Blue Jays Set Up for Success in October After Handling Business in Regular Season
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The Toronto Blue Jays weren't expected to do much this season.
After finishing 2024 in last place of the division, many pundits and analysts expected that to finish towards the bottom once again this year. Manager John Schneider and general manager Ross Atkins were firmly on the hot season, and there were questions about the futures of Vladmir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette.
The only ones who seemed to have confidence in this Blue Jays team was themselves. So fast forward to now, and Toronto not only proved everyone wrong and themselves right by winning their first AL East title in a decade, but they also have set themselves up with a chance to make a real run in October.
By securing the first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the American League side of the bracket, the Blue Jays are poised to win their first game in the playoffs since 2016 when the team lost in the American League Championship Series.
First-Round Bye Is Key for Blue Jays
Toronto has made the playoffs three times since that run in 2016. They have failed to win a single game, as they have been eliminated in the Wild Card round on every occasion. That has made those appearances in the postseason feel almost hollow, with no major success to show for it.
The Blue Jays will look to change that narrative this year, and because they took care of business in the regular season by winning the AL East and securing a first-round bye, they are set up to do exactly that.
"It's one less series you've gotta win," outfielder Matt Straw said, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. "What, we've got to win three now? So, three series. We've done that a lot this year. I like our team against anyone. We're ready to roll, get a few days off, get some practice in and get right back to it."
FIRST IN THE AL.
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) September 28, 2025
A BYE.
Home field secured 😤 pic.twitter.com/hJRpOMiZjY
By eliminating the variance of the short Wild Card series altogether, Toronto will now be able to fall back on one of their clear strengths; playing at home in the Rogers Centre.
With a 54-27 record on their home field, they should be able to use that as a weapon when they take the field once again in October. And like Straw said, to win a championship now, all they have to do is win three series because they earned the first-round bye.
So as some potential chaos ensues in the Wild Card round where two rivalry matchups are set to take place between the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Guardians on one side of the bracket and the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox on the other, the Blue Jays get to sit back and watch all of that unfold as they wait to see who they will play in the ALDS.
