Blue Jays Happy Hour

The 2026 Toronto Blue Jays season has begun, and though the team has already had its share of setbacks—the Cody Ponce injury, all the returning guys expected to carry the load offensively coming out flat, Brendon Little—they've played well on the whole, and were just one hit from several huge opportunities against Colorado away from starting the season 5-1. So, with not all that much to nitpick, this week we spend a lot of our time discussing first impressions. We've finally got our first (official) looks at Kaz Okamoto, Dylan Cease, Tyler Rogers, and Jesús Sánchez. And we also check in on the early results from the groups of Jays we each chose in our WAR Projection Over/Under Draft back in February.

The Jays have added several new items to the menu at Rogers Centre for 2026, and this week in our Patreon-exclusive bonus episode—which we've unlocked for all listeners—we went through each and every one of them to answer the question: Would we actually eat this?Be sure to check us out at Patreon.com/BJHH for more exclusive content, including Stoeten's instant reaction to the Jays' Opening Day win over the A's, a recent appreciation of Vladdy on the occasion of his 27th birthday, thoughts on how we might change the World Baseball Classic, and more! There's a bonus show every week. And don't forget that Patreon membership gives you access to a feed of our shows that you can listen to completely ad-free, and without ever having to see the occasional "preview" episodes we sometimes drop.

This week, in yet another pitching-heavy show, we react to the news that José Berríos has a stress fracture in his pitching elbow and will miss the start of the season, though he aims to pitch through it. Plus! The knock-on effects on the rest of the rotation, the announcement of Kevin Gausman as the club's Opening Day starter, Dylan Cease's importance to the rotation, Daulton Varsho's fascinating spring, and more!** FOR AN AD-FREE VERSION OF THIS—AND EVERY—EPISODE, PLUS WEEKLY BONUS SHOWS, FIND US AT patreon.com/BJHH **

We recorded this one before news broke that José Berríos will be seeing Dr. Keith Meister—the Keith-meister!—for a second opinion on his inflammed right elbow, but I don't think that changes a whole lot about the episode, or our concerns over the Jays' slow-building pitching depth. So have a listen as we discuss Berríos's flagged MRI, Trey Yesavage's deliberate ramp-up, the progression of Shane Bieber and Yimi García, Scherzer the potential saviour—and the dangers of believing in anyone's age-41 season—plus Vladdy continuing his October momentum at the WBC, an odd IKF-related announcement from MLB, and a whole lot more!** FOR AN AD-FREE VERSION OF THIS—AND EVERY—EPISODE, PLUS WEEKLY BONUS SHOWS, FIND US AT patreon.com/BJHH **

** THIS IS A SHORT, FREE PREVIEW OF THIS WEEK'S PATREON-EXCLUSIVE BONUS EPISODE. TO HEAR THE EPISODE IN FULL, VISIT US AT PATREON.COM/BJHH **Exactly a year ago we discussed some notable performances coming out of Dunedin in the early-ish days of camp, and each of us gave a rating from 1-10 based on the degree to which we thought what we were seeing at the time mattered, or would be reflective of what we were to see once the season started for real. In this week's bonus episode, we revisited those stories and ratings, both to see how well we gauged them at the time, and to try to assess just how much or little the information we're getting at this time of year is actually meaningful.

This week, in a heavily pitching-focussed episode, we talk "phantom IL" stints, keeping eight starting pitchers happy, Max Scherzer's intangibles, early Cody Ponce impressions, Trey Yesavage's innings, European prospects, Joe Mantiply, Nate Garkow, and more!** FOR AN AD-FREE VERSION OF THIS—AND EVERY—EPISODE, PLUS WEEKLY BONUS SHOWS, FIND US AT patreon.com/BJHH **

Could Max Scherzer actually rejoin the Jays? Are we ready to talk about Eloy Jiménez? Do we still like the Jésus Sánchez trade? How do we feel about the bullpen in light of Yimi García's injury? Will Ricky Tiedemann ever get built up as a starter after yet another setback?It's still early enough in the spring that there are some pretty fascinating questions still up in the air down in Dunedin, where the Jays continue to ready themselves for the beginning of the 2026 season a month from now.

Spring has sprung for your Toronto Blue Jays, who are gathering in Dunedin to begin the drive for a second straight American League championship—and, ideally, more—as we speak (or, you know, as you read this). But that's not all that's been sprung this week in Jaysland. The team has sprung some fairly significant news here at the dawn of camp, announcing that the shoulder that torpedoed Anthony Santander's first season now requires surgery that may make his second year a write-off as well, that Shane Bieber continues to be dealing with fatigue in his surgically repaired arm and will be brought along slowly, that Bowden Francis is going under the knife and will be out for the season, and—though this was more a Sportsnet thing than a Jays thing—that the legendary Buck Martinez has decided to hang up his microphone, announcing his retirement after an incredible career in Major League Baseball that began before Woodstock.Not great, Bob!