Hey everyone. Been a while...
Seeing as the browser ate my completed first draft and I couldn't recover it (ah, just like the old days)... I'll be more brief than initially intended on this go-around. All those brilliant insights and jokes I had set up with contemplated witty precision... sadly forever lost in the catacombs of internet history.
The assignment here is self-evident: how many games will the 2026 Blue Jays win? Plus any and whatever fun developments, playoff outcomes, trade imaginings or wild happenings elsewhere in the league you fancy... this is the place to let em loose so don't be shy.
As for my own predictions? Well... it's a very tough act to follow. The 2025 team genuinely was really special, a generationally memorable run that fans of the Blue Jays will reminisce fondly on forever. To answer, they've clearly made bold moves to improve: adding another potential frontline starting pitcher in Dylan Cease* (who I like a lot), trying to offset the hitting loss of Bo Bichette (whom I think we're going to miss a lot more than most of us are admitting to ourselves) by adding a veteran-yet-unknown-quantity in Japanese slugger Kazuma Okamoto, strengthening the by-nature-unreliable relief position with the most reliable guy you can think of in Tyler Rogers (get ready for some really funny swings on his slider) and a modest gamble on Cody Ponce having figured something out and being a useful MLB dude (and I use the word "dude" to describe Ponce precisely). Plus, the defensive upgrade up the middle (even if at SS Gimenez is merely good rather than elite) for a full year can't be overlooked, especially if Daulton Varsho (in a walk year) can give you twice as many games as he did in 2025.
The offense is where I worry the most, though I still think its most likely the team ends up good rather than great in that department. Another Addison Barger leveling up, Okamoto hitting the ground running (ideally figuratively), Jesus Sanchez running into 20-25 home runs, Guerrero picking up where he left off last October, Springer and Kirk still being above average regulars... none of it seems unreasonably hopeful, nor does all of it have to go right for this whole thing to work (though you'd probably want at least a couple).
They've done almost as much as one could ask to make the team better, which while seeming like the bare minimum (because it is) you can also ask fans of the Colorado Rockies or the Milwaukee Brewers** if they share such a pleasant sentiment towards their own teams. While no team is ever truly and completely childproofed against 'the worst that can happen'(TM), you do like the 2026 Blue Jays' chances of weathering a reasonable number of calamities*** and being a dangerous team again once the leaves on the trees begin to fade and drift back down towards the earth. Their considerable depth remains an asset and one figures this pitching staff will really be the key to carrying the crown for the season (is that even a saying?).
Can this 2026 team really recapture that special magic though? The glass slipper, Power of Friendship(TM) type stuff that made 2025 such an unforgettable and incredible year to be a Blue Jays fan? Perhaps this team can, in their own way... but it won't be the same. And that's okay.
92-70, 1st AL East (by a nose over NYY and BAL, with BOS looming like a gargoyle all summer too). Guerrero Jr finishes top 4 in MVP, Josh Kasevich and RJ Schreck**** get ROY votes, Ernie Clement finally wins a Gold Glove (as does Alejandro Kirk).
*So Dylan Cease has this really weird thing where in mid-windup he abruptly turns his head towards third base before turning back to face home plate as he finishes his delivery. Like for a quick moment he looks completely away from both the catcher and hitter while in his leg kick. I wonder if this is an intentional thing he's consciously doing... I'm sure it might make more than a couple hitters uncomfortable digging in against a guy who is throwing a ball at them without looking.
**I think this is the year the annual exodus of premier talent from Milwaukee finally makes the Brewers stumble, leaving them as a .500ish squad and finishing a few games behind the surprise-of-the-summer Pittsburgh Pirates.
***as a rule, never ever challenge the worst that can happen. The phrase itself tries to warn you: it 'can' happen.
****I just really like his swing. This is me admitting that an 'as likely' result is Schreck never even getting an MLB look (or a Simon Pond-esque result when he does) or, maybe he's Adam Lind-lite (with obviously better outfield defense heh). Youneverknow. Meanwhile Kasevich just has such an obvious path to semi-regular playing time on this particular Jays team.
