Deep Left Field with Mike Wilner

Guests: Toronto Star baseball columnist Gregor Chisholm, Canadian Baseball League commissioner Ted Kalnins

The Blue Jays have made their first big move of the off-season, agreeing to a seven-year, $210 million (US) contract with starting pitcher Dylan Cease - the biggest contract they've given to a free agent in franchise history.

We're joined by Gregor Chisholm, my partner on the Star's baseball beat, to talk about the deal and what it means as the Jays go into their first off-season as pennant winners in over 30 years. And about Cease and what he brings to the team as well.

Also, Ted Kalnins talks about what used to be the semi-pro Intercounty Baseball League, now re-branded as the Canadian Baseball League, one that's fully professional.

Plus, we open up the mailbag at [email protected]!

Guests: Ryan Bondy (Book of Mormon), Jeff Madden (Jersey Boys, Shrek The Musical), Paloma Nunez (Second City)

This week in Deep Left Field, we sit in the limbo between the end of the World Series and the beginning of the winter transaction season, so we took advantage and gathered some Canadian stars of stage and screen who also happen to be huge Blue Jays fans.

Ryan Bondy, Jeff Madden and Paloma Nunez join us to talk about their memories and feelings about the Jays' magical 2025 that saw them get within two outs of winning the World Series, and we look ahead to the off-season with an eye on Bo Bichette and whether or not the Jays should keep the whole gang together in an attempt to run it back.

Also, Madden fills us in on what it's like to sing the anthems at a Jays game.

The mailbag is always open at [email protected]!

Guest: Former Blue Jays bench coach Don Mattingly

After three years with the Jays, Don Mattingly feels that his work is done and he is moving on. But before the 64-year-old tackles the next challenge in a life that has seen him involved in Major League Baseball since the New York Yankees drafted him in 1979, he joins us in Deep Left Field to talk about his time in Toronto.

Mattingly went to the World Series for the first time this season and he discusses what they could have done better in the late innings of Game 7, but also compares this Jays team to his old Yankees teams in the mid-90s that would go on to build a dynasty.

Also, as always, we open up the mailbag at [email protected]!

As they do at the end of every season, Blue Jays president and CEO Mark Shapiro and general manager Ross Atkins meet the media to discuss the year just passed and to hint at their plans for the year to come.

This year, for the first time in a long time, it wasn't a disaster.

We take you through Shapiro and Atkins' availabilities and go through heir comments as they discuss, among other things, the impact that this World Series run had on the people they encountered, the unique toughness and cohesion of the 2025 Blue Jays, John Schneider's future and what might happen as Bo Bichette enters free agency for the first time.

Plus, we open up the mailbag at [email protected]!

Guest: Former Blue Jay Kevin Kiermaier The off-season is upon us but the sad ending to the Blue Jays' season still lingers. We wanted to know what one of the greatest baserunners in baseball history thought about the bottom of the ninth of Game 7, so we reached out to Kevin Kiermaier and he joins us to answer some questions. Kiermaier discusses whether he thinks Isiah Kiner-Falefa should have scored on Daulton Varsho's one-out grounder in that inning, and what he would have done had he been on the bases. He also talks about the unique closeness of the Jays' clubhouse, Shane Bieber's return and what the next move might be for Bo Bichette and others. Plus, a quick dip into the mailbag at [email protected]!

Guest: Shane Bieber

It only took three days for the most shocking move of the off-season to happen.

Against all odds, Shane Bieber exercised his $16 million (US) player option and is staying with the Blue Jays for the 2026 season.

The 30-year-old, a two-time all-star who won the Cy Young award in 2020, loved his two months as a Blue Jay and has unfinished business here, so he's sticking around to try to run it back.

We spoke to Bieber after the Jays clinched the American League pennant, beating Seattle in Game 7 of the ALCS. You'll hear that conversation, in which he talks about how much he loves the Blue Jays, plus analysis of the move on this bonus episode of Deep Left Field!

It's the day after the day after and the Blue Jays' loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 7 of the World Series is still a heartbreaking gut punch.

We throw open the Monday Mailbag at [email protected] to share your thoughts, feelings and questions about the game, the series and the season as a whole and hear from a wide range of listeners, from the zen-like appreciation of the Jays' magical year to the anger and frustration over opportunities missed by a team that had a championship within its grasp.

And why did IKF slide?

Plus, my thoughts on the grave injustice of Gold Gloves denied to Ernie Clement and Alejandro Kirk.

Listen here or subscribe at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts. If you would like to support the journalism of the Toronto Star, you can at thestar.com/subscribe.

Guests: Chris Bassitt, Ernie Clement, Myles Straw, Daulton Varsho The baseball season is over and the Blue Jays fell short by two outs or one run, however you want to slice it. The Los Angeles Dodgers beat them 5-4 in 11 innings to finish one of the greatest World Series ever played with one of the greatest Game 7s. We went through the saddest clubhouse I have ever seen to bring you the post-game reactions of Ernie Clement and Chris Bassitt, who were in tears throughout their media scrum, Daulton Varsho, whose one-out grounder in the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded couldn't plate the winning run, and Myles Straw, one of the "glue guys" on an extraordinarily close team. Also, we open the mailbag at [email protected]. It was a sad finish to a phenomenal season, and we still want to hear from you!

Guests: Ernie Clement, Trey Yesavage The final day of the 2025 baseball season is upon us and for the first time in franchise history, the Blue Jays will be playing in Game 7 of the World Series. Even though they never had the lead at any point, Game 6 was a tough loss, ending with Addison Barger getting doubled off second base, representing the tying run. We talk to Ernie Clement, who came up in the bottom of the ninth with runners at second and third, to talk about his one-pitch at-bat and his feelings going into Game 7. Also, Trey Yesavage joins us and tells us he's ready to go in the finale if necessary, even though he threw more than 100 pitches on Wednesday night. Plus, we open the mailbag at [email protected] - keep 'em coming!

No scary stuff on this Hallowe'en edition of Deep Left Field, just a trip into the mailbag at [email protected] as we get you set for Game 6 of the World Series a game that, if the Blue Jays should win, would get them their first championship since 1993 and only their third overall.

We hear from Jays fans from Toronto and all across Canada from BC to PEI, as well as all the way in Ireland and Belgium on topics ranging from who might throw out the first pitch in Game 6 to should the Jays try to lock up Trey Yesavage now to just plenty of appreciation and admiration for this group.

The Blue Jays could win the World Series tonight. Check out Deep Left Field to get you set.