4 Former Blue Jays are stumbling with new clubs

Toronto's own start has been messy, but several players from the 2025 World Series squad are not exactly thriving in new uniforms either. That list starts with Bo Bichette, Chris Bassitt, Justin Bruihl and Seranthony Dominguez.

Bichette is the biggest name, so he carries the most heat. Through 22 games with the Mets, he was hitting .217 with a .538 OPS, a brutal opening line for a hitter New York expected to stabilize the infield and lengthen the lineup.

That part matters in Toronto because Bichette's exit still hung over the fan base all winter. Right now, the early returns say the Blue Jays avoided paying for a star name at the wrong moment.

Bassitt's start in Baltimore has been just as ugly in a different way. The veteran right-hander opened with a 6.19 ERA and a 2.13 WHIP over his first 16 innings, numbers that back the idea Toronto was right to move on from a 37-year-old starter.

He was supposed to give the Orioles reliable innings. Instead, he has looked more like a pitcher fighting through traffic every time out.

Bruihl is not as prominent a name, but his struggles still stand out because he had carved out a useful bullpen lane for stretches in Toronto. With St. Louis, he has posted a 6.75 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP across 10.2 innings.

That is the kind of line that can shrink a reliever's role fast. For a left-hander trying to stick in a major-league bullpen, the margin is already thin.

Dominguez may be the most interesting case of the group. He already had 4 saves with the White Sox, but they came with a 5.63 ERA, a 1.75 WHIP and 8 walks in only 8 innings.

That tells you everything about the shape of his season. The raw stuff is still there, but the control has been loose, and every save has felt more dangerous than clean.

None of this erases what those players meant to Toronto's 2025 run. Bichette was still a franchise face, Bassitt helped anchor the rotation, and Dominguez gave the bullpen real life down the stretch.

But early in 2026, the separation has looked harsh. New teams paid for past value, while the Blue Jays avoided carrying those same risks into a new season.

That does not fix Toronto's own problems. Still, when four former contributors are all off to rough starts elsewhere, it becomes easier to see why the front office made the calls it did.