A wild 2026 season has come to an end. The final tale of the tape: 25 series wins, 24 series losses, 9 series splits, swept 3 series and were swept once in a series. They won 12 season series, lost 13 season series and split 3 series. The Blue Jays had an unpecedented number of injuries and literally could have filled 2 full rotations and a full 26-man roster with who landed on the IL this season. There have been major successes (Louis Varland) and big disappointments). How did the first full year of the ABS system go? Are we really going to lose an entire year of baseball due to a labour dispute? We'll discuss all that and more in the final random thoughts post of the season. Here are 10 random thoughts from around the MLB.
1. I;m not going to go through every single injury, but quite literally an entire 26-man roster was on or is currently on the IL. It all started with righty Cody Ponce, who tumbled awkwardly making a play on a grounder between the mound and 1st base - season-ending ACL surgery. The most snake bit injured player? Addison Barger, who managed to sprain BOTH ankles, came back and in his first game back from the IL hurt his elbow with a max effort throw to gun down a runner at home. Starters Trey Yesavage and Shane Bieber both landed on the IL twice. Yesavage missed the first month of the season with a shoulder impingement. He made 18 starts then injured his knee warming up in the 3rd inning of that 18th start. He missed a month and came back in the final week of the season. Bieber missed the first 2 months with arm issues (he was coming off tommy john surgery last season so concerning to say the least). He landed back on the IL August 25th with right major teres inflammation. He ran out of time to return. Jose Berrios and Bowden Francus both missed the entire season recovering from tommy john surgery. Reliever Yimi Garcia never threw a pitch in the majors in 2026 either, eventually having surgery to relieve thoracic outlet surgery. Anthony Santander also ran out of time to come back from off-season shoulder surgery aftter experiencing back pain in a late season rehab assignment. Patrick Corbin injured his left major teres muscle July 23 and hadn't even begun a throwing program 6 weeks later. Jamesom Taillon, acquired at the deadline, made a couple of starts before his elbow started barking at him and he's already had 2 tommy john surgeries. Suffice to say. all these injuries to the pitching staff has forced bullpen days 1-2 times every 5 days, taxing thhe bullpen and putting pressure on Dylan Cease, Kevin Gausman, Max Scherzer and Jose Soriano to go deep in their starts. Alejandro Kirk missed two months with a broken thumb from a foul tip off his glove in the Blue Jays 7th game, his 5th of the season. Brandon Valenzuela outoplayed Tyler Heineman and won the backup catcher job when Kirk returned to the lineup at the end of June. Those are just the players that needed an IL stint. Vlad was dealing with back ailments much of the season. George Springer, who needed an IL stint for his broken toe, also missed games down the stretch with a barking shoulder. The team's medical team should be reviewed, as well as how players prepare for games
2. Three Blue Jays who impressed
- Louis Varland - The Blue Jays closer for most of the season, Varland literally saved the Blue Jays season after Jeff Hoffman got the yips and was unable to consistently save games. Varland had a 5-6 record and converted 33 saves, blowing just 2 opportunities and had a 1.27ERA in 71appearaces. He is 10th overall for most saves in a single season with 35 saves. The late Duane Ward has the single season save record, notching 45 saves in 1993.
- Spencer Miles - The rookie righty played a crucial role on bullpen days. He made a few spot starts and was stretched out to be a traditional starter, but his numbers were better as a bulk reliever. Miles was 6-2 with a solid 2.63ERA in 49 appearances (8 starts). The Blue Jays will need to make a decision on his role next year and if he'll be a starting pitcher or a long man out of the bullpen. I still think he should be stretched out and be given spot starts every other week or so to keep him stretched out because, as this season showed, you can never have enough starting pitching with injuries and poor performance.
- Kazuma Okamoto - The international signing from Japan, Kazuma Okamoto has the record for most home runs by a Japanese rookie. His average wasn't great (.235) and he struck out a lot (175 times) but he drove in a solid 88 runs. Okamoto also held his own defensively, mainly at the hot corner, albeit wth a few errors as he adapts to the North American ball parks. He should get votes for rookie of the year. Okamoto hit .232 with 33HR and 92RBI over 156games and 568AB.
- Vladimir Guerrero Jr. - Even without comparing him to the high standards of Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge and Juan Soto (who got similarly comparable contracts that will take them through their careers), Guerrero's offensive regression is alarming. He didn't hit his first home run at home until September 13 against Baltimore. He has 9 total home runs this season, equaling the total he had in the 60-game pandemic-shortened 2020 season. His career year in 2021 when he belted 48 HR, batted .311 and led the league in runs scored (123), on-base % (.401) and slugging % (.601) and finished runner-up in AL MVP voting should have an * next to it since many of his home games were played in minor league ballparks due to COVID restrictions in Ontario that weren't lifted until August. Certainly injuries were a factor for Vlad this year with an ailing back and sore hamstring among the owie's that affected him. Although the injuries weren't deemed serious enough to require an IL stint, perhaps the team should have forced him to take ten days just to fully heal. It is very likely he changed his mechanics and his swing were impacted by the ailments. That $500 million contract that went into effect this season is going to be an albatross for both him and the team if Vlad can't get back to the 2024 numbers when he batted .323 with 30HR and 103RBI. Vlad hit .262 with 9HR and 57RBI over 144 games and 542AB. Also, Vlad needs to accept that if he isn't producing, he'll be moved down in the batting order. He should not be exempt to being moved down or benched if he has a bad game. Vlad certainly didn't help his case with the team or fans with some controversial comments he made and doubled down on in a Spanish interview stating the team more or less paid him for what he had done in the past and not to be a 40HR hitter. You have to think he needs to train hard this off-season to give himself a chance to be much better than he was this season.
- Eric Lauer - Last season Eric Lauer played an integral role as a spot starter/bulk pitcher on bullpen days, similar to what Spencer Miles has done this season. Lauer's relationship with the Blue Jays soured really when the Blue Jays started using him as a bulk reliever last year and wasn't helped in arbitration with the team winnng the arbitration case. Unfortunately, Lauer wasn't able to replicate the success he had last season and was DFA'd May 11, a day after giving up 6 runs over 5 innings. Lauer was 1-5 with a 6.69ERA over 8 apppearances (6 starts) for the Blue Jays this season. He was traded to the Dodgers for cash considerations and was 7-2 with a 4.00 ERA over 14 appearances (12 starts) as a Dodger. Lauer is currently on the 60-day IL with elbow issues.
- George Springer - Father time reminded George Springer that he ain't getting any younger. After a healthy 2025 season where George Springer turned back the clock, batting .309 with 32HR and 84RBI and a massive 3-run HR in game 7 of the ALCS, Springer was unable to replicate 2025. He was purely a DH this season with just 2 games in the field. Springer's season took a painful turn on April 11 when he fractured his big toe fouling a ball off his foot and required a 10-day IL stint. The fractured toe affected him for several weeks after he came off the IL. In recent weeks, Springer has been bothered by a sore shoulder and hobbling around with an undisclosed lower body injury. Springer finished 2026 batting .253 with 15HR and 53RBI over 119 games and 438 AB.
4. Did the Blue Jays make a huge mistake not re-signing Bo Bichette? Over 7 seasons with the Blue Jays, Bichette was arguably the teams' most consistent hitter, albeit with slightly lower power numbers than Vlad and defense that left a lot to be desired. Bichette had an awful start to the season as he adjusted to a new team, league and home ballpark, but he recovered nicely and finished 2026 batting .260 with 18HR and 78RBI. Also, Bichette gave Vlad some protection by batting in front of him and being a threat to get on base - this gave Vlad better pitches to hit. Bichette is expected to exercise his player option, but if he changes his mind, Ross Atkins should dial his number and get him back in Toronto as the team's 2B, getting starts at SS when Andres Gimenez needs a day off.
5. Missing the playoffs and being under .500 after coming inches from winning the world series requires changes to the coaching staff and it starts at the top with manager John Schneider and pitching coach Pete Walker (I've been calling for Walker to be replaced for a few years now since he has been less effective on mound visits and hasn't been able to help pitchers as effectively). The Blue Jays need a culture shift and a manager who makes better decisions with the bullpen usage and when to pull starting pitchers. Dylan Cease is a good example of poor decision-making. Cease is tiring and now isn't his dominant self when the Blue Jays need him the most. The new manager can't be afraid to move Vlad out of his preferred spot 2nd/3rd in the lineup when he is struggling. Gimmicky celebrations like the home run jacket need to go. Repurpose the home run jacket into the "player of the game" jacket and also get rid of the gatorade showers after wins - a player is going to get hurt trying to avoid it or lifting the bucket wrong. For now, the hitting coach should remain as David Popkins because you can't keep firing hitting coaches every year. Lots of decisions to be made for sure.
6. This season was the first season where teams could challenges balls and strikes. The ABS system has been beta tested - as most rul changes are - in the minors for a couple of seasons now. Each team gets 2 challenges as game, gaining an extra one in extra innings if the team is out of challenges when the game goes into extra innings. Challenges must be initiated immediately after a pitch, by tapping the helmet/ball cap, and only the pitcher, catcher or batter can initiate a challenge. The Blue Jays as a team have faired well in challening balls and strikes. When they were at bat, they were 2nd in the league with a 55% success rate, sucessfully overturning 83 of 152 pitches challenges. When in the field, they were 19th in the league, successfully overturning 104 of 187 pitches challenges - a 56% success rate. Alejandro Kirk has been the best of the three catchers, successfully overturning 60 of 97 pitches challenged for a 62% success rate. Rookie Brandon Valenzuela successfully overturned 31 of 66 pitches challenged for a 47% success rate. At the plate, Charles McAdoo and Brett Bateman both successfully overturned every pitch they challenged. Davis Schneider also did well, successfully overturning 14/17 pitches for an 82% success rate. Vlad overturned 9/20 pitches challenged or a 45% success rate. The ABS system seems to be doing its job, exposing the bad umpires and also catchers who relied on guillible umpires by dramatically moving their gloves back in the strike zone. The one thing I don't like about the ABS system is that it is umpire's discretion whether to grant a challenge. So, if you have a bad umpire that's already had several calls overturned, they can deny a challenge that might impact whether a team wins or loses. They should add an automatic review if the game is close and it is the bottom of the 9th.
7. Let's look at the league awards
- AL MVP - Aaron Judge will be dethroned as AL MVP. The man to replace him will be Pete Alonso, who is 1st in RBI (113) and HR (43) ]over 161 games and 602AB. He made a bad Orioles team better.
- NL MVP - The NL also looks like it will have a new MVP after Shohei Ohtani regressed due to dealing with injury concerns. The new MVP should be Pete Armstrong-Crow, aka PCA, who is tied for 1st in the NL in HR (45), 3rd in RBI (107) and 1st in batting average (.280) over 162 games and 626AB
- AL Cy Young - The Cy Young race became a 1-man show with Cam Schlittler expected to win in a landslide after his competition Dylan Cease ran out of gas and faded down the stretch. Schlittler was 4th in wins (14), first in ERA (1.95) and tied for 2nd in strikeours (239) over 33 starts
- NL Cy Young - the NL Cy Young looks like it has a clear winner too with Brewers righty Jacob Misiorowski tied for 2nd in wins (16), 1st in ERA (1.80) and 1st in strikeouts (252) over 30 starts.
- AL Rookie of the year - Kazuma Okamoto, who has hit the most home runs by a Japanese rookie (33) and is also 1st in RBI among AL rookies (92) over 156 games and 568AB. Sure, you would like to see him have a better average (,255) but he came up with some big clutch hits this season and, for the most part) has been solid at the hot corner)
- NL rookie of the year - This award race is no contest with Reds 1B Sal Stewart leading NL rookes by a mile in HR (32) and RBI (111) and he's hitting a solid .263 over 162 gamees and 623AB.
- AL Manager of the year Will Venable of the White Sox, who took a team that lost well over 100 games last season to a playoff spot and neatly 1st in the AL Central.
- NL manager of the year - Brian Snitker of the Braves, who took a team that finished 10 games below .500 (76-86) and 4th in the NL East to an NL East title and 92 wins.
8. MLB playoff predictions:
- World Series: Brewers over Yankees
- ALCS: Yankees over White Sox
- NLCS: Brewers over Dodgers
9. The big question heading into the off-season is will there be baseball in 2027? The current CBA expires Deccember 1 and it is expected there will be a lengthy lockout as the owners attempt to implement a hard salary cap. Since 1972, there have been 9 work stoppages. The two most impactful strikes were in 1981 when 781 games were wiped out between June 12-August 9 and led to free agency and 1994-95 player strike that lasted 232 days and affected 2 seasons. The 1994 world series was canceled and replacement players were used to start the 1995 season with that season being reduced to 144 games. That strike resulted in the current world the game lives in with no hard cap, but a luxury cap when spending hits various threasholds, and the ability to defer contracts. The luxury cap has had little to no impact on big spenders like the Dodgers, Yankees and Mets from signing the best players in free agency to contracts by basically throwing money at them. There are currently 9 teams (the Blue Jays are in large part thanks to Vlad's $500 million deal) paying a luxury tax in the MLB. On the flip side, the biggest cheapstake teams like the A's, Rockies and Angels have little incentive to throw a ton of money at a star player in free agency.The NHL lost an entire season plus the playoffs 2004-05 over a salary cap battle. The players caved and the MLB is the only league of the big 4 with no hard cap. The NFL probably has the most complex salary cap system with players contracts having guaranteed $$ clauses. Personally, I hope the owners get their way and there is a hard cap when baseball returns because no team should be able to buy every star player simply because they have owners that don't care and will spend an unlimited amount to win. Also, the cheapeast spending teams need to forced to buy a star player or two to be competitive. Further, the loophole of deferred contracts must be closed to deter teams like the Dodgers from circumventing a cap by paying a player a small amount in the first years of the deal. The MLB should take lessons from the NHL and not allow teams to place players on the IL to allow themselves to acquire an expensive player at the trade deadline to build a superteam. I don't think the players or owners will have the resolve to wipe out an entire season - too much revenue at stake. At the same time, we are almost certainly going to see games lost becaise the owners are determined to implement a salary cap to save themselves from themselves. The use of replacement players could be a factor
10. Blue Jay of the year: Louis Varland. Without Varland successfully taking over closer role, the Blue Jays season would have been over much sooner - perhaps at the all-star break or shortly thereafter. He was 5-6 with a 1.29ERA and 34 saves in 70 appearnces. Varland started the season as the setup man to Jeff Hoffman, who was demoted out of the closer's role April 24 after blowing 3 saves and sporting an ugly 7.59ERA at the time. Varland instantly resolved the 9th inning issue and allowed other relievers like Tyler Rogers, Mason Fluharty and Brayden Fisher to assume roles in the 6th, 7th and 8th innings, which was more their strength. Varland's work also allowed the Blue Jays to remain in the wild card race up until the last week of the season when they ran out of time. Thanks for reading my game recaps and random thoughts posts and I'll catch you when baseball returns (hopefully sometime in 2027).
