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Blue Jays: Brendon Little and his role for next season: is he in or out of the circle of trust?
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Photo credit: © Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images
Graeme Wallace
Dec 23, 2025, 19:00 ESTUpdated: Dec 23, 2025, 17:29 EST
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The Toronto Blue Jays relied heavily upon reliever Brendon Little throughout the 2025 season.
He racked up an AL-leading 79 appearances, but his performance dropped off significantly in the second half of the season and in the postseason, so it’s fair to wonder what the lefty’s role will be in 2026. 
Little was a pleasant surprise for the Jays in ‘24 after he was acquired from the Chicago Cubs the previous winter. The 29-year-old built on that success and was immediately thrust into a high-leverage role this past season. The lefty responded well and was striking out batters at a rate we hadn’t seen before. Through April, Little had appeared in 16 games and racked up 21 strikeouts through 13 innings. That month, he also started a streak of 15 games without allowing an earned run. 
At the All-Star break, Little was 4-1, with a 2.03 ERA and 65 strikeouts. He recorded 17 holds, with 28 walks (four intentional), two blown saves, but allowed just one home run. He allowed just three of 18 (16.67%) inherited runners to score.
The second half of the season was a different story. 
Little was 0-1 with a 4.88 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 24 innings (34 appearances) following the All-Star break.  He amassed 13 holds, 17 walks, one save, and one blown save. The southpaw had a lot more inherited runners (27), but didn’t strand them as he did in the first half, allowing eight to score (29.6%). His strikeout rate decreased, his walk rate went up, and his ERA ballooned, although his 3.51 FIP suggests Little was more than a bit unlucky in the second half. He continued to excel at keeping the ball in the park and allowed just one more home run. 
Overall, Little went 4-2, with a 3.03 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, and 91 strikeouts over 68 1/2 innings (12 K/9 IP). He continued to work in high-leverage situations and, along with Mason Fluharty, was the team’s most trusted left-handed reliever.
The playoffs began, and Little fared well in the ALDS series against the Yankees, tossing scoreless innings in Games 1 and 4 while allowing a sac fly that scored an insurance run in New York’s lone win in the series. Things didn’t go as well the rest of the postseason for the southpaw.
He surrendered an RBI single to Jorge Polanco that gave the Seattle Mariners a 3-1 lead in the sixth inning of Game 1 of the ALCS. Little didn’t pitch again until Game 5, when he came into a game the Blue Jays were winning 2-1 and gave up the game-tying home run to Cal Raleigh. He then walked Polanco and Josh Naylor, setting the table for Eugenio Suarez’s grand slam (given up by Seranthony Dominguez) and the eventual 6-2 Mariners win. 
By the time the World Series was being played, it was obvious that Little had fallen out of favour with the Jays’ coaching staff. However, in Game 3, the team was playing into the 17th inning and running out of pitching options. He got out of that inning unscathed, but was on the hook for Freddie Freeman’s walk-off homer. 
So after only giving up two homers all season, Little surrendered two more at critical moments in the postseason. But giving up two huge home runs shouldn’t take away from all the progress he made during the season.
Walker would be smart to alter Little’s role and lighten his load, as it’s obvious the lefty faltered from being overused. Limiting him to 60-70 games seems more suitable, and having Little start as a middle reliever with the opportunity to move back into a high-leverage role with consistent outings would be appropriate.
Brendon Little is still a trusted member of this relief corps and brings value as a swing-and-miss lefty with playoff experience to build on. He’ll need to come into spring training with a chip on his shoulder and be ready to work, and he may find himself in more high-pressure moments with the game on the line in 2026, especially if he can find his strikeout numbers again. 

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