Blue Jays Had Secret to Yankees Playoff Downfall

The New York Yankees were giving up a lot of information to their division rival in the playoffs.

Oct 8, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge (99) leads off first base against Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (27) during the ninth inning of game four of the ALDS round of the 2025 MLB playoffs at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone knows the Pinstripes need to do better against the Toronto Blue Jays, who steamrolled his team at nearly every opportunity last season.

“We got them two out of three at home late in the year, when we were in a better place,” Boone said at Winter Meetings this week. “And, obviously, they were on fire against us in the playoffs. Look, it comes down to against other good teams, execution, performance, game plan, all that, because the margin's thin against other great teams.”

However, Toronto's might have had a secret weapon that made them so dominant over New York last season. Sources told SportsNet's Ben Nicholson-Smith that the Blue Jays had an advantage over the Yankees in the 2025 AL Divisional Series.

Blue Jays Got Boost from Secret Yankees Tell

According to Nicholson-Smith, "... the Blue Jays picked up on at least one on-field tell from the Yankees during the ALDS — an observation that helped Blue Jays hitters on the way to a four-game series win."

Nicholson-Smith goes on to say that the information is so secret that sources could not reveal the tell without compromising the team.

Rookie pitcher Cam Schlittler had a rough outing against the Blue Jays in early September, which he would later attribute to tipping pitches. In the postseason, he threw a record breaking outing against the Boston Red Sox in the AL Wild Card Series, but give up four runs in 6.1 innings against Toronto in the ALDS. Toronto would go on to play the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series.

Oct 8, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Cam Schlittler (31) reacts after being pulled from the game during the seventh inning against the Toronto Blue Jays during game four of the ALDS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

While there is no guarantee that the "on-field tell" was tipping pitches, it certainly isn't a great look for the Yankees, who fought hard to tie the Blue Jays in record by the end of the season. The good news for Yankees fans, though, is that there is no guarantee that the tell will still be there in 2026. In fact, if sources from the team know about the Blue Jays' advantage, quite the opposite is true, and it likely won't exist next season.

Relaying information about your opponent to your teammates is in no way illegal in the MLB (the Yankees even caught on to Blue Jays pitcher Max Scherzer tipping his pitches in that same early September series) it can be difficult for teams to work around mid-season. Hopefully, the Yankees are more secretive in 2026 and have a more clear path to take down their division rivals.

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