In this week's Exit Philosophy, Griff and Mal discuss the revamped Blue Jays rotation and how different the starting five is from the one that opened the 2024 season. The upside of Dylan Cease coming off a down season in San Diego and the potential downside of Cody Ponce coming off a career year in Korea. With the narrowing of position player needs, the discussion centres on Bo or Kyle Tucker and how the versatility of Clement and Barger allows the Jays to pivot in any direction. Do they truly need a bona fide closer? How much do they have left in payroll to finish close to last year's $254-million. All this and much more.

INDEX:

0:00 – Intro

0:25 – Winter Meetings Preview

6:00 – ERAs committee HOF Vote

10:40 – Dylan Cease Contract

21:00 – Cody Ponce Signs with the Blue Jays + Jose Berrios

35:00 – Thoughts on the 2026 Rotation

41:00 – What are the remaining additions?

48:30 – Breaking down 2026 Payroll and Options

55:00 – Internal Options + Ricky Tiedemann

59:35 – Rule 5 Players

1:01:00 – Expansion back alive in Montreal?

1:02:40 – Outro + Conversation with Hazel Mae

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Get the video version of "Exit Philosophy" and "Conversations with Griff" on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@ExitPhilosophy

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For the full catalogue of Richard Griffin's work, including weekly Blue Jays/MLB columns, a weekly MLB Power Rankings column, exclusive conversations with some of the game's greats, past and present, and the Exit Philosophy podcast, visit https://www.griffsthepitch.com/