The Toronto Blue Jays: Four Strikes Away

While many may see the Toronto Blue Jays’ recent postseason run as a 180 from their not-so-great 2024 season, it’s actually the result of almost six years' worth of prospects, free agency moves, and playoff experience. I break down how this Blue Jays team was built, how they got as far as the World Series, and where the team goes from here. 

(Image Credit to Dan Hamilton- Imagn Images)

Before disaster struck (thank you Jeff Hoffman), the Toronto Blue Jays had once again pushed the Los Angeles Dodgers to the brink of elimination. A furious late-game rally the night before fell just short courtesy of a controversial ruling on an Addison Barger base hit and then a poorly-timed baserunning error that granted the Dodgers a double-play to end the game. 

In Game 7, it was simply a case of Toronto Sports Depression Syndrome. Want to know why? Go watch the ninth inning. Then the tenth. And the eleventh. 

While watching the World Series, it was quite apparent that Toronto was the better team. When the Dodger bats went quiet, Toronto found a way to pile the pressure on Los Angeles’ starting pitchers; Blake Snell and Shohei Ohtani were unfortunate victims of the Blue Jays’ offence, which had been a big part of their run to the World Series. Not only that, but despite being on the losing end of his two starts, Kevin Gausman was able to go blow-for-blow with Dodgers star pitcher and soon-to-be World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto. He gave Toronto a chance to win it all in Game 6, while keeping his team in play in what would be a Game 2 loss. 

And Game 3 could’ve gone either way. Then Brendan Little entered the game. 

What stands out to me is both the bad calls and the mistakes. Say what you will about the rules, but late and often-controversial pitch calls cost the Blue Jays baserunning twice. In addition, controversial calls cost the Blue Jays the World Series in both Game 6 and Game 7.

In terms of the mistakes, they turned what could’ve easily been a five-game series going in Toronto’s favour into a seven-game series that could’ve gone in Toronto’s favour. If I’m Blue Jays manager John Schneider and I’m managing the same Game 3 where Shohei Ohtani lit up the Blue Jays defence, I would’ve walked him one more time. Had he walked Ohtani one more time, the Jays probably would’ve won Game 3. 

Moving forward, the heartbreak from falling short of the World Series title is certainly going to sting Toronto throughout the offseason and well into 2026. 

But it’s not worth denying that this has been the Blue Jays’ best season in almost a decade and the closest they’ve gotten to the title in over 30 years. From George Springer’s iconic home run in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series against the Seattle Mariners (are we seriously getting iconic winner-take-all moments every ten years?), to the Blue Jays’ utter dominance of the New York Yankees, this year’s postseason run essentially turned this Toronto team from your typical playoff meme into baseball’s next big team. As a result, fans and Canadians should definitely feel confident that their team will be in a strong position heading into 2026. 

Roster-wise, there are a lot of questions to answer. The big one involves Bo Bichette, who is set to become a free agent this offseason. While the shortstop will certainly garner the attention of teams around the league (Atlanta and Boston are favoured to sign Bichette should he leave Toronto, while the chance of a Kevin Durant-style move to the Los Angeles Dodgers isn’t out of the question), there is certainly room for both parties to pursue a new contract. Bichette himself has expressed interest in staying, so the next few weeks will be key in deciding whether the shortstop is heading for an extension or if he is set to leave after seven seasons. 

Elsewhere, much of the depth that helped propel Toronto to the World Series is going to be on the free agent market this offseason. While Shane Bieber opting into the final year of his deal with the Blue Jays is welcome news for the pitching depth, the likes of Max Scherzer haven’t exactly commented on their future with Toronto just yet. 

With the team’s future highly dependent on their offseason moves, there is a good chance that this could be the closest the Blue Jays get to the World Series title. That said, no matter how heartbreaking the end of the Jays’ season, they did well in finally breaking through with this core and giving themselves a chance. 

That is what people will likely think about when considering the legacy of this Blue Jays roster. 

And that will hopefully be what people remember when this team finishes what they started.

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Article written by Noah Guttman

© Noah Guttman 2025