The bar is high for the 2026 Toronto Blue Jays. So are the expectations.
The Blue Jays are looking to repeat as American League champions following a magical 2025 post-season run that culminated with a crushing Game 7 extra-innings loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series.
The team reloaded in the off-season and returns with renewed hope. But will it be enough to compete in the stacked AL East? And which players could emerge as key contributors this year?
Our Blue Jays experts weigh in on those questions and more ahead of Friday’s home opener (vs. Athletics at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT on Sportsnet).
The Blue Jays won the American League in 2025, but their division rivals were busy this winter, too. How do you assess the AL East as the season begins?
Shi Davidi: Worth remembering is that while the Blue Jays won the AL East, they finished tied with the Yankees at 94-68 and took the title thanks only to the head-to-head tiebreaker, so the gap was immensely small to begin with. The projected standings at FanGraphs underline that, as six wins separate all five teams, with the Yankees, Blue Jays and Red Sox within a game of one another. Objectively, then, the division is a toss-up, and the Blue Jays will need to execute the way they did a year ago to repeat.
Ben Nicholson-Smith: This division features an absurd top four, and that’s before you get to the Rays, who can’t be discounted. The Orioles will be way better than they were last year and Boston might have the best rotation in the American League, but as of now I still see the Blue Jays and Yankees leading the way. Both are deep, balanced teams and I’ll give the Blue Jays the tiebreaker because they showed in 2025 that they get the most out of their talent with great chemistry and a well-deployed bench.
David Singh: The Orioles and Red Sox are serious threats, but the Yankees pose the greatest challenge. They were a different team after last season’s trade deadline and are running it back with the same group. We know Aaron Judge is a monster, but a healthy Giancarlo Stanton, a full season of Ben Rice and Cam Schlittler, and a returning Gerrit Cole amounts to scary stuff.
Arden Zwelling: It’s the most competitive division in baseball. The AL East spent $925 million on free agents this winter. The AL West, AL Central and NL Central spent $888 million, combined. The Blue Jays, Orioles, Red Sox and Yankees are all top-10 MLB teams by projected fWAR. And the Rays are top-15. It’s not hard to see all five clubs finishing above .500, and four of them with over 85 wins.
Jeff Blair: Balanced. I can see any of the Blue Jays, Orioles, Yankees and Red Sox finishing first, occupying a wild-card spot or finishing fourth and missing the playoffs. Don’t see the Rays squeezing in.
The 2025 Blue Jays had incredible chemistry. Can that be matched in 2026?
Zwelling: If they’re a winning team again, sure. Winning solves everything. But if the Blue Jays have a losing record and fall short of their goals, no one’s going to be happy. Regardless of clubhouse camaraderie.
Singh: I chatted with some players about this during spring training and they all agreed that the organic chemistry of the 2025 squad simply can’t be replicated. However, aside from Chris Bassitt, the key ingredients remain in the mix, so it’ll be interesting to see how the clubhouse evolves this season.
Blair: I’m more of a physics guy. If they’re a winning team, the chemistry — whatever that means — will be fine.
Nicholson-Smith: Even in a best-case scenario, important players such as Chris Bassitt and Bo Bichette are gone, so the vibe will shift. But I think the chemistry will be there if the team wins. Between Max Scherzer, Kevin Gausman, Myles Straw, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., George Springer and many others, there’s a strong base here. Of course, if they disappoint, the chemistry will inevitably fall off. When teams underwhelm on the field, it’s just about impossible to have the same positive vibes that characterized the 2025 group.
Davidi: I was talking to George Springer about this last week and I’m going to defer to him: “Overall, the fundamental personality of the team is there. Every team is unique in its own right, so I don’t ever try to compare one team to another … but I think guys understand what really worked for us last year.”
-
-
MLB on Sportsnet
Watch the Toronto Blue Jays, Blue Jays Central pre-game, marquee MLB matchups, Jays in 30, original documentaries, the wild card, divisional series, championship series and entire World Series on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+.
Beyond established stars Springer, Cease and Guerrero Jr., whose performance are you most intrigued by for the 2026 season?
Singh: Daulton Varsho. I answered the same question with the outfielder last year and was validated by the power he flashed during his twice-interrupted campaign. People around the Blue Jays are excited to see how his work with hitting coach David Popkins and Co. translates over a full season, and I am too. Expect a big 2026 from the impending free agent.
Nicholson-Smith: Addison Barger and Kazuma Okamoto come to mind, especially since the Blue Jays will need to replace Bichette’s offence somehow. Along those lines, I’ll go with Jesus Sanchez, the powerful left-handed bat who has flown under the radar this spring.
Blair: Has to be Addison Barger and Jeff Hoffman — the latter of whom might want to check out Brad Lidge’s career after giving up an epic post-season home run to Albert Pujols.
Davidi: Kazuma Okamoto is an obvious choice and Daulton Varsho is up there, too, in his walk year, but let’s go with Addison Barger. Providing left-handed power and critical versatility between third base and right field, he had an immense impact last year and there were periods when he was a total force. He said he feels even more in tune with his approach now, which should further fuel his production, making for some really fun upside.
Zwelling: Addison Barger has superstar-level bat speed and power. If he can continue pushing his walk and strikeout rates in the right directions, taking selective chances within a measured approach built upon an understanding of what pitchers are trying to do to him, he could be a top-30 hitter.
Let’s hear a bold prediction for the 2026 Blue Jays.
Nicholson-Smith: I was going to say Dylan Cease will finish top-three in Cy Young voting, but that’s not all that bold. Daulton Varsho could hit 30 homers, but again that’s not that bold. With John Schneider managing the AL, I could genuinely see Max Scherzer pitching in the All-Star Game, whether purely because of merit or as a nod to his legacy. That’s somewhat bold, but we can do better. Let’s go with this: Current Cardinals starter Matthew Liberatore will start and win a playoff game for the Blue Jays in 2026.
Singh: Addison Barger, not Vladimir Guerrero Jr., leads the team in home runs.
Davidi: Ernie Clement, all-star. Andres Gimenez, five-fWAR season.
Blair: Four Blue Jays starters finish with more innings pitched than Trey Yesavage.
Zwelling: Andres Gimenez will lead the team in fWAR.
Finish the sentence: 2026 will be a success if the Blue Jays …
Blair: … do the nearly impossible: get back to the World Series. Anybody who says anything else is dodging the matter.
Zwelling: … return to the post-season. October baseball is so heavily influenced by variance and luck, that it’s misguided to hold any team to expectations higher than that. Beneath the surface, a successful season will also see the organization develop multiple minor-leaguers on both sides of the ball into legitimate 26-man roster options for 2027, helping to backfill future departures and lessen the need to perpetually augment via free agency.
Davidi: … can get themselves back into the playoffs for a chance at another run. What they did last year is so difficult and so many things need to break right along the way, which makes World Series or bust an unfair gauge. That should be, and is, their goal, of course. But, objectively, getting into the tournament is a more reasonable and fair measure.
Nicholson-Smith: … win at least one game in the ALDS. Ideally more, obviously. But if they make the playoffs, get through the wild-card round and win an LDS game, that’s a strong start.
Singh: Last year, I said a deep playoff run was the marker. This season, the answer has to be a World Series victory, right?
