Baseball is a funny sport and a Blue Jays castoff's trip to the World Series is proof

Sometimes the game of baseball has a weird way of working things out. If you're looking for further proof of that, look no further than Tim Mayza's 2024 journey and how he went from the worst reliever on the Blue Jays to a member of the World Series-bound Yankees bullpen.

Mayza, 32, was the longest-tenured member of the Blue Jays at the time of his DFA and eventual release earlier this season. He had given the Jays a strong seven-year stint that was mostly filled with strong results and some incredible durability.

However, the left-hander posted an 8.03 ERA through 35 outings this year and was sporting numbers across the board that were unacceptable, even for the cellar-dwelling Blue Jays. His strikeouts were down, his walks were up and he was allowing harder contact and more base hits than he ever had before in his big league career.

So, as is usually the case with situations like this, Mayza signed a minor league contract with the division rival Yankees and suddenly he's heading to the World Series.

He made 15 regular-season appearances for New York down the stretch, posting a 4.00 ERA through 18 innings, which is certainly better than he had been in Toronto. The southpaw made a pair of playoff outings for the Yankees, going a total of 1.1 scoreless innings with two walks, two base hits and one strikeout to his name.

Like I said, baseball always has a funny way of working. Mayza went from easily the worst reliever on the Blue Jays to the free agent market to the World Series in the matter of just a few months. The Yankees have taken their game to a whole 'nother level in this postseason and they're starting to feel like a team that was always destined to not only make it to the biggest stage, but win it all.

Having Mayza play any sort of part in this is a little bit tough to watch for Blue Jays fans, as he's now helping the enemy, but seeing him earn a ring that he'd never earn in Toronto will be nice nonetheless.