The 2026 Toronto Blue Jays season begins at home Friday, March 27, as some fans are still grieving the Game 7 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Blue Jays had solid spring training, going 12-14 in 26 games played. Some of their free agent additions were main spotlights during the preseason.
Pitcher Cody Ponce, 2025 MVP with the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO), signed a three-year deal worth $30 million. He had a magnificent spring, going 2-0 in five starts with a 0.66 ERA and 13.2 innings pitched.
The six time KBO all star Kazuma Okamoto was another breakout candidate during spring training. Okamoto batted .316 with an .435 on base percentage and an 1.066 OPS in 23 plate appearances.
Dylan Cease made his mark as well, pitching 9.2 innings in three starts, while striking out 12 and giving up just one earned run.
The Blue Jays emphasized during the off season that pitching was crucial need for them heading into the regular season, as Jose Berrios, Shane Bieber, Trey Yesavage, and Yimi Garcia will all be starting on the injured list (IL).
The rotation for the first couple weeks will look like Kevin Gausman, Dylan Cease, Eric Lauer, Cody Ponce and Max Scherzer.
The Blue Jays will begin the 2026 season with 12 of their first 15 games at the Rogers Centre.
It all starts against the Athletics Friday for game one of a three game series, before welcoming the Colorado Rockies for three games.
On April 2, the Jays will head on a quick road trip to Chicago to take on the White Sox.
Then they'll return home for a world series rematch with the Los Angeles Dodgers, followed by a three game series with the Minnesota Twins.
You can catch most of the Jays games on CHOK (103.9FM/1070AM).
***This story was written by Evan Frederiksen. Evan is a student in the Fanshawe College journalism program, and is currently doing an internship with SarniaNewsToday.ca
