Blue Jays lose Sunday Night Baseball slot in snub that’s hard to argue with

Fans of the Toronto Blue Jays can sometimes feel like their team gets ignored in major media markets in the USA. That "little brother" trying to prove itself mentality is something that seems to follows this franchise. Sometimes, that feeling is warranted. Such as the Blue Jays not getting to host an All-Star game in over three decades. Or the fact they haven't made an appearance on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball game for over a decade.

While talks seem to be on-going regarding the All-Star game, the drought on ESPN was supposed to come to an end later this summer. The Blue Jays were scheduled to play the Kansas City Royals on Sunday, Aug. 30. However, a recent announcement has kiboshed those plans, and instead, viewers will see the Chicago Cubs host the Cincinnati Reds - making Toronto's absence on ESPN stretch out for at least another year.

From an objective standpoint, it makes sense. Neither the Blue Jays, nor the Royals are likely to make the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Cubs are currently leading the NL Wild Card race. By the end of August, that could end up being a huge inter-division NL Central matchup, even if the Reds are out of the race.

Blue Jays don't want to find themselves in this position again in 2027

After getting to Game Seven of the World Series in 2025, the Blue Jays had high hopes for 2026. But injuries and under performance has decimated those dreams. But the Blue Jays don't plan on taking a break from the playoffs for too long.

A lot of that could come down to what the Blue Jays do over the next few days as the trade deadline approaches. They aren't expected to be traditional sellers, but they are expected to make some moves that will get players on expiring contracts off their roster in exchange for some potential future impact. Keegan Matheson wrote on BlueJays.com, "Coming off the books in 2027 will be: George Springer ($24.2M), Kevin Gausman ($24M), Shane Bieber ($16M), Daulton Varsho ($10.75M) and Max Scherzer ($3M), while the Blue Jays also have a decision between Myles Straw’s $8 million club option or $1.75M buyout."

Regardless of if they move those players or not, those expiring contracts could give them over $80 million to work with in the offseason (or more depending on arbitration numbers and player/club options), which is a nice number to start with when they begin exploring the free agent market.

They'll have money to spend on players who can strengthen the core and maybe that will be enough for them to not get bumped off a prime time tv slot next season.

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