After what has felt like the shortest offseason in history, the 2026 MLB season officially begins this week. It’s funny to see how the perception of a team can change in just one year. Last year at this time, Vladdy was unsigned, the Jays were coming off a disappointing 74-win season, and there was speculation that the team was headed for a rebuild. Now, Vladdy is signed for 14 years, they are the reigning American League Champs, and have shown no signs of taking their feet off the gas when it comes to doing whatever it takes to bring a championship back to Toronto.
Excitement around the team is at an all-time high, and rightfully so. Even though they’ve lost guys like Bo Bichette and Chris Bassitt – both who were consequential to the team’s success last year – the team is arguably still better this year on Opening Day, than they were at the start of last season.
Despite not signing top free agent Kyle Tucker or bringing back Bo Bichette, the Jays still had a productive offseason and addressed a lot of their key needs. They signed top free-agent starter Dylan Cease to the largest free-agent contract in team history, and also added submarine pitcher Tyler Rogers to their bullpen. However, the two names that may be the most intriguing to watch this season are third baseman Kazuma Okamoto and starting pitcher Cody Ponce.
Okamoto will be the everyday third baseman for the Jays and likely hit in the middle of the lineup. The 29-year-old is a 6-time NPB All-Star and has led his league in homerun 3 times. There is always a big question mark around players coming to MLB from either Japan or Korea, because even though it’s still baseball, the styles and caliber of players are different. It will be interesting to see how he adjusts to MLB pitching because the velocity is a lot higher here than in Japan, but if Spring Training is any indication, he may adjust just fine. He’s been hitting the ball really hard this spring, and if he can be a 25-30 homerun guy, then he will be a tremendous addition to the team.
Another player coming over from Asia is right-handed pitcher Cody Ponce. Unlike Okamoto, Ponce has played in MLB before. He spent two years in Pittsburg in 2020 and 2021, but then went to pitch in Japan from 2022 to 2024, and then spent last season in Korea. He pitched extremely well last year as he finished the season with a 17-1 record, a 1.89 ERA, and had 252 strikeouts in 180.2 innings. He was also named the league’s MVP. Ponce has also had a good spring, but like Okamoto, it will be interesting to see how big-league hitters adjust to his stuff. He’s going to be a big part of the starting rotation, especially early in the season with Yesavage, Bieber, and Berríos starting on the IL, so it’s vital he gets off to a strong start.
From two guys making their Blue Jays debuts this season to two guys looking to continue their successes from 2025. Addison Barger and Ernie Clement are two players that will be key to the team’s success this year. Both were instrumental in the Jays’ World Series run and came up with some clutch hits in the postseason. Now, as they not only factor to be everyday players, but important ones at that, it will be fascinating to see how they respond with slightly more pressure and higher expectations being put on them.
I expect both to have very good seasons. Ernie will continue to do Ernie things; he won’t strikeout a lot, he’ll put the ball in play, and play very good defence. Barger on the other hand, I think, is poised to have a breakout season. He started last season in Triple A and even when he came up, struggled to start. This year, I think he knows more about what kind of hitter he is and what he’s trying to do at the plate, and with his raw power, I expect some big offensive numbers for him. I don’t think it’s crazy to see him as a 30+ homerun hitter, and if he is, that will be huge for the Jays.
The last player that will be noteworthy to watch is none other than Vladimir Guerrero Jr. It might sound strange given the type of player that he is and how long he’s been on the team, but if you at last year during the regular season, you can argue that Springer and Bo were better and more important to the team’s success. However, now, this is Vladdy’s team. Yes, he’s been looked at as the face of the franchise for a few years now, but with him being signed for the next 14 years, and with Bo being gone, this truly feels like his team. He’s had good seasons in his career, but other than 2021, he hasn’t really had that MVP caliber season that many people expect from him. We saw that MVP-type performance throughout the entire playoffs last year as he nearly single-handedly knocked out the Yankees, and then won the ALCS MVP award.
Much like Judge on the Yankees, Ohtani on the Dodgers, or Soto on the Mets, Vladdy needs to be THE guy on Jays. Again, he had a good season last year, but he needs to be more of the guy we saw in the playoffs, and be that for a majority of the season. The talent is in there, and if he can hit 30+ homeruns and drive in 100+ RBI, then the Jays should be finding themselves in contention for another AL East crown.
There hasn’t been this much anticipation around the Jays coming into a season in a long time. The expectations are a lot higher, and for good reason. They should be a very good team, and it will be fascinating to see how everything plays out. Some of the players may have changed, but at the end of the day, the goal for all remains the same; bring a championship back to Toronto.