Deep Left Field with Mike Wilner

Guests: Blue Jays pitchers Shane Bieber, Dylan Cease, Trey Yesavage Today, Deep Left Field checks out the Blue Jays' starting rotation - or, at least, people who will be pieces of the rotation at some point this season. Dylan Cease got the richest contract the Jays have ever given to a pitcher, and the 30-year-old right-hander will be second out of the gate when the season opens, starting Saturday afternoon against the Athletics at Rogers Centre. Cease joins us to talk about choosing Toronto, what he expects from his seven years here and fills us in on several of his interesting hobbies. We also hear from Shane Bieber and Trey Yesavage, two pitchers who joined the Jays late last season and made a huge impact on their run to the World Series. Both of them will start the season on the injured list. Bieber talks about picking up his player option to stay with the Jays and how his winter went after giving up the World-Series-winning home run in Game 7 while Yesavage takes us through his meteoric rise and record-setting post-season. All that, plus the mailbag at deepleftfield@thestar.ca!

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Guests: Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Team Canada pitcher Michael Soroka, Canadian Baseball Hall of Famer Russell Martin This week, Deep Left Field comes to you from spring training once again and we present an all-Canadian episode! Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Montreal, Que.) joins us for his first-ever Deep Left Field conversation without an interpreter. We talk to Vladdy about the Jays' magical playoff run last season and what he thinks of his team going into 2026 as his half-billion dollar (US) contract kicks in. With Team Canada having played a pair of games to prepare for the World Baseball Classic, which begins (for them) Saturday morning in Puerto Rico, we get the inside scoop on their attempt to finally break through and make it out of the first round of the WBC. Michael Soroka (Calgary, AB) will start that first game against Colombia. He and former Blue Jay Russell Martin (East York, Ont.), who will be coaching first base for Canada, fill us in on everything you need to know about the red and white! Plus, we open up the mailbag at deepleftfield@thestar.ca! 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: Blue Jays outfielder Myles Straw, shortstop Andres Gimenez, infielder Leo Jimenez, outfielder Eloy Jimenez Deep Left Field returns to Dunedin, Florida for Blue Jays spring training and this week we present a confluence of *imenezes, each of whom has been making news in the early days of camp, but first, a chat with Myles Straw about the Jays repatriation of Max Scherzer, who agreed to a one-year deal early Thursday morning. Andres Gimenez will be the Jays' starting shortstop this season. It's a move back to his original position, and one he played very well in the absence of Bo Bichette down the stretch and into the playoffs. Gimenez talks to us about shifting back to the other side of second base and what he needs to do to improve his offence. Leo Jimenez is out of options, and in a make-or-break position to break camp as the back-up infielder or be put through waivers after a lost 2025 because of illness and injury. We catch up with the youngster, who was solid for the Jays in 2024, to talk about how he's dealing with the pressure. And we play "meet the new guy" with Eloy Jimenez, a one-time top prospect who exploded onto the big-league scene with 47 home runs over his first 173 career games before running into the injury bug - hard - for five years. Here on a minor-league contract, he's off to a sensational start to the spring. All this plus the mailbag at deepleftfield@thestar.ca!

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Guests: Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2026 Inductees Stubby Clapp, Kate Psota, Paul Runge, Bill Stoneman, Devon White This week in Deep Left Field, we speak to every living member of the just-announced Class of 2026 for the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. They will be inducted in a ceremony in St. Marys, Ont. on June 20. Devon White, the greatest centrefielder in Blue Jays' history. Stubby Clapp, perhaps the living embodiment of the Canadian national team player. Kate Psota, one of the first superstar women's players in modern history. Bill Stoneman, who threw the first of his two no-hitters for the Montreal Expos in the ninth game in franchise history. Paul Runge, a St. Catharines, Ont. native who spent a quarter-century as a major-league umpire, including working the 1993 World Series between the Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies. All those immortals of Canadian baseball, plus your thoughts in the mailbag at deepleftfield@thestar.ca!

Guests: Former Blue Jay Russell Martin, Mets pitcher Jonah Tong, Athletics' outfielder Denzel Clarke This week in Deep Left Field, we take you to New York City to hear what Bo Bichette had to say at the media conference that introduced him as a New York Met. We also go back to the Baseball Canada awards banquet to hear from Canadian baseball luminaries, including new Bichette teammate Jonah Tong, Denzel Clarke, who made MLB's catch of the year in Anaheim as a rookie last summer and Russell Martin, who discussed having two of his old teams facing off in the World Series (and having to pretend to be rooting for both). Plus, my take on the Cooperstown Class of 2026 and your thoughts in the mailbag at deepleftfield@thestar.ca!

Guests: Blue Jays infielder Ernie Clement, general manager Ross Atkins The face of the "Glue Jays," Ernie Clement, moves from the infield out to Deep Left Field to join us on the show this week. He talks about the immediate aftermath of Game 7 of the World Series in the clubhouse and gives his thoughts on the Jays' magical season and his magical post-season that fell just short. As well, Ernie fills us in on the pitch he made to Bo Bichette to stay with the Jays during Bichette's wedding. Also, the 2025 Blue Jays were given a Special Recognition Award at last weekend's Baseball Canada awards banquet. Ross Atkins joined me on stage to accept the award and for an interview, which you can hear here. Plus, as always, we open the mailbag at deepleftfield@thestar.ca!