{"id":562151,"date":"2026-02-09T09:37:19","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T09:37:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/562151\/"},"modified":"2026-02-09T09:37:19","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T09:37:19","slug":"new-faces-and-great-expectations-for-2026-toronto-blue-jays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/562151\/","title":{"rendered":"New faces and great expectations for 2026 Toronto Blue Jays"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Toronto Blue Jays came agonizingly close to winning a World Series last fall, and the organization spent the winter tweaking its roster in hopes of getting another shot at post-season glory.<\/p>\n

The Jays are counting on a number of new additions \u2014 brought in at a collective cost of more than $300 million US in fresh contracts<\/a> \u2014 to give the team the edge it needs to win it all in 2026.<\/p>\n

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Blue Jays supporters, meanwhile, are not exactly tempering their expectations.<\/p>\n

“We’re riding in after the World Series expecting another one, and expecting that this will be the World Series we win,” says superfan Lesley Mak.<\/p>\n

Major League Baseball pitchers and catchers officially report to spring training this week \u2014 with the Jays starting on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Here’s a look at the new and returning faces, as well as a summary of who won’t be back.<\/p>\n

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Who’s gone?<\/p>\n

Infielders Bo Bichette and Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and reliever Seranthony Dom\u00ednguez to start.<\/p>\n

Bichette plays for the New York Mets now, after signing a $126-million US, three-year deal<\/a>. He says he’ll have “fond memories” of Toronto<\/a>, but some observers see a frayed relationship with the hot-hitting infielder.<\/p>\n

\"Bo<\/p>\n

Blue Jays fans may want to say it ain’t so, but Bo Bichette is no longer wearing a Toronto uniform. Bichette signed a deal to join the New York Mets this past off-season. (Heather Khalifa\/The Associated Press)<\/p>\n

“It just didn’t seem that there was a real appetite on either side for him to come back to Toronto,” said Steve McAllister, a veteran sports journalist who sees the Blue Jays needing to find a way to replace Bichette’s production at the plate.<\/p>\n

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The slick-fielding Kiner-Falefa is also leaving Toronto, after reportedly agreeing to terms<\/a> with the Boston Red Sox.<\/p>\n

His exit follows the news of pitcher Dom\u00ednguez signing a two-year deal with the Chicago White Sox.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, there’s been little said about veteran starter Chris Bassitt, who turns 37 this month and remains unsigned. His agent said Thursday “there is no news to report” about his client.<\/p>\n

Veteran starter Max Scherzer, 41, also remains unattached. While the future Hall of Famer has signalled interest<\/a> in returning, that hasn’t happened yet. However, some media reports suggest a reunion is possible<\/a>. The agency representing him didn’t respond to a request for comment on Friday.<\/p>\n

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New arms<\/p>\n

The Jays added two new arms to their starting rotation during the off-season \u2014 Dylan Cease and Cody Ponce.<\/p>\n

The highly-sought-after 30-year-old Cease inked a seven-year, $210 million deal<\/a> with Toronto.<\/p>\n

\"Dylan<\/p>\n

Starting pitcher Dylan Cease was the team’s marquee signing during the off-season. He inked a seven-year deal worth $210 million US to play for the Jays. (John Raoux\/The Associated Press)<\/p>\n

Mak says his eagerness to be a Blue Jay<\/a> has already won him points with the fanbase. “The fans are sold.”<\/p>\n

Ponce, 31, joins the Blue Jays after a four-year run in South Korea’s KBO League \u2014 which named him its MVP last year. He signed a three-year deal<\/a> worth $30 million.<\/p>\n

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They enter a rotation that includes 35-year-old veteran Kevin Gausman and 30-year-old Shane Bieber.<\/p>\n

Playoff sensation Trey Yesavage, 22, will also be seeking a spot as a starter \u2014 though McAllister believes that’s a done deal.<\/p>\n

“I think Yesavage’s right arm would have to fall off for him not to be in the rotation on opening day,” he said.<\/p>\n

There’s also Jos\u00e9 Berr\u00edos, a 10-year veteran<\/a> who’s pitched for Toronto since 2021<\/a>. He was absent from the playoffs following a late-season injury.<\/p>\n

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Eric Lauer, 30, is also a potential starter, though he’s also worked out of the bullpen.<\/p>\n

McAllister says this group of starters sets up a healthy competition for the rotation and gives the team some needed depth.<\/p>\n

Mak concurs: “Because of injuries, you can never have enough starting pitchers,” she said.<\/p>\n

Bullpen-wise, not a lot has changed beyond Dom\u00ednguez’s exit.<\/p>\n

In December, the Jays signed Tyler Rogers, a 35-year-old workhorse reliever who throws sidearm, to a three-year deal worth $37 million<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"FILE<\/p>\n

Reliever Tyler Rogers, who throws sidearm, joins the Blue Jays in 2026, after having signed a three-year, $37-million deal to play for Toronto. (Jeff Dean\/The Associated Press)<\/p>\n

Otherwise, the bullpen should include the familiar faces of Jeff Hoffman, Louis Varland, Yimi Garc\u00eda and Mason Fluharty, among others. Also Lauer, if he’s not in the starting rotation.<\/p>\n

Mak sees the left-hander Lauer as a versatile member of the Blue Jays’ pitching staff.<\/p>\n

“He can both do long relief \u2026 and he can start,” said Mak, noting he also seems willing to be whatever the team needs.<\/p>\n

Power injection<\/p>\n

On the position player side, the Blue Jays made a move to sign Kazuma Okamoto, a three-time home run champ in his native Japan, providing a big bat for the lineup.<\/p>\n

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He signed a four-year, $60-million deal<\/a> to become a Blue Jay.<\/p>\n

Toronto led the majors in batting average<\/a> and on-base percentage<\/a> in 2025, but sat below the top-third of MLB teams when it came to home runs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The team’s primary designated hitter, George Springer, led the Blue Jays with 32 home runs during the regular season in 2025, ahead of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (23), Addison Barger (21) and Daulton Varsho (20).<\/p>\n

The Jays are likely hoping for a return to form from Anthony Santander, who hit just six home runs during an injury-shortened season. He hit 44 the season before.<\/p>\n

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Mak says the Jays will be looking for him to provide 30 home runs, at minimum.<\/p>\n

Key starters in the infield<\/p>\n

Much of the infield appears firmly set with Guerrero at first and Andr\u00e9s Gim\u00e9nez at short, while ESPN<\/a> and the Blue Jays’ depth chart<\/a> project Ernie Clement as the starting second baseman.<\/p>\n

\"Houston<\/p>\n

Ernie Clement sets up at second base during a game against the Houston Astros in Toronto on Sept. 10, 2025. (Nathan Denette\/The Canadian Press)<\/p>\n

Okamoto appears likely to slot in at third base \u2014 though he can also provide options<\/a> at first and the outfield. The Jays may also turn to Barger to handle the hot corner, on occasion.<\/p>\n

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Alejandro Kirk remains the team’s starting catcher, with Tyler Heineman the backup.<\/p>\n

Kirk, who was an all-star last year<\/a>, was behind the plate for more then 965 innings in 2025. Heineman saw less than half those innings.<\/p>\n

McAllister says it’s worth exploring having Heineman play a bit more often \u2014 both to spell Kirk and to see what the backup catcher can do.<\/p>\n

A crowded outfield<\/p>\n

Toronto has a surplus of outfielders, though Varsho is more than likely the team’s starting centre-fielder. Though he spent much of the start of last year recovering from an off-season shoulder surgery, his glove and his dangerous bat seemingly make him a lock for the job.<\/p>\n

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\"Toronto<\/p>\n

Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Daulton Varsho makes a diving catch during Game 2 of the 2025 American League Championship Series against the Seattle Mariners. (Nathan Denette\/The Canadian Press)<\/p>\n

The list of Varsho’s fellow outfielders is long, but full of players who can roll with changes in where they take the field.<\/p>\n

As noted, both Barger and Okamoto play infield, in addition to outfield positions. Santander is also an outfielder. In his three seasons as a Blue Jay, Davis Schneider has played second base, third base and left field, at times, in addition to DH-ing.<\/p>\n

Nathan Lukes has seen time in all three outfield spots, as have Myles Straw and Joey Loperfido.<\/p>\n

McAllister foresees pressure on Blue Jays manager John Schneider “to get all these guys playing time,” though he noted the problem may solve itself if injuries occur.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Toronto Blue Jays came agonizingly close to winning a World Series last fall, and the organization spent…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":562152,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2378],"tags":[6081,3426,2043,383,5,31799,377,2554,88,48,49,82,54086,854,13860,76,1497,6130,311,54,380,18040,387,3685,389,74085,6438,4072,381,4,6082,8678,61,65,2539,1271,74084,282,70,2553,5196,15820,948,93,2077],"class_list":["post-562151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-toronto-blue-jays","tag-addison-barger","tag-alejandro-kirk","tag-andres-gimenez","tag-anthony-santander","tag-baseball","tag-blue-jay","tag-blue-jays","tag-bluejays","tag-bo-bichette","tag-boston-red-sox","tag-chicago-white-sox","tag-chris-bassitt","tag-cody-ponce","tag-daulton-varsho","tag-davis-schneider","tag-dylan-cease","tag-eric-lauer","tag-ernie-clement","tag-george-springer","tag-houston-astros","tag-jeff-hoffman","tag-joey-loperfido","tag-jose-berrios","tag-kazuma-okamoto","tag-kevin-gausman","tag-lesley-mak","tag-louis-varland","tag-mason-fluharty","tag-max-scherzer","tag-mlb","tag-myles-straw","tag-nathan-lukes","tag-new-york-mets","tag-seattle-mariners","tag-seranthony-dominguez","tag-shane-bieber","tag-steve-mcallister","tag-toronto","tag-toronto-blue-jays","tag-torontobluejays","tag-trey-yesavage","tag-tyler-heineman","tag-tyler-rogers","tag-vladimir-guerrero-jr","tag-yimi-garcia"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/562151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=562151"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/562151\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/562152"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=562151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=562151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=562151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}