Blue Jays putting three-peat pressure on Dodgers with another free agency move

The Los Angeles Dodgers might not feel like they have much to do this offseason, but that could all change in the blink of an eye. If nothing else, the pressure is certainly mounting as LA plots forward its path in hopes of a three-peat.

It might be easy to forget after the waves of champagne that it took seven games, extra innings, and some serious heroics to vanquish the Toronto Blue Jays and raise the Commissioner's Trophy, but things could have easily gone the other way.

So while the Dodgers survey the field and wait for something interesting to appear, the Toronto Blue Jays are amping up the pressure and continuing their spending spree. Toronto clearly overpaid for Dylan Cease, though if he returns to the near-Cy Young form he showed in 2022 and 2024, no one will be laughing. Now they're doubling down with one of the biggest upside plays of the offseason, agreeing to a three-year, $30 million contract with KBO sensation Cody Ponce to further bolster their rotation.

The Blue Jays are turning up the heat on the Dodgers, who can't simply sit on their hands and waltz into a three-peat

Hat tip to the Blue Jays for their 2025 season. While the Dodgers ultimately got the best of them, Toronto's was the only lineup to slow down the buzzsaw that had been the Dodgers' starting rotation, and they certainly pushed it to the limit.

One of the biggest flaws the Blue Jays faced was their rotation. The group, led by Kevin Gausman, featured a lot of low-floor, high-ceiling veterans like Chris Bassitt, Max Scherzer, and Jose Berrios (who missed the postseason due to injury). The collection of starters they ran through posted a 4.34 ERA, which ranked 20th in the majors.

They've clearly addressed that with urgency. Cease might not be the best choice to lead their new-look rotation, but the potential is there. Ponce is a wild card. The former Milwaukee Brewers prospect made his big league debut in 2020 with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Between 2020 and 2021, he threw 55 1/3 uninspiring innings with a 5.86 ERA. From there, he bounced around Japan before transforming into a completely new pitcher in Korea, taking home KBO MVP honors on the strength of a 17-1 record, 1.89 ERA, and 252 strikeouts in 180.2 2/3 innings.

This all begs the question of when (if?) the Dodgers are going to get down to business. The bullpen issues haven't gone away, but options like Devin Williams, Ryan Helsley, and Phil Maton have. And what about left field? Is that simply going to be a revolving cast of characters, or is there a real plan here?

What is for sure is that if the Dodgers think they can sleepwalk to a third straight ring, then they're sorely mistaken. Maybe the pressure for the Blue Jays will wake them up ahead of the Winter Meetings. It certainly should.