There are 107 players with at least 4,000 plate appearances from 2014-25. Miguel Rojas ranks 107th on that list in SLG, 13 points behind the next closest player. Only Jose Iglesias (50) has fewer homers than Rojas (57) on that list. In thinking about all of the wild moments from the 2025 World Series, including the Andy Pages catch, I have sympathy pains for Blue Jays fans that it was Rojas who hit the game-tying home run in the top of the ninth, just two outs away from a championship.
It usually takes a perfect storm of clutch performance and good fortune to make a run that deep and those things are rarely repeatable the next season, but the Blue Jays opened the wallet and spent the offseason doing everything that they could to improve their chances. Too many teams rest on their laurels, clinging to the notion that they were good enough to get there with what they had and they can do it again. Not Toronto.
Even though Bo Bichette left and the team’s pursuit of Kyle Tucker failed because he preferred getting paid until 2085 by the Dodgers, the Blue Jays were involved in seemingly every big FA discussion, ultimately adding Dylan Cease, Tyler Rogers, and Japanese import Kazuma Okamoto. Armed with key pieces from deadline deals in Shane Bieber and Louis Varland, Canada’s Team is ready to make another run.
Adam Burke’s “Nerdy” Take
HITTING
We can all universally agree that striking out is bad, but it’s tolerable for guys that hit a lot of home runs or draw a lot of walks. Well, the Blue Jays decided that striking out was really bad, so they composed a roster of guys who rarely do it. Toronto’s 17.8% K% was the lowest in baseball. And unlike the other four teams in the top five, who hit 159, 152, 154, and 166 home runs, the Blue Jays hit 191. Only the Brewers scored more runs of that group with 806 compared to Toronto’s 798, but they also had 87 more stolen bases and ran a more fortunate .305 BABIP.
In that respect, Bichette may be a loss, as he only had a 14.5% K% and we’ll have to see how Okamoto adjusts to the Majors. Projection systems are high on the 29-year-old, who slashed .327/.416/.598 in Nippon Professional Baseball last season, though he was limited to 293 plate appearances due to injury. Still, he should fit right into the contact-oriented offense. Even the guys who may or may not hit are plus defenders and the bench is full of capable hitters. My biggest worry by far is George Springer, who showed very obvious signs of decline from age and wear and tear in 2023 and 2024 to post wRC+ marks of 103 and 94 before exploding for a 166 wRC+ in his age-35 season last year. That is absolutely the exception and not the norm. In 2024, Springer hit leadoff in 101 games and the Blue Jays were 28th in OPS from the leadoff spot. Springer did it 38 times in 2025 and the Jays ranked third, with Springer posting a 1.117 OPS.
PITCHING
Throwing from mid-February to effectively November is not easy on the arm. At the outset, it looks like the Blue Jays will mitigate risk and monitor innings and pitch counts with a six-man rotation, so long as everybody makes it through the Grapefruit League unscathed. Cody Ponce from the KBO and Cease from free agency are the rotation additions, along with wunderkind Trey Yesavage, who will be bubble-wrapped as often as possible after throwing 112 regular season innings and 27.2 more in his first season of pro ball. Bieber is unlikely to be ready for Opening Day with forearm soreness and that’s a big red flag already.
I’m always a little leery of a rotation with five 30-somethings, including Kevin Gausman in his age-35 season, but veterans know how to handle their bodies these days, as binge drinking on the plane and cigars at gluttonous dinners are no longer the norm on road trips. As great of a season as the Blue Jays had, I think people forget that this was a marginal starting staff for a while. Collectively, this group was 23rd in fWAR, 20th in ERA, and 24th in FIP during the regular season, plus a merely league average bullpen in support. I don’t know how long Berrios is for the rotation, but replacing 31 bad starts from Max Scherzer and Bowden Francis is a big deal and if Ponce can stick over Berrios, who eats innings, but has a limited ceiling, this is an upgraded group.
PROSPECT WATCH
This is a pretty light system, with players that have graduated to The Show and others used to make the World Series push. A non-roster invite to camp that intrigues me is Charles McAdoo, acquired from the Pirates in the Isiah Kiner-Falefa deal in July 2024. The San Jose State product has a lot of swing-and-miss in his game (25.5% K%), but he’s also hit 38 homers and stolen 60 bases in three MiLB seasons. He primarily played 3B last season, but has played 1B, 2B, and corner OF. With the success that the Jays have had in cutting down strikeouts, McAdoo’s swing plane, raw power, and speed could find a home on this roster in the future.
2026 OUTLOOK
Top to bottom, this is a strong roster. They’ll hit for contact and enough power. They’ve got starters capable of swallowing innings with above average numbers. The bullpen has a couple of high-leverage questions, but a variety of arm angles and matchup guys. Health is a worry for every team, but a bigger worry for me after a very long season and a lot of fortune on the health front the previous year (see Springer, George). The Jays had six players with at least 500 plate appearances, three starters with 30+ starts, and the top relievers were healthy. With a light minor league system and a platoony kind of bench, lofty goals are hard to reach without the key guys on the field.
BOLD TAKE: The offense regresses back towards league average (101 wRC+ in 2024) and Toronto finishes a little above .500
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Jensen Lewis’ “Player” Take
HITTING
It didn’t start great in 2025, but boy did the Blue Jays finish with a flourish, en route to their first World Series appearance since back-to-back titles in 1992 and 1993. Following up a historic offensive campaign will be quite the challenge, losing SS Bo Bichette in free agency to the Mets. The face of the franchise, 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr., is back to anchor a lineup that saw a renaissance campaign from veteran DH George Springer, breakout years with RF Addison Barger and OF Nathan Lukes, plus some surprising production from 2B Ernie Clement and SS Andrés Giménez. C Alejandro Kirk reprised his role as one of the best dual-threat catchers in the big leagues and CF Daulton Varsho battled through injuries to find his way back to the starting lineup. LF Anthony Santander, after losing most of the season on the IL in 2025, got dealt another horrendous blow needing left labral surgery, sidelining him for 5-6 months. New 3B Kazuma Okamoto fills out the starting nine. A bench of C Tyler Heineman, INF/OF Davis Schneider and OF Myles Straw gives Toronto plenty of late-inning options as well. There’s now a sudden shortage of firepower in this lineup – how will these Blue Jays handle the pressure of being the hunted, not the hunters?
PITCHING
Plenty of optimism surrounds this Blue Jays staff, boosted by a monster signing of Dylan Cease as arguably the most prized free agent starting pitcher on the market. Teamed with staff ace Kevin Gausman and rookie playoff sensation Trey Yesavage, Toronto is literally armed with as much top-end talent as any starting rotation in the big leagues. Questions surround some of the rotation assets, including Shane Bieber, who won’t be ready for Opening Day, dealing with forearm fatigue. That means veteran José Berríos and newly signed Cody Ponce out of the KBO will make up the bottom of the rotation to start the season. The bullpen had its roller coaster rides early last season and much of that centered around closer Jeff Hoffman. He came within two outs of securing a championship in Game 7 of the World Series, but will be tasked with providing much more continuity throughout 2026. Free agent submariner Tyler Rogers comes over from the Mets to team with mainstays Yimi García and Louis Varland as the primary setup men in front of Hoffman. Brendon Little appears to be the lone lefty with an Opening Day roster spot secured, so only a few choices remain to round out the Jays relief corps. There’s plenty of swing-and-miss in the back end of the pen – if they limit walks, they’ve got a chance to be an elite unit.
PROSPECT WATCH
Hard to beat the meteoric rise of Yesavage in 2025. He started the year in Single-A and found himself starting Game 1 of the World Series. Who can top that in 2026? As far as Blue Jays farmhands in the latest Top 100 MiLB prospect list, two shortstops make the cut in JoJo Parker (No.45) and Arjun Nimmala (No.77). Both are well equipped with solid offensive foundations and are a handful of years away from knocking on the big league door. Notable arms are LHP Johnny King, RHP Gage Stanifer and LHP Ricky Tiedemann. Stanifer, by many reports, became one of the Jays minor league breakout stars last year and Tiedemann, a former top organizational prospect, will hope for a healthy 2026 in a potential make-or-break season.
2026 OUTLOOK
Manager John Schneider, once on the hot seat in mid-June of last year, had his team option exercised for 2026. There’s optimism a contract extension happens, potentially even before Opening Day. That will set the stage for the most important follow-up campaign for a Blue Jays team since the early 90s. How does life without Bichette work? Will the offense face the same uphill climb they did in the first half of 2025? Can the back end of the bullpen keep things calm for the majority of the regular season? Confidence should abound with the dominant rotation arms and the pieces are certainly there for another magical run north of the border.
BOLD TAKE: Toronto earns a Wild Card berth and Dylan Cease records 200+ strikeouts
For Adam and Jensen’s Season Win Total Picks, get our 2026 MLB Betting Guide.
