Five months after the Blue Jays’ World Series run ended in heart-breaking fashion, baseball is back in Toronto tonight and the question on every fan’s mind is: could this be the year they win it all?
“They certainly have all the pieces in place, and I’ll say they have as good or better chance doing it this year as they did last year,” Andrew Zuber, co-host of the Less Than Jays podcast, told CTV News in an interview.
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“If you and I spoke a year ago at this time, every pundit, every system that people use to predict, had them as not only not a playoff team, but a below .500 team. So, I think a big learning from last year was you never know what to expect.”
The Commissioner’s Trophy slipped just out of the Jays’ grasp in Game 7 of the World Series after leading the Los Angeles Dodgers for most of the game. It marked Toronto’s first appearance in the Fall Classic in 32 years, and a complete turnaround from being the worst team in the American League East division in 2024, to hoisting the pennant a year later.
“This is the highest level of expectation this city has had for a team since 1993 after they won the World Series and rightfully so,” TSN’s Matt Cauz said.
Cauz and Zuber both agreed that this year’s path to October baseball won’t be easy, pointing to an upgraded Boston Red Sox rotation, a likely bounce back for the Baltimore Orioles, and a returning New York Yankees lineup that tied the Jays in the regular season. The Jays ultimately won the division on the strength of their head-to-head record against the Yankees.
“If I was going to put a number on it, it’s still not (that) high…but I would say there is a decent chance the Blue Jays get back to the World Series,” Cauz said.
Who will fill Bo Bichette’s shoes?
As the Blue Jays swing into their 50th season, a new commemorative patch on their uniforms won’t be the only change fans on the field fans will notice.
Bo Bichette, who was clutch for the Jays in the World Series after missing both the ALDS and ALCS with a knee injury, will not be returning to the Rogers Centre after signing with the New York Mets in the offseason.
According to Zuber, fans and analysts alike are going to spend “a lot of time” this season determining who will fill his shoes and completement fan favourite Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
“Both fans who are late coming into the team and fans who have been around for what we’ll call this entire generation of the 2020s, Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr, have been 1A, 1B, or one and two, in terms of players that fans identify with and put at the top of the list for favourite Blue Jays,” he said.
“One of the arguments that people are making this year is some of the additions (the Blue Jays) made, and some of the rise of prospects like Addison Barger should make up for Bo Bichette’s numbers in total. And I’m not saying that’s not true. But what was so special about Bo’s year last year was the timeliness of his hits. It was a lot of clutch and go-ahead (hits) and they needed every single one of those wins. So that is going to be a big thing.”
Bichette famously hit a three-run home run in Game 7 of the World Series to put the Jays up 3-0, a lead they wouldn’t relinquish until the ninth inning. .
While most of the Jays core is returning this season, other notable departures include Chris Bassitt, Joey Loperfido, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and Seranthony Dominguez.
Guerrero Jr. will be ‘the number one guy’ this season
After a solid regular season in 2025, Guerrero exploded in October, putting up huge numbers for the Jays in the World Series, including two home runs, three RBIs, and an on base plus slugging of 1.074.
“His regular season last year was very good… not full All Star, but All Star ‘light.’ But then at the toughest competition, he rose above everyone else,” Cauz said, also noting Vladdy’s stellar performance for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic earlier this month.
“It’s a small sample size, but what we saw this guy do in the World Series, and then again, in the WBC, for the Dominican Republic, he was the best player in the playoffs. He was one of the best players in the WBC.”
Guerrero could be a Jay for life after signing a 14-year, US$500 million contract last April. Cauz said his success in the postseason and the WBC will likely spill over into 2026.
“He’s going to be the number one guy,” he said.
Locking in for a long season
For newer fans who caught Blue Jays fever late last year, a 162-game season—nearly as long as both the NBA and NHL regular seasons combined—can feel like a long haul. But Zuber believes that’s a feature, not a bug.
“The beauty of baseball is you don’t have to lock in on every single pitch. You don’t have to feel the lows if things are going bad. There’s always a game tomorrow. There is always another way to get back.”
Zuber pointed out that the same Blue Jays team that made it to the World Series last year had some low points last season, and their post-season position was only determined in the last handful of games due to the Yankees tiebreaker.
“My personal rule is, if the game number in the season is still in the two digits: don’t worry about it that much. Once you get to 100 games, you can start to really you know who the team is, you know what kind of season guys are having,” he said.
“Have it on the background, or have it on the radio, on the porch, in the backyard, on the weekends. It’s meant to be comfort food. It’s meant to be popcorn. Enjoy it as such.”
