Blue Jays could be punished by MLB after going 'rogue' with Japanese advertisement

The Toronto Blue Jays logo is becoming one of the most recognizable sports symbols in the world, thanks in part to the Blue Jays run to Game 7 of the World Series. The Blue Jays have also longed to be a force in the international free agent market as they have repeatedly been in the mix to land players from Japan, but coming up short a few times in the process.

Now, those two things are seemingly coming together, but in a way that might backfire on Canada's team. A recent, bizarre event has caught the attention of the MLB Commissioner's office and they are not happy about it.

Blue Jays could be punished by MLB after going 'rogue' with Japanese advertisement

As reported by (subscription needed) Evan Drellich, a senior writer with The Athletic, as well as that publication's Blue Jays beat reporter Mitch Bannon, the Blue Jays logo was all over a boxing match in Japan on the weekend. While it's great to see that blue bird being represented over seas, the problem is that the Blue Jays apparently didn't have permission to put their logo there.

Drellich says, "Major League Baseball teams are not supposed to place ads abroad without the league office’s blessing, which the Jays did not have. Japan is ascorching hot market for MLB, but commissioner Rob Manfred’s office controls international branding there and elsewhere."

Drellich says they want all 30 MLB teams to have a level playing field when it comes to marketing in Japan. He goes on to say that the franchise is well aware of that logo, but it was not a paid sponsorship. "The league office was not involved, people briefed on the advertisement’s placement who were not authorized to speak publicly said. The commissioner’s office declined comment."

We're not sure how MLB plans to follow up on their investigation and whether it will consider punishing the Blue Jays in anyway. However, it's unlikely this just gets swept under the rug. If they are serious about having a level playing field they can't allow one team to just go rogue and start slapping their logo wherever they please.

Even if this wasn't a paid sponsorship opportunity, this was a highly visible event that captured the attention of people in many markets and the logo did not go unnoticed.