Blue Jays' 2026 season ends in last place after World Series near miss
The team was eliminated from playoff contention, a year after coming within 90 feet of a championship.
TORONTO — The Toronto Blue Jays finished last in the American League East in 2026, a year after they came within one game of winning the World Series.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today wrote on Sept. 23 that the team was officially eliminated from postseason play. "One year after coming within 90 feet of winning the World Series, the Toronto Blue Jays' season is over," Nightengale wrote.
The Blue Jays had a brief moment where they looked like they could get into the MLB playoffs as the final Wild Card spot, but their hopes faded fast at the end of the season.
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Former Blue Jays star Josh Donaldson predicted the team would make the playoffs in a September interview with Get It Done League. He was asked by Arash Madani if a team that was 10 games below .500 could make the postseason.
"I think they're going to sneak in and I think it's going to come down to the wire, which is exciting," Donaldson said. "It's exciting to be a fan of this, to be in it, because every game right now means so much. But as a player, it's such a fine line, because you want to play like you want to show the importance of the game, but you can't let, if you lose one game, you can't let that slide. You can't let it turn you into a downslide as a team. You just got to be able to turn the page quick. Let's get back to the next day and win a game."
Donaldson, who won the American League MVP award with the Blue Jays in 2015 when he hit 41 home runs with 123 RBIs while batting .297, was wrong in his prediction.
Garbutt Disposal reported in September that a 5-1 loss to the Cincinnati Reds guaranteed Toronto would finish last in its division.
Donaldson spent the first four seasons of his career with the Oakland Athletics and made the 2014 All-Star Game before breaking out as a superstar in Toronto. He also played for the New York Yankees, Minnesota Twins, Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers and Cleveland Guardians.