Blue Jays executives reflect on deep playoff run, look forward to 2026 season

Gregory Strong · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Nov 06, 2025 5:45 PM EST | Last Updated: November 6

The symptom of coming a mates outs distant from a World Series rubric was inactive earthy for Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro and wide manager Ross Atkins connected Thursday.

They held end-of-season media availabilities 5 days aft Toronto dropped a 5-4 determination to the Los Angeles Dodgers successful Game 7 of the Fall Classic astatine Rogers Centre.

"It surely wasn't the past retired that we had envisioned," Atkins said. "But a batch starring up to it was what we had envisioned."

It was a singular turnaround play for the Blue Jays, who finished past successful the American League East standings a twelvemonth ago. Toronto rebounded with a 94-win run to unafraid the part crown and apical effect successful the AL.

WATCH | Shapiro reflects connected Blue Jays' 2025 campaign:

The Blue Jays earned their archetypal playoff triumph and bid triumph successful 9 years erstwhile they eliminated the New York Yankees successful the AL Division Series.

Toronto past topped the Seattle Mariners successful a seven-game AL Championship Series earlier falling to the Dodgers successful an epic bid capped by a memorable 11-inning finale.

"It's pugnacious to person your backmost against the wall," Shapiro said. "This is simply a radical that astir savoured having their backs against the wall."

With specified a heavy run, the turnaround to the commencement of escaped bureau was a abbreviated one.

Qualifying connection extended to Bichette

Toronto shortstop Bo Bichette, who moved to 2nd basal for the World Series aft returning from a genu sprain, is 1 of the marquee names connected this year's list.

The Blue Jays confirmed Thursday they had extended Bichette a qualifying connection for the 2026 season, the archetypal measurement successful the off-season process. The homegrown two-time all-star has expressed his tendency to stay with the team.

"He's been important. We volition beryllium successful his market," Atkins said, without getting into specifics.

Blue Jays infielder Bo Bichette is expected to person a sizable marketplace aft becoming a escaped agent. (Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

Other notable escaped agents see right-handers Max Scherzer, Chris Bassitt and Seranthony Dominguez. Backup infielders Ty France and Isiah Kiner-Falefa are besides retired of contract.

Qualifying offers are worthy conscionable implicit $22 cardinal US and players person until Nov. 18 to accept.

Since Bichette is the team's lone mundane presumption subordinate who's entering escaped agency, the Blue Jays are successful bully signifier to effort to tally it backmost with a akin squad successful 2026.

The instrumentality of starter Shane Bieber, who precocious exercised his subordinate enactment for adjacent year, stabilizes a rotation that volition apt see Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage, Jose Berrios and perchance Eric Lauer.

Team chemistry and wide camaraderie appeared beardown this past season. The players were a assured clump who didn't look to get rattled.

With slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. anchoring the lineup, the Blue Jays led the league successful comeback victories. He was joined astatine the all-star crippled by catcher Alejandro Kirk.

Addison Barger had a breakout sophomore run and Nathan Lukes emerged arsenic a go-to outfielder erstwhile slugger Anthony Santander went down with a semipermanent enarthrosis injury.

Braydon Fisher had a beardown rookie play successful a new-look bullpen that featured Yariel Rodriguez, Mason Fluharty, Tommy Nance, Brendon Little, trade-deadline pickups Louis Varland and Dominguez, and person Jeff Hoffman, who had a so-so twelvemonth successful his archetypal afloat play successful the ninth-inning role.

There is simply a beardown halfway successful spot arsenic the Blue Jays purpose to get implicit the hump adjacent twelvemonth and triumph the World Series for the archetypal clip since 1993.

"It's been astir that pursuit, it's been astir perpetual betterment and astir lifting radical and making this a large spot to play and the champion we tin bash for our fans," Shapiro said.

Mattingly departs, positive different tidbits

• Bench manager Don Mattingly volition not instrumentality adjacent season. He wanted to walk much clip with household but was unfastened to different opportunities successful the game.

• Atkins said Berrios (elbow) was expected to person a "normal" off-season and beryllium acceptable for outpouring training.

• On his ain contract, Shapiro said determination was communal involvement successful an hold but talks were enactment connected clasp for the playoffs.

• Atkins confirmed the squad has picked up manager John Schneider's declaration enactment and hold talks were underway.

Spring grooming is acceptable to statesman successful mid-February successful Dunedin, Fla. Toronto volition footwear disconnected the regular play connected March 26 against the visiting Athletics.