Blue Jays Happy Hour

The top of the free agent market may finally be moving. Rumours about offers from the Mets to Kyle Tucker, and the Phillies meeting with Bo Bichette, indicate that a conclusion to their free agent sagas may soon be ending. Though, even if they do, there's still plenty of work to do—not just for the Blue Jays, who have a real chance in these next few years to ascend long-term to marquee status among MLB franchises, but for a pair of division rivals whose status may be slipping if they can't pull off a big finish to this winter: the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox.** FOR AN AD-FREE VERSION OF THIS—AND EVERY—EPISODE, PLUS WEEKLY BONUS SHOWS, FIND US AT patreon.com/BJHH **

The Big Oak Era has begun! The Blue Jays have finally made a big splash in the Far East, signing the first ever position player to be posted by the 22-time Japan Series champion Yomiuri Giants, Kazuma Okamoto.A player of great intrigue for many reasons—including how he'll fit with the Blue Jays defensively, whether his improved strikeout rate in 2025 was for real (it jumped from a still-excellent 15.9% down to an unbelievable 11.3%), how well his ability will translate overall, and how much of a marketing win in Japan his acquisition will prove to be for the Jays—Okamoto was unveiled by the club in a press conference on Tuesday, where he charmed in both Japanese and, briefly, English. If he can contribute even just a little more than half of his 2025 wRC+ of 210 in the big leagues, he'll be an outstanding addition on a Jays club where his high-contact/low-strikeout skillset should fit right in. And his arrival doesn't even appear to have taken the team out of the running for top free agent Kyle Tucker or a reunion with homegrown star Bo Bichette.Fun times!** FOR AN AD-FREE VERSION OF THIS—AND EVERY—EPISODE, PLUS WEEKLY BONUS SHOWS, FIND US AT patreon.com/BJHH **

** FOR AN AD-FREE VERSION OF THIS—AND EVERY—EPISODE, PLUS WEEKLY BONUS SHOWS, FIND US AT patreon.com/BJHH **What a difference a year makes. It was only just 365 days ago that Jays fans were despairing, wondering why Ross Atkins still had a job after a nine year tenure that had culminated in a dreadful 2024, still smarting from Juan Soto's decision to sign with the Mets, trying to understand the Andrés Giménez acquisition, questioning whether Vladimir Guerrero Jr. could be signed to a contract extension, and feeling nothing but dread about the future, the state of the club's house of cards, and the wisdom of those in charge.Today they're viewed by players, fans, and the industry as a whole as one of the truly exemplary organizations in the sport, and potentially on the verge of ascending to marquee franchise status, having put together a brilliant, compelling, gritty, drama-filled, fun-as-hell campaign that took them to within mere milimetres of an unprobable World Series victory.It's been a hell of a trip around the sun, hasn't it?And this week we're looking back on all of it—from the low expectations, through the ugly start, to the coalescing of an elite team, to one of the all-time great—and all-time heartbreaking—seasons in the history of Canadian sports. Or maybe anybody's sports anywhere.Have a listen...

Please enjoy in full our latest Patreon-exclusive bonus episode, as we continue our intermittent series of indeterminate length looking back on some of the key players from the 2025 Blue Jays, focusing this week on the team's breakout slugger: Addison Barger.WEEKLY BONUS EPISODES AND AD-FREE VERSIONS OF OUR MAIN SHOWS ALL AVAILABLE AT patreon.com/BJHH

Here is a short preview of our latest Patreon-exclusive bonus episode, in which we continue our intermittent series of indeterminate length looking back on some of the key players from the 2025 Blue Jays, focusing this week on the team's God of Contact: Ernie Clement!FULL EPISODE, WEEKLY BONUS EPISODES, AND AD-FREE VERSIONS OF OUR MAIN SHOWS ALL AVAILABLE AT patreon.com/BJHH

Here in our latest Patreon-exclusive bonus episode, we continue our intermittent series of indeterminate length looking back on some of the key players from the 2025 Blue Jays, focusing this week on the team's true rotation stalwart: Kevin Gausman!FULL EPISODE, WEEKLY BONUS EPISODES, AND AD-FREE VERSIONS OF OUR MAIN SHOWS ALL AVAILABLE AT patreon.com/BJHH

We're deep into transaction season, and the Blue Jays have had a few of them for us since our last episode—some big, some small. This week we take a look at all of them, giving the big ones—the addition of reliever Tyler Rogers on a three-year deal, and the new five-year extension for club president Mark Shapiro—the bulk of our attention, naturally.Plus we look at a potential future transaction: a reunion with shortstop Bo Bichette, who is now reportedly indicating to suitors that he's willing to shift to second base.FOR AN AD-FREE VERSION OF THIS—AND EVERY—EPISODE, PLUS WEEKLY BONUS SHOWS, FIND US AT patreon.com/BJHH

This is a preview of our latest Patreon-exclusive bonus episode, as we continue our intermittent series of indeterminate length looking back on some of the key players from the 2025 Blue Jays, focusing this week on a player who the Jays signed to a contract extension this spring that might have genuinely altered the trajectory of the franchise: catcher Alejandro Kirk!FULL EPISODE, WEEKLY BONUS EPISODES, AND AD-FREE VERSIONS OF OUR MAIN SHOWS ALL AVAILABLE AT patreon.com/BJHH

MLB's annual Winter Meetings took place this week, but if you're a fan of the Toronto Blue Jays you can be forgiven if you missed it—or, at the very least, didn't quite get what all the hype was about. Partly, that's because the Jays didn't have to sweat their way through the festivities distractedly chasing ghosts while Plan B types fly off the board like they often do. And partly it's because their biggest move of the week—outside of some Ross Atkins unforced PR errors—was their surprising selection of Spencer Miles from the Giants in the Rule 5 draft.What a whirlwind! And this week we're talking about all of it—and how it has genuinely set up the rest of the offseason—and more!FOR AN AD-FREE VERSION OF THIS—AND EVERY—EPISODE, PLUS WEEKLY BONUS SHOWS, FIND US AT patreon.com/BJHH*APOLOGIES FOR THE MINOR AUDIO ISSUES!*