The Toronto Blue Jays earned their shot at immortality this fall against the defending World Series champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The odds have always favoured the Dodgers ever so slightly, but the Blue Jays didn’t make the World Series easy on their rivals by taking it all the way to Game 7, back at Rogers Centre. The game of baseball has always gone off script, but this time, it brought indescribable heartbreak to the Blue Jays’ dugout.

This type of chance doesn’t come around often, at least in the Blue Jays’ franchise history. It took over three decades for Toronto to reach the World Series, and the team has struggled to win playoff games since 2016. From that perspective, Toronto’s deep playoff run in 2025 that took the team to the World Series stage represented so much more than just punching the ticket to the playoffs itself.

The Blue Jays squandered scoring opportunities early at the bottom of first and second when they stranded a total of three base runners. However, the Blue Jays got another chance to put runs on the board, entering the bottom of the third with George Springer and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on base. This time, Bo Bichette didn’t miss his pitch, with exhausted Shohei Ohtani on the mound, and sent the baseball straight over the centre field wall for a three-run home run to put the Blue Jays in the lead.

This home run was the defining moment for Toronto, which sought ways to beat the Dodgers after pent-up frustration from Game 6 the day before. Besides taking the lead in the game, the home run also showcased Bichette’s ability to give a clutch hit, even after missing a good chunk of the playoff games. In a game where other all-star players like Guerrero, Alejandro Kirk and George Springer struggled to hit for power, the Blue Jays showed that they had another card up their sleeve. Yet, the euphoria was in jeopardy not long after.

The Blue Jays had more opportunities to score during Game 7, but in the case where they couldn’t score any insurance runs, their job was to hold down the lead they had. Unfortunately, that turned out to be a titanic task for a team that struggled with its pitching throughout the regular season.

This year, the Blue Jays’ pitching staff ranked 19th in earned run average (ERA) and surrendered a total of 209 home runs. This trend continued into the postseason when the team gave up 29 home runs, making them the worst team in this statistic out of all 12 teams that made it to the playoffs. The Dodgers’ bats struggled mightily this series, but they took advantage of the Blue Jays’ pitching staff’s mistakes when presented, especially starting in the bottom of the fourth, and cashed in two runs from stringing good hits together. But three solo home runs by Max Muncy, Miguel Rojas and Will Smith were the nail in the coffin that ultimately put the Blue Jays behind.

Scoring often was an issue for the Blue Jays, but the persistent issue the pitching staff had with long balls became the Achilles’ heel that came back to bite the team in the most decisive game of the World Series.

The major difference between the Blue Jays and the Dodgers this season has been the depth of their roster. During the regular season, the Dodgers have been ravaged by early injuries, especially in their pitching staff, but they still found ways to top their division (NL West) because they had more than a couple of star players that they could rely on. This allowed them to create one of the more fearsome lineups featuring Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Teoscar Hernández, Max Muncy, Shohei Ohtani and Will Smith. On the pitching side, the Dodgers came with a stronger starting pitching core with Tyler Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani, Blake Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, which gave them more competitive edge in the playoff stage.

In contrast, the Blue Jays’ lineup was not as star-heavy, with only a few well-known players like Bichette, Guerrero, Springer, Kevin Gausman, and Max Scherzer. Even with other role players like Addison Barger, Ernie Clement, Nathan Lukes and Davis Schneider stepping up this season, the offence depended on stars playing like stars more than the Dodgers did because the Blue Jays’ bench wasn’t as deep as the defending champions.

The Blue Jays’ pitching core was certainly a reliable group, but wasn’t known for its lockdown potential. Everyone from Kevin Gausman to Jeff Hoffman dealt with the home run issues at some point. While both the Dodgers and Blue Jays’ bullpens had their moments, the Dodgers’ pitching staff was one of the biggest reasons they won the World Series this year.

The Blue Jays’ offseason began on a sour note with so many “what ifs” on the table in the World Series. Had they won the World Series, the offseason might have had a more rosy outlook, but with such a bitter loss in their hands, the team now has to contemplate who they need to re-sign and bring in to add more dimension to the team.

Coming off such a successful playoff run in 2025 after a disappointing season in 2024, the Blue Jays will be expected to build a competitive team once again in 2026. Some of the notable free agents this offseason will be Chris Bassitt, Bo Bichette, Shane Bieber, Eric Lauer and Max Scherzer, and the Blue Jays will have to decide who they need to bring back and who to part ways with. The most tense and interesting free agency discussion will be whether the Blue Jays can re-sign Bichette, given that he’s been the face of the franchise alongside Guerrero Jr.

The biggest question the Blue Jays will have to answer this offseason, aside from the potential of re-signing Bichette, will be the starting rotation. Who are they signing to fill the gaps that Bassitt, Bieber (if he opts out), and Scherzer will leave? Are they interested in bringing any of these pitchers back? Having a strong rotation is of the utmost importance to this team if they want a shot at being one of the top teams in the AL East, especially with the other four teams projected to experience some form of positive regression in 2026.

Rounding out their bench depth will be key as well if the Blue Jays have learned from their playoff run and are interested in bringing more players who can give more offensive edge, along with defence. These types of players will be in high demand during the offseason, but it will also have to be a bet Toronto would have to make to lengthen the lineup.

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