DUNEDIN, Fla. — How do you go from Game 7 of the World Series to a meaningless spring contest? Like turning off the autobahn into a school zone, it’s a challenging gear shift the Toronto Blue Jays now face.
The Jays faced four Los Angeles Dodgers MVPs over four months ago. On Saturday, they saw just two hitters likely to start for the Philadelphia Phillies on Opening Day. That sort of dichotomy could feel discouraging, starting the marathon all over after coming so close to the finish line. But, beginning with Saturday’s Grapefruit League Game 1, it’s a let-down the Jays are hoping to stave off.
“We want to avoid having that World Series hangover,” catcher Tyler Heineman said.
José Berríos sat on a barstool in left field watching Saturday’s contest, chatting more with his pitching teammates than tracking each at-bat. Relievers in the bullpen missed Daulton Varsho’s fifth-inning homer, rushing up to the fence to see who sent the ball out. Toronto’s starters came out of the game after Varsho’s deep drive, hit the showers and hopped in their cars long before the final pitch.
It was so dissimilar from Toronto’s last game, when Rogers Centre was filled with anxious tension. That sort of excitement is saved exclusively for games to decide a World Series champion. The fans sitting in Toronto’s spring stadium on Saturday were more concerned with sun safety than seeing every pitch.
“February 21 compared to November 1,” manager John Schneider said. “A little bit easier today.”
Yet, for some reason, Eric Lauer couldn’t stop his leg from shaking. Taking the mound for the first time since hauling heavy innings in the longest game in World Series history, Lauer’s leg twitched with nerves. As the lefty walked off the TD Ballpark mound following his lone inning of work, explaining the restless appendage to his pitching teammates, Kevin Gausman chuckled.
Eric Lauer throws a pitch during the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies (Kim Klement Neitzel / Imagn Images)
“The last pitch you threw was in the World Series,” Gausman said, “and now you’re nervous for a spring training game?”
In a way, that unexpected excitement is what the 2026 Jays want. They don’t want their World Series experience to be so intoxicating that any other game feels insignificant. The goal, Heineman said, is for 2026 to feel entirely isolated. It’s not about replication or building off what happened last season, he said, but focusing on winning the American League East and going from there.
That separation, perhaps, will take some mental gymnastics. Having a slew of new players, including Dylan Cease, Kazuma Okamoto and Tyler Rogers, should help. But it’s also a message that Toronto’s leaders have hammered early in spring. On the first day of spring training, Schneider said the Jays “aren’t defending anything.” Kevin Gausman and George Springer, as the clubhouse’s clear veterans, expose similar messages, Heineman said.
“There are a lot of guys who have been on deep playoff runs,” he said, “and know what it’s like on the other side.”
But, in reality, the Blue Jays are defending American League champions. They did just go to the World Series and came a couple of outs from winning it. The context of their 2026 season is undeniable, but their current reality is also clear. October baseball is many months and many required wins away.
The Pharrell Williams anthems and Cito Gaston first pitches won’t arrive for a while. On Saturday, Dunedin mayor Maureen Freaney threw out the opening pitch instead. It bounced well before the plate and skittered to the backstop. It wasn’t World Series Game 8, it was spring training Game 1. All that matters for this version of the Blue Jays, now, is what lies ahead.