, even earning the title of Jays Centre Reliever of the Year. But as the season went on, his numbers got worse. He threw to a 4.88 ERA in the second half, with his strikeout rate dropping and his walk rate rising during that time. Little is certainly going to be relied on in the World Series, though, with the Dodgers' lineup being much more lefty-heavy than the Mariners' was; left-handed batters Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy are three big threats featured in the top half of the lineup. Mason Fluharty and Eric Lauer are going to get work too, but if the Blue Jays are going to silence the top bats of the Dodgers, then Little is going to get his opportunity, and with it, a shot at redemption. 3) Does Max Scherzer have one more great start in him? It seems like a long time ago, but one of the main talking points going into Game 4 of the ALCS was: How will Max Scherzer perform? Over his last six starts of the regular season, Scherzer had an ERA of 9.00, allowing 45 base runners in 25 innings, giving up eight home runs in the process. It felt like the one spot in the rotation that would be a weakness. But even at the age of 41, Scherzer still had it. He ended up throwing 5.2 IP, allowing just two earned runs, and ultimately earning the win for the Blue Jays. His night included an emphatic “discussion” when John Schneider came out to the mound in the fifth inning, ultimately leaving Scherzer in the game. Mad Max was truly in his finest form. But now he has to do it again. It hasn’t been confirmed, but it seems likely that Scherzer will start one of the games in L.A. against the Dodgers, and what version of Scherzer the Blue Jays get may make a huge difference in the series. Will it be the player that pitches into the sixth inning, allowing two or fewer runs, or will it be the Scherzer that the Blue Jays threw out in the final month of the regular season? The Blue Jays hope it's the former and that the future Hall of Famer can find his magic just one more time. 4) George Springer vs. the Dodgers The Dodgers haven't forgotten about George Springer. They have won the World Series twice in the past five seasons, which helps ease the pain, but before all of that was the 2017 World Series, in which the Astros beat the Dodgers in seven games. Springer was a menace in that series. He hit five home runs, reached base 16 times in those seven games, and produced a staggering 1.471 OPS on his way to winning World Series MVP. This was the heart of the trash can/sign-stealing era for the Astros, and many Dodgers fans still feel like they were “cheated” out of that World Series. Now, Springer will get a second chance against that same team to prove he can do it because he is simply just that good. In other words, he doesn’t need the aid of a trash can this time. 5) If the Dodgers win, will it really “ruin baseball"? On a national level, the Dodgers winning wouldn’t ruin anything. Ohtani would get another ring, Clayton Kershaw would get one more championship in his final season as a major leaguer, and the Dodgers dynasty would continue. Now, many Blue Jays fans wouldn't be happy, but there is a bigger point here. In the offseason, there was chatter that the Dodgers were “ruining baseball.” They were coming off a World Series win with the best player in the world signed to a massive contract with several deferred payments, which helped them to also sign stars like Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow the previous offseason. In addition, the Dodgers were able to sign several players for less than their perceived market value because those players wanted to play for L.A. Sasaki, Kirby Yates, Tanner Scott, Teoscar Hernández, Blake Snell, and Tommy Edman all chose to sign with the Dodgers this past winter. Thus, the Dodgers had a team that felt like it would be invincible all season. They had the highest payroll in baseball, and in this era, aside from some tax penalties, there aren’t a ton of restrictions that discourage teams from spending like the Dodgers did. However, the collective bargaining agreement between MLB and the MLBPA is set to expire on December 1, 2026, and one of the main talking points during negotiations is going to be the issue of a salary cap. The NHL, NBA and NFL all have a cap, but this is something the players' union has fought hard against, and it would be very surprising if they let that go in the next round of negotiations. It's not fun to think about the potential impact on CBA negotiations during the height of the World Series, but Dodgers manager Dave Roberts brought it to light after the sweep of the Brewers, saying, "Let's get four more wins and really ruin baseball.” The real answer is whoever wins the World Series will likely not have a major effect on CBA negotiations, but it's going to be a stronger talking point if the Dodgers do end up winning the Fall Classic once again. For what it's worth, the last time the Blue Jays won a World Series, in 1993, Major League Baseball immediately went into a labour dispute the following season. Nobody wants to see that again, but history has a funny way of repeating itself. Either way, all the fun starts tonight in Toronto. The Blue Jays' season is either going to end in heartbreak, after coming so close but not quite reaching their goal, or it will end in triumph, with the whole country ready to rejoice and stand on top of the baseball world. And that would be a true fairy tale ending.