The Blue Jays are one of the favorites heading into a new campaign.
With some of the national baseball broadcast rights changing hands in 2026, some of the ways of handling those national baseball broadcasts are changing as well.
For instance, NBC and Peacock are taking over 'Sunday Night Baseball' from ESPN in the new campaign, and they are implementing a new "Sunday Leadoff" broadcast. The Toronto Blue Jays are set to be featured prominently on the national schedule.
Mitch Bannon of The Athletic says that the Jays haven't been on 'Sunday Night Baseball' in the last decade. They will be featured this season. NBC/Peacock have a diversified schedule that differs from ESPN, which focused on some of the powerhouse markets and traditional rivalries more exclusively than others.
As noted by sports media insider Andrew Marchand, the Blue Jays will play on 'Sunday Night Baseball' on Sept. 6 when they visit the Kansas City Royals.
They also be featured on May 3rd against the Minnesota Twins, May 24 against the Pittsburgh Pirates, May 31 against the Baltimore Orioles and July 19 against the Chicago White Sox as part of the new 'Sunday Leadoff' schedule, which features games at 12 p.m. ET, 12:30 p.m. ET, 3 p.m. ET or 4 p.m. ET.
While all of these games will be aired on Peacock, a lot of them will be aired on NBC Sports Network as well, which is more accessible through traditional cable or streaming means.
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The Jays are a hot brand heading into 2026
On the heels of getting to the World Series in 2025, the Blue Jays seem to have more momentum than any team in baseball heading into 2026. They've gone out and spent more than any team in the league this offseason, inking Dylan Cease, Cody Ponce, Tyler Rogers and Kazuma Okamoto to deals worth nearly $350 million guaranteed.
The Yankees have yet to make a big move this offseason, and the Red Sox haven't even signed a single free agent. The Dodgers brought in Edwin Diaz, which is big, and the Mets have added Devin Williams and Luke Weaver, but nothing compares to Toronto.
Things could get even better for the Jays as well, as they are still linked to Kyle Tucker and Bo Bichette on the free agent market, though the chances of landing Bichette seem to be slipping away.
Spring training begins about five weeks from now, and Opening Day around the league is March 26.
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