AL East rival may be the team the Blue Jays have to worry about most in 2026

Everyone can agree that the Toronto Blue Jays have had a strong offseason showing so far. They've been aggressive as they look to build on their, it's fair to say surprising, World Series appearance in 2025. But before we get ahead of ourselves, there's another AL East rival poised to give the Blue Jays big problems in 2026: the Baltimore Orioles.

The Orioles, who spent the 2025 season floundering in the basement of the division with 75 wins, are a popular pick among experts for a squad whose fortunes will turn drastically this year.

We can't ignore what the Blue Jays have done this winter, making splashes with starting pitchers Dylan Cease and Cody Ponce and high-leverage reliever Tyler Rogers. We're still waiting to see if they can reunite with free agent Bo Bichette, sign Alex Bregman, or really go big by signing Kyle Tucker.

Blue Jays will have to watch their back with Orioles preparing to make waves in AL East in 2026

However, despite Toronto's excellent offseason, the Orioles have had the best showing, hands down. It's been so good that ESPN has picked them to replicate the Blue Jays' 2025 worst-to-first turnaround and go all the way to win the 2026 World Series.

As ESPN's Eric Karabell notes, Baltimore isn't messing around. Since the beginning of the offseason, the Orioles have added a handful of prominent veterans to complement their young stars.

They signed slugging first baseman Pete Alonso and closer Ryan Helsley away from the New York Mets. They added more thump to the lineup by trading for outfielder Taylor Ward. They also made an intra-division trade with the Tampa Bay Rays for starter Shane Baz.

Don't forget that this is an Orioles team that finished first and second in the AL East in 2023 and 2024, respectively. They built that success on the backs of young stars like Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, Jordan Westburg, and Colton Cowser, who have all battled injuries recently. A healthy season from that group will be terrifying for the rest of the AL East.

And that's before even considering what breakout seasons by Jackson Holliday, who Karabell thinks will be a legit AL All-Star, and top prospect Samuel Basallo could look like in 2026.

Nothing is a given in this division. The defending American League champion Blue Jays certainly aren't going to roll over against the reloaded Orioles. But between Baltimore coming for their division and league crowns and the always dangerous New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, plus the pesky Rays, this upcoming season will be a dogfight for the Blue Jays in the gauntlet that is the AL East.