Blue Jays fans already know the harsh part of October: once Toronto is out, the rest of the bracket turns into a watch-and-win exercise, except the wins are measured by who gets knocked out. With the Blue Jays eliminated and their 2026 World Series hopes gone after coming within two outs of a title the year before, the only thing left is deciding which contender would be the most unbearable to see finish the job.
Some clubs bring old AL East grudges. Others come with front-office ties, recent run-ins, or a roster that makes them easy to dislike on sight. Here’s how the five worst possible outcomes stack up for Toronto fans.
The one that would sting the most is the Los Angeles Dodgers. A third straight championship for the two-time defending champs would be close to impossible for Blue Jays fans to swallow.
Their roster is even more loaded now after they outbid Toronto for Kyle Tucker in the offseason - which, in hindsight, probably worked out well for the Blue Jays - and then landed Tarik Skubal for pennies on the dollar at the trade deadline. If they don’t win it all, it will look embarrassing for them.
There’s also a bigger-picture wrinkle. If the Dodgers keep rolling, the lockout threat only gets louder, because owners would have even more ammunition in their push for a salary cap. A three-peat could be bad for baseball, no matter what some pundits might say.
At No. 2 are the New York Yankees, which is exactly where they belong on any list like this. The AL East rivalry alone makes them toxic for Toronto, and last year’s tense ALDS only sharpened that feeling.
New York already played in the 2024 World Series, and another trip would only reinforce their place as the division’s standard-bearer. Aaron Judge is injured, so they’ll have to navigate that obstacle, but Blue Jays fans still have one line that fits the moment: “ da Yankees lose.”
Boston checks in at No. 3, and that’s mostly because no Blue Jays fan ever wants to watch an AL East rival celebrate a championship. The Red Sox making the playoffs at all is no small thing after the way they started the year, and unlike Toronto, they found their footing in time to keep playing.
That doesn’t make them any easier to root for. They’re still the Red Sox.
Philadelphia lands at No. 4, and Zack Wheeler is a big reason why. When the Phillies met the Blue Jays in early August, Wheeler added fuel to the fire after being accused of not being on the pitching rubber during his windup.
His response was blunt: “Have lost a lot of games (over there), so they're probably trying to pick some things up to complain about.” It was the kind of line that sticks, even if the Phillies’ 2026 season has not exactly been dominant - they fired their manager in April, after all.
There’s one complication with hating the Phillies too much: Don Mattingly. Some Blue Jays fans and longtime baseball followers think it’s long past time for “Donny Baseball” to get a World Series ring.
But for others, that’s harder to embrace, given what he did to Toronto as a player with the New York Yankees and the fact that a title one year after leaving the Blue Jays would feel pretty mixed. Still, sometimes the great ones deserve their moment.
Cleveland rounds out the list at No. 5, though that doesn’t mean it would feel good. A Guardians title in 2026 would be a surprise, and it would come with some awkward baggage for Toronto.
Ross Atkins and Mark Shapiro used to run the show there before becoming the Blue Jays’ general manager and president, and the two clubs have kept doing business since. Andrés Giménez, Myles Straw, and Ernie Clement all spent time with Cleveland before ending up in Toronto, so a Guardians championship after sending those players north would not exactly reflect well on the Blue Jays.
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Varsho did plenty in Toronto, too, earning a Gold Glove and helping push the Blue Jays to the 2025 World Series before being dealt to Houston for Spencer Arrighetti. But Morenos breakout leaves the original swap looking even harder to sort out, especially for a fan base that still wonders whether the Blue Jays gave up too much of a young catcher with star-level upside. [Read more 🡒]