For anyone who watched the 2025 Toronto Blue Jays, it was clear that their success was built on much more than on-field performance.
An apparent bond in the clubhouse carried over onto the diamond as the Blue Jays — or “Glue Jays” as some coined last year’s club — put together one of the most special seasons in franchise history, advancing all the way to Game 7 of the World Series.
Fast forward to 2026, and Toronto just hasn’t been able to capture that magic once again. After Wednesday’s win over the Washington Nationals, the Blue Jays sit nine games under .500 and 5.0 games out of a playoff spot in the American League.
And while the product on the field has quite obviously fallen short of the highs of 2025, are the 2026 Blue Jays missing that spark behind the scenes?
The 35-year-old Gausman could end up being one of the players most affected by Toronto’s struggles this year. He is set to hit free agency at the end of the season, and if the Blue Jays opt to sell before Monday’s trade deadline, he would likely be one of the club’s most valuable pieces in a potential deal.
Every baseball season comes with a new feel and a new challenge, but the 2026 Blue Jays were expected to be right back among the contending clubs in the American League as they returned a large portion of their 2025 core and made some big acquisitions in the off-season.
But they also lost some longtime members of the organization to free agency.
“I don’t think we necessarily have the characters we’ve had in the past,” Gausman said. “Max (Scherzer) hasn’t been around as much. I think losing (Chris Bassitt) was maybe a little bit bigger of a loss than we all thought it would be.”
”(Bassitt) and Bo (Bichette) are two guys who had been around,” Ernie Clement told Wilner. “They knew how to win. Any clubhouse wants guys like that and misses guys like that.”
It’s all added up on the Blue Jays this year, as things continue to not shake out in their favour. George Springer, Alejandro Kirk and Addison Barger all missed significant time with injuries; the Blue Jays have gotten limited contributions — if any — from rotation candidates Cody Ponce, José Berríos, Shane Bieber and Max Scherzer, and despite being on the field for the most part, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Daulton Varsho have been unable to replicate their success from last summer.
Those on-field factors, combined with a clubhouse that might not be as aligned as it was a year ago, now have the Blue Jays holding on for hope that they can somehow turn their season around.
Clement wouldn’t go as far as Gausman in admitting that the Blue Jays aren’t as close, but did say that “there are definitely some differences.”
“It’s just a different team, it’s just a different group,” he continued. “I don’t know if (we’re) not as close, but it’s just different. I don’t really know how to explain it.”
There’s no doubt that winning often proves to be a solution for everything, and with the Blue Jays unable to get their season on track, perhaps it’s no surprise then that they haven’t been able to carry over their 2025 vibes into this season.
“I think it more so has to do with everybody feeling frustrated, and maybe even frustrated at each other,” Gausman said. “Maybe those times last year where we wanted to be around each other a little bit more, maybe that’s not the case this year.”
