Just last year, the Toronto Blue Jays were in the World Series.
This season didn’t go as well. They didn’t even make the playoffs. They could be looking at a whole bunch of changes in the offseason.
But as the 2026 World Series gets underway between the Tampa Bay Rays and Milwaukee Brewers, there is one former Toronto player in particular set for a major role.
That’s Rays closer Bryan Baker, who is going to have a path to winning World Series MVP if this series goes the way of Tampa Bay.
Baker wasn’t a part of last season’s Blue Jays, though. In fact, he played just one game for Toronto.
And now, five years later, he’s the Rays’ closer for the World Series.
Bryan Baker With Blue Jays
Baker originally entered professional baseball as an 11th-round draft pick by the Colorado Rockies in 2016.
He had played college baseball at the University of North Florida after growing up in Fort Walton Beach, Florida.
The Rockies kept Baker in their organization for two years, and then he became a “player to be named later” in a trade that brought the Rockies Seunghawn Oh from the Blue Jays.
Baker then spent the next three seasons in Toronto’s organization. He made his only appearance in 2021, and he gave up one hit in a scoreless inning while striking out one.
The Blue Jays waived Baker at the end of that season, and the Baltimore Orioles claimed him.
Baker pitched for the Orioles in the major leagues in each subsequent season until he was traded to the Rays for draft capital in July 2025.
Bryan Baker’s World Series Role
Baker won’t be the favorite to win World Series MVP, but he’s got a chance at making a case for it if the series goes one particular direction.
The Rays’ closer would likely need a save in all four Tampa Bay wins to impress the award voters enough.
Working in his favor is the fact that he has been pretty much untouchable in the postseason. It wouldn’t be shocking if he faced 12 batters in this World Series and retired all 12 for four saves. That’s how good he has been.
Baker is also helped by the bullpen-heavy nature of these playoffs. The less starting pitchers that go deep into games, the more chance of the World Series MVP going to someone a bit unusual, like a closer.
The one thing that would ruin his chances would be a monster hitting series, but because both these teams have such good pitchers, that might not happen.
Even if Baker isn’t MVP, he can still potentially be the hero and get the last outs for the Rays’ first-ever World Series title. That would be something.
Ex-Blue Jays Pitcher Could Be World Series MVP