Heading into the 2025 season, the Toronto Blue Jays aren’t exactly in the most ideal position. Currently, the FanGraphs project the team to have an 83-79 record and are behind their division rivals such as the Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. Only the Tampa Bay Rays are behind the Blue Jays, but the team faces many challenges from the get-go as most of the competitors in the AL East have significantly improved their rosters. 
Below are key obstacles the Blue Jays will have to navigate for 162 games this year: 

Baltimore Orioles: Young and explosive lineup 

Once again, the Orioles didn’t do much this offseason to complement their strong roster. However, that doesn’t mean it will be a cakewalk for the division rivals this season because they possess more robust lineups in the division. 
The team boasts Colton Cowser, Jackson Holliday, Gunnar Henderson, Heston Kjerstad, Ramón Laureano, Ryan Mountcastle, Cedric Mullins, Ryan O’Hearn, Tyler O’Neill, Adley Rutschman, Ramón Urías and Jordan Westburg as both their mainstays and bench depth, and this offensive core can become dangerous if everything meshes together well. The team may not have the best farm system heading into this year, but even with the 15th-best farm system in the league, there still are young prospects like Samuel Basallo and Coby Mayo waiting for their chances to haunt the Blue Jays pitching for years. There are a few Toronto killers on this team and with Cowser being a Rookie of the Year finalist last year and Henderson putting up a ridiculous 9.1 bWAR (even though he may start the year on the IL), this team is going to be scary for the next few years even after losing Anthony Santander. 
Baltimore may be struggling to find their place as they recover from the recent playoff disappointments, but they are far from being less competitive. In fact, they will most likely become a nuisance to Toronto with their young and resilient talents all throughout the year and are projected to be at the top of the AL East again on multiple platforms. 

Boston Red Sox: Alex Bregman 

The Red Sox aren’t playing around this time, and they have made some very interesting moves that would move the needle for a team with great expectations. The team brought in many competent players like Walker Buehler and Garrett Crochet but most of all, the crown jewel of the offseason appears to be the signing of Alex Bregman on a three-year deal. 
Unfortunately, for the Blue Jays, Bregman has effectively terrorized the team’s pitching for his entire career. Throughout his time in the majors, Bregman has recorded a .294 batting average, 28 RBIs, nine home runs and 37 runs scored in his 38 games against Toronto. The now-30-year-old New Mexico native will easily become a thorn in the side for the Blue Jays’ starters and relievers alike. 
Bregman is projected for a slash line of ..268/.249/.455 with 23 home runs for this season according to Steamer and if he can live up to at least 70% of his projection, he will be bad news for Toronto all around. Combine that with Rafael Devers and his power – this is a nightmare scenario for the Blue Jays’ pitching team. 

New York Yankees: Aaron Judge 

When it comes to the Yankees, there is only one clear answer to the question as to what is the biggest threat for the Blue Jays: Aaron Judge. 
There are many other potential responses because the team did enhance its pitching core by acquiring stars like Max Fried and Devin Williams, but the core group may be in limbo with potential injuries to pitchers such as Gerrit Cole. So, the most realistic threat Toronto faces in New York’s roster is Judge with his talent and raw power, especially with Soto gone. In his 120 games against the Blue Jays, the 32-year-old outfielder has compiled a .297 batting average, 38 home runs, 83 RBIs, and 78 runs. 
The fact that he recorded his 61st home run against reliever Tim Mayza in 2022 will go down in history and is also the best example of how Judge has plagued the team for several years. 
Steamer is projecting Judge to have a slash line of .276/.402/.584, and OOPSY is slotting in at .300/.419/.658. Even the lower projection is high enough to torture the Blue Jays all throughout the regular season. Judge isn’t just your average player and the former AL MVP winner will return to pose threats to Toronto as per usual.  

Tampa Bay Rays: Strong pitching from top to bottom

It’s never easy with the Rays and their projections because the team always finds a way to defy expectations. The team isn’t exactly known for making the biggest moves to upgrade their team given their small market and the ongoing off-the-field distractions related to their stadium rebuild and their future in Tampa Bay are not doing any favours. Rather, they rely heavily on their development system to fill in their roster gaps and trade veteran players for controllable talent, and they have been extremely successful with their strategy thus far.
Where Tampa Bay excels is in its pitching movements and development. The team employs Shane Baz, Taj Bradley, Garrett Cleavinger, Alex Faedo, Pete Fairbanks, Zack Littell, Shane McClanahan, Ryan Pepiot and Drew Rasmussen. Some of these names –especially Baz, Pepiot, Bradley, Fairbanks, McClanahan and Rasmussen – stand out more than others but even the less notable names should be considered a threat to the Blue Jays because the Rays have always found ways to dominate Toronto’s lineup for years. 
The Rays will most likely bring in more pitchers on the roster, and they already plan to have relief pitchers such as Kevin Kelly, Mason Montgomery, Manuel Rodríguez and Edwin Uceta potentially on the Opening Day roster. There are plenty of new names the team will also give chances to for pitching, and the Blue Jays shouldn’t take any of them lightly. 
Overall, Toronto is 210-254 against Tampa Bay and has struggled to prevail for a long time. That alone should inspire the Blue Jays to draw up a robust plan against their age-old rival although they have the added advantage of avoiding Tropicana Field this year.