Everything felt different last November. Honestly, the vibe in Toronto was electric, then suddenly, it just wasn't. If you look at the Blue Jays last 10 games of their competitive 2025 run, you aren't just looking at a set of scores. You're looking at the anatomy of a near-miracle that fell exactly one game short.
Baseball is cruel.
We’re sitting here in January 2026, and the Rogers Centre is quiet, but the front office is anything but. Ross Atkins has been throwing money around like it's going out of style, trying to fix the holes exposed in that final stretch. But to understand why they just gave Dylan Cease $210 million, you have to look back at those final ten matchups.
The rollercoaster that was the World Series
Toronto entered the final stretch of the 2025 postseason with the kind of momentum that makes fans start booking parade routes. They’d already scrapped past Seattle. They looked like a team of destiny. Then they hit the Dodgers.
Looking at the Blue Jays last 10 games, they went 5-5. That's the definition of a coin flip. It started with those final two wins against Seattle to clinch the ALCS, followed by a seven-game war with Los Angeles.
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The World Series was basically a boxing match. Toronto would land a blow—like that massive 11-4 blowout in Game 1 at the Dome—and then the Dodgers would counter. Game 6 was particularly brutal, a 6-5 heartbreaker in LA where the Jays left 10 men on base. You can't do that against the Dodgers. You just can't.
That final Game 7 stat line
The last game of the year, the one everyone wants to forget but can't, ended 5-4 for the Dodgers. Ernie Clement was a godsend during this stretch, hitting .411 in the playoffs. But even his heroics weren't enough when the bullpen finally ran out of gas.
- Game 1: W 11-4 (The peak)
- Game 2: L 1-5 (The reality check)
- Game 3: L 5-6 (The one that got away)
- Game 4: W 6-2 (The Dylan Cease-less hope)
- Game 5: W 6-1 (The "we might actually do this" moment)
- Game 6: L 1-3 (The offensive drought)
- Game 7: L 4-5 (The end of the dream)
Why the offseason spending spree is happening now
If you think $337 million in new contracts is a lot, you're right. It is. But the Blue Jays last 10 games showed a team that was 95% of the way to a ring. The missing 5%? Elite, high-leverage pitching and a third baseman who can actually mash.
Signing Kazuma Okamoto for $60 million is a direct response to the lack of punch in the bottom of the order during those final three Dodgers losses. Okamoto hit 77 games' worth of absolute moonshots in Japan last year with a .992 OPS. That’s the kind of "fear factor" the Jays lacked when Vladdy was getting pitched around in Game 7.
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And then there's the Dylan Cease deal.
Atkins isn't just buying a pitcher; he's buying insurance. The rotation looked gassed by the time November rolled around. Adding a guy who can miss bats at an elite level means you aren't relying on a tired bullpen to get 12 outs every night.
The Don Mattingly departure
It's kinda weird to see "Donnie Baseball" in Phillies pinstripes. The news hit earlier this month that he’s heading to Philadelphia to work with his son, Preston. Jim Bowden was pretty vocal about the Jays' handling of the transition, but honestly? It feels like a clean break for a team that's trying to reinvent its clubhouse culture for 2026.
Losing a bench coach isn't a disaster, but losing that bench coach during a winter of massive change is... a choice.
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What this means for your 2026 bets
The Blue Jays are currently sitting at No. 2 in the midwinter Power Rankings. They’ve leapfrogged almost everyone except the Dodgers. This isn't just hype. The roster is objectively better than the one that lost Game 7.
When you look at the Blue Jays last 10 games, you see a team that lacked one big hit or one clean inning. With Okamoto in the lineup and Cease at the top of the rotation, the math changes.
If you're tracking this team for the upcoming season, watch the Bo Bichette situation. He’s the last big piece of the puzzle. If they re-sign him, this lineup becomes arguably the most dangerous in the American League. If they don't? Well, then a lot of pressure falls on Ernie Clement to prove that his .411 postseason wasn't a fluke.
Actionable steps for Jays fans:
- Track the arbitration numbers: They’ve already settled with Daulton Varsho ($10.75M) and Ernie Clement ($4.6M). These are the glue guys.
- Watch the Spring Training rotation: With Shane Bieber returning on his player option and the Cease signing, the battle for the 4th and 5th spots will be intense.
- Keep an eye on the Dodgers: They just signed Edwin Diaz. The arms race between these two teams is real, and it’s likely headed for a 2026 rematch.
The 2025 season ended in a way that makes your stomach turn. But the way this front office is moving? They aren't planning on feeling that way again next November.