The Yankees are not far behind the Blue Jays, according to Aaron Boone

In both the regular season and the playoffs, it didn't go well for the New York Yankees when it came time to face the Toronto Blue Jays in 2025. What's more, the Blue Jays won the American League East Division title before sending the Bombardiers on vacation in the Division Series.

Was this anecdotal, or does it mean that the gap between the two rival teams is wide? If Yankees manager Aaron Boone's words are anything to go by, the Jays aren't as far ahead of his team as many seem to think.

We finished with identical records last year. I don't want to minimize the fact that they kicked our butts last year. Don't take that out of context. They were a great team last year. But I'd say the gap is smaller than people think. We had exactly the same record.

Boonie has a point. Sure, the Blue Jays clearly had the upper hand over the New York outfit in 2025 when the two protagonists faced off, but that doesn't mean the situation will be repeated next year. And after 162 games, the two teams finished with 94 wins against 68 losses.

Aaron Boone says the gap between the Yankees and Blue Jays is “smaller” than what people perceive:

“We ended with identical records last year. I don't want to discount that they kicked our ass last year. Don't take it out of context. They were a great team last year.” pic.twitter.com/phqQGzhnmp

– Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) December 8, 2025

For the moment, Toronto has Dylan Cease and Cody Ponce under contract, while Bo Bichette, Chris Bassitt, Max Scherzer, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Seranthony Dominguez, and Ty France are still free as a bird. However, the Ontario representatives will be able to count on the services of young Trey Yesavage for the entire upcoming campaign, and not just for one month.

In New York, as we speak, Cody Bellinger, Paul Goldschmidt, Mark Leiter Jr., Amed Rosario, Devin Williams, and Luke Weaver are not back in the Bronx. However, the Yankees will be able to count on the return of Gerrit Cole (and perhaps Clarke Schmidt) on the mound, which will put everyone back in their seats (we salute Martin St-Louis in passing).

A lot of water will flow under the bridge between now and the start of next season, and it will be played out on the field, but we're likely to see quite a battle between the two rivals once again in 2026.

This content was created with the help of AI.