It took some time for John Schneider to decompress after the end of a 2025 season that came two outs, one Will Smith cleat and one bulldozing Andy Pages catch from Toronto celebrating its first World Series title in 32 years.
The Blue Jays manager isn’t sure he’ll ever fully process or digest what unfolded in the final moments of a Fall Classic for the ages that ended with the Dodgers emptying onto the field at Rogers Centre after a stunning finish.
“I think I’ll think about it until the day I leave this earth, you know what I mean?” Schneider said at the MLB Winter Meetings in December. “Unless you get another opportunity to kind of squash that one.”
So far this offseason, the Blue Jays are operating like a team intent on making that a possibility for their manager in 2026.
Coming off their first division title since 2015 and their first trip to the World Series since 1993, the Blue Jays have responded to last season’s crushing conclusion by spending more on free agency than any team thus far.
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At a time when most of the top arms on the market remain unsigned, Toronto daringly made the first major move of free agency when they committed seven years and $210 million to starting pitcher Dylan Cease at the start of December. One month later, that contract remains the largest free-agent deal handed out by any team this winter. No other starting pitcher has signed for even nine figures yet.
It was also only the beginning.
The Blue Jays continued on, further bolstering their rotation by adding Cody Ponce – who won MVP last season in South Korea’s KBO league – for three years and $30 million, and strengthening their bullpen by signing Tyler Rogers for three years and $37 million.
And then came their latest move over the weekend, perhaps the most surprising of all.
Starting pitcher Dylan Cease and Japanese slugger Kazuma Okamoto are notable additions to the Blue Jays (Getty Images)
After failed pursuits of some of Japan’s most talented baseball exports in recent years, and with posting windows for NPB’s top talents reaching their endpoints, Toronto emerged as the unexpected destination for corner infielder Kazuma Okamoto, who signed for four years and $60 million.
Okamoto doesn’t possess the power potential or ceiling of fellow NPB standout Munetaka Murakami, who is four years younger. But Okamoto has a higher floor, carries less risk and could end up being the better all-around MLB player, which is why he got nearly twice as much money as Murakami did from the White Sox. It was the latest example of how far the Blue Jays have come as one of MLB’s premier destinations since inking Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to a $500 million extension early last season.
“I feel like in years past with some high-profile players, it’s kind of been us selling us to them,” Schneider said, “whereas [now] I think the players know what they’re getting into as soon as they start talking to us.”
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The reasons for that are multiple.
The Blue Jays have strong financial backing from their ownership group, state-of-the-art facilities, a clubhouse culture touted by players, one of the league’s budding stars in Guerrero now signed through 2039 and proof of concept that the pieces they have in place are championship caliber.
“You can definitely feel a difference this offseason going back to last year and the year before,” Schneider said.
And they might not be done as they try to turn the page from last year’s gut-wrenching finish.
Okamoto is among a handful of Toronto players capable of playing in multiple spots. Where he ends up will ultimately depend on how much further the Blue Jays go this winter in adding more star talent to their position player group. They could still bring back Bo Bichette, and they’re considered among the top suitors for four-time All-Star slugger Kyle Tucker.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. signed a long-term deal with Toronto, but will Bo Bichette follow suit? (Photo by Mark Blinch/Getty Images)
Every marquee signing is another step toward healing the wounds that opened on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 at Rogers Centre. Game 6 of the World Series ended with Toronto’s tying run getting doubled off at second base on a soft liner into left field. Game 7 ended more agonizingly, with a plethora of opportunities squandered late.
A month after the World Series ended, Schneider still hadn’t watched the final game back in its entirety. He couldn’t get himself to do it. Every time he went down one rabbit hole thinking back to what transpired, he found himself going down another.
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“There’s so many things that happened, I try not to just pin it down on one thing,” Schneider said.
Still, there’s one play in particular that continues to be scrutinized and lingers as a burning image of the Blue Jays’ defeat.
With one out, the bases loaded and the winning run at third base in the ninth, Daulton Varsho pulled a grounder to second baseman Miguel Rojas, who stumbled before throwing home. The throw, even after catcher Will Smith’s cleat lifted briefly off the ground before retreating to the plate just in time, beat a sliding Isiah Kiner-Falefa by mere inches.
“It stings. It hurts,” Schneider said. “I’ve seen that video 3,000 times, and 1,500 of them it looks like Will’s off the plate. In the other half, it looks like he’s on. That’s how close it was. That’s why details matter.”
In the wake of Toronto’s loss, everything about that play was dissected and debated, from Kiner-Falefa’s short lead at third — the Blue Jays expressed concern about the potential for Smith to back-pick or getting doubled off on a line drive — to his decision to slide feet-first instead of headfirst or running through the base.
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“I feel so bad for Izzy getting all the blame,” Schneider said. “Izzy is an unbelievable baseball player. I think peeling back a couple layers, now that I have the platform to talk about it, could we have done a better job of getting him off a little bit? Yeah, another step or two.”
Now, though, there’s nothing the Blue Jays can do but move forward.
Each new signing helps quell the pain, demonstrates Toronto’s staying power and moves the Blue Jays one step closer to getting another shot to squash last season’s bitter ending.
“I think I’m finally at the point where you can kind of peel back and reflect on the good and not just the ‘Wow, what just happened’ of Game 7,” Schneider said. “It took a little bit of time.”
Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.
