Blue Jays Skipper Reveals Message to Players as Spring Training Ramps Up
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It is one of the best times of year for baseball: spring training. That means Opening Day is inching closer and closer. Teams will soon reap the benefits of their offseason work, or learn they didn't do enough. The Toronto Blue Jays are not among the ballclubs that were not aggressive.
The Blue Jays simply bolstered their pitching staff which was the largest weakness of their 2025 roster. As all of the new faces, and old ones, have finally gathered in Florida, their manager, John Schneider, spoke with everyone about what the goals are moving forward.
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Since the immaculate turnaround from 2024 to 2025, where Toronto went from last to first in the division, it was an easy assumption that their sights are set on defending the AL East crown, but the vision is much bigger.
First reported on by MLB.com's Keegan Matheson via. X (formerly Twitter), Schneider stated:
“We’re not defending anything. We’re not defending the AL East. We’re not defending the American League. We’re attacking 2026 like we did ’25. We’re trying to win the division. We’re trying to win the World Series.”
Now, the 2026 roster is full of different faces, particularly their pitching staff as it now features strikeout machine Dylan Cease, KBO MVP Cody Ponce, as well as one of the elite relievers in Tyler Rogers. So this is their first impression of their facilitator, and it is a good one.
Key New Faces
The Achilles heel for their 2025 season ultimately ended up being with their lack of depth in their starting rotation and an issue with late-game long balls. Well, both issues were addressed.
It is also important to note that both Shane Bieber and rising star Trey Yesavage will be a part of the pitching staff for the entire season after both only became available late in the summer last year.
- Dylan Cease, Starting Pitcher
- Cody Ponce, Starting Pitcher
- Shane Bieber, Starting Pitcher
- Tyler Rogers, Relief Pitcher (Closer)
- Kazuma Okamoto, Infielder
Starting to get irresponsibly high on Kazuma Okamoto
— Blue Jays Today (@TodayJays) February 1, 2026
The transition to MLB is tough, but a guy who’s money for a high .800 OPS every year in Japan with real pop? I just don’t see him falling off
Guy is going to eat 🔥pic.twitter.com/0rElWYtKJF
Okamoto is very important to take note of after batting over .300 last season in Japan. The loss of Bo Bichette was a gut punch, but the team will now be able to rely on their newest utility man to make up for some of the production that Bichette took with him to New York.
Schneider is expecting a lot out of his team, rightfully so. These guys all have postseason experience now, and even though last year ended in heartbreak, this one could tell a very different tale.
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Maddy Dickens resides in Loveland, Colorado. She grew up with two older brothers, where their lives revolved around sports. She earned a master's degree in business management from Tarleton State University while simultaneously playing basketball and competing in rodeo at the collegiate level. She successfully parlayed a reserve national championship into a professional rodeo career and now stays involved in upper-level athletics by writing for On SI on several different MLB teams' pages, along with some NCAA sites.