The Toronto Blue Jays came into 2026 with a target on their back.

They were the reigning American League champions. They were two outs away from winning the World Series. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was coming off one of the greatest postseason performances by a player and entering the first year of his record-breaking contract extension with the Blue Jays. The team was aggressive in the offseason, adding players such as Dylan Cease, Kazuma Okamoto, Cody Ponce, and Tyler Rogers.

“There’s a little extra pressure to perform,” Ernie Clement said in an interview with Offside before the start of the season. “That’s the reality of it.”

The setbacks started before the season did. Trey Yesavage, Shane Bieber, and José Berríos started the season on the injured list. Fortunately, the Blue Jays had a surplus of starting pitchers at their disposal.

The Blue Jays started the season with a three-game sweep of the Athletics that included two walk-offs. They were right where they finished in 2025, at the top of the AL East standings.

The good times didn’t last long. Ponce suffered an ACL sprain in the third inning of his first start. He would miss the rest of the season. Within a week, Alejandro Kirk and Addison Barger had also been added to the IL. Kirk missed two months with a fractured thumb. Barger suffered a string of injuries that meant he only played nine games in 2026.

As the injuries mounted, the healthy players struggled to match their production from 2025. In particular, Guerrero seemingly lost all his power. He hit just nine home runs in 2026, tied for the lowest of his career with the COVID-shortened 2020 season.

For the second time in three years, the Blue Jays finished last in the AL East. They had a strong August that put them in the hunt for a Wild Card berth, but a poor September meant the Blue Jays missed the playoffs by five games.

The Blue Jays came into 2026 with the pressure of being the reigning American League champions. They no longer have that pressure going into 2027. In fact, they’ll be in a similar position as they were entering 2025, coming off a disappointing season in 2024, needing to prove they were better than their 74-88 record would suggest.

The Blue Jays head into 2027 as the hunters instead of the hunted. That seemed to be a position they were very comfortable in 2025.  They earned the nickname the comeback kids, racking up 49 comebacks during the regular season, plus a couple more during the playoffs.

However, the Blue Jays will still have a lot of pressure on them in 2027. They won’t have a target on their backs, but they do have a lot to prove. As mentioned, they’ve finished last in their division in two of the last three seasons. That’s a bad look for the franchise, even if there’s a World Series appearance sandwiched in between.

The Blue Jays have spent a lot of money trying to build a team that can contend. They had the fifth-highest payroll in 2026. Guerrero’s 14-year, $500-million contract extension is the largest in franchise history. Cease’s seven-year, $210-million contract last year surpassed George Springer’s six-year, $150-million contract from 2021 as the largest free agent signing in Blue Jays history.

The Blue Jays are willing to spend to contend, but unless the team actually gets the results, they’re spending a lot of money to miss the playoffs. That’s not to say the Blue Jays’ highest earners aren’t deserving. Guerrero’s 2026 season was a disaster, but he’s earned his place as the face of the franchise. Cease, meanwhile, was the best player for the Blue Jays in 2026.

The pressure is on Guerrero in particular to prove that 2026 was a fluke. His .260/.332/.356 slash line was the worst of his career. Of his nine home runs, only one was at the Rogers Centre, and it didn’t happen until September 13. He, more than anyone else on the Blue Jays, needs a good season in 2027 to show that 2026 was a misstep and not a sign.

The Blue Jays do have the benefit of extra rest leading into the 2027 season. On top of the World Series finishing in November, several players on the Blue Jays participated in the World Baseball Classic ahead of the regular season. Without either of those, the Blue Jays have a lot more time to rest and reset for next year.

The Blue Jays will also have several injured players back for 2027. In some ways, it’s easier to brush off 2026 due to the sheer number of injuries to key members of the team. But if next season turns out similarly, even with those players healthy, that would be a big problem for the Blue Jays.

The Blue Jays may also be better off next year due to being further away from 2025. The 2025 World Series was an instant classic; however, it also ended in a heartbreaking manner for the Blue Jays. A loss like that is difficult to rebound from, especially in the following season. With the World Series further in the rearview mirror, it may be easier for the Blue Jays to rebound from the disappointment.

The Blue Jays enter 2027 in a completely different position from 2026. That may be just what they need to have a better season, but it doesn’t totally alleviate the pressure. They still have a lot of the pieces that got them to the World Series in 2025, and several of the new additions worked out in 2027. They have work to do in the offseason, but the front office has proven to be aggressive in pursuing free agent talent. They may not have the target of being the reigning AL champions, but they do have the pressure of having a roster capable of a lot more than what they showed in 2026.

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