THE BLUE AND WHITE

After an exciting 2025 season, the Toronto Blue Jays are officially back on the 21st of February for their first Spring Training matchup against the Philadelphia Phillies. An eventful offseason for the Jays organization brought in some big names through free agency which leaves the team in a strong position to make a charge for the postseason and possibly a World Series title. Pitchers and catchers reported to the Spring Training complex in Dunedin, Florida on the 11th of February while position players were allowed until the 16th to report. 

Offseason signings from Free Agency have dealt with concerns voiced by many fans into the later half of last season, notably the pitching depth. Signing Cody Ponce from the South Korean Hanwha Eagles was a move that not many people saw coming. However, the signing has escaped major criticism despite the hefty 3-year, $30 million price tag for a pitcher who hasn’t seen MLB action since 2021 with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Ponce’s success in Korea speaks for itself, having won the Choi Dong-Wan Award (Best Pitcher in the KBO) while posting a 17-1 Record and a 1.89 ERA. Paired with the signing of former Cy Young finalist Dylan Cease, existing veterans such as Kevin Gausman, and breakout stars such as Trey Yesavage, this year’s starting rotation looks to be incredibly competitive both within the organization and compared to other teams around the league.

Signing Tyler Rogers out of free agency was an interesting move that actually makes a lot of sense for the way Toronto’s squad is built. As a strong team, the Jays need to rely on strikeouts to move through innings, but can work their way out of jams by generating flyouts or ground balls. Tyler Rogers out of the bullpen has one of the highest groundball rates in baseball – generating a ground ball from 56.6% of all the batters he faces, far above the MLB average of 42.3%. Another statistic that stood out to me was Rogers’ submarine arm angle, generating the lowest release point of a pitcher currently in MLB just 16 inches off the ground. This is in stark contrast to Trey Yesavage, another pitcher employed by Toronto who has the highest release point in MLB at 85 inches off the ground. These two pitchers in the same squad have real potential to confuse batters, hopefully resulting in more whiffs or weak contact over the course of the season. This combined with his low walk rate makes Rogers a good fit for the Jays bullpen, and a smart signing from Ross Atkins’ team.

While there were some new additions to the squad, there were also some notable departures. Star franchise shortstop Bo Bichette signed with the Mets, pitcher Chris Bassitt signed with the Orioles, and outfielder Joey Loperfido was traded away for Astros outfielder Jesús Sánchez. Losing Bichette obviously was not ideal, but his departure allowed for the Jays to put money elsewhere, most evidently into bolstering the pitching department and into the signing of star Japanese third baseman Kazuma Okamoto, ideally filling the offensive role of Bo Bichette while Andrés Giménez moves into a permanent position at shortstop where he shined defensively in the postseason last year. Okamoto arrives in Toronto coming off an NPB season plagued by an elbow injury, where he batted at a .327 average through 69 games. He also hit 15 home runs during that span.

There is no denying that the ending to last season’s incredible playoff run was heartbreaking, but the moves made by Ross Atkins and his front office form a foundation for Toronto to build off of. After a last decade of mediocrity, the 2026 Toronto Blue Jays look like a strong contender in the mix for the world series, following in the footsteps of the 2025 squad. However, the season doesn’t start in October, and spring training will be a good opportunity for new signings to showcase their ability, and to fight for a spot on Toronto’s opening day roster against the Athletics on March 27th. I’m cautiously optimistic about the season ahead, but for now, I’m stoked to see these new names in action in the preseason.