Josh Kasevich’s MVP season proves Blue Jays may have overlooked an internal answer

The Toronto Blue Jays spent much of the season searching for useful infield depth options. Turns out, they probably had their best option playing in Triple-A all season.

Josh Kasevich, who was named the Buffalo Bisons 2026 Stan Barron Most Valuable Player, might have been that guy. He stayed healthy after an injury-plagued 2025 season, became the most consistent bat in Buffalo’s lineup and led the Bisons in games played, batting average, hits, runs scored and total bases. Kasevich also was named the Jimmy Griffin Hometown Hero Award winner thanks to his offensive prowess at Sahlen Field this year

What he never received was the major league opportunity that once felt like it might be only a matter of time. Especially after Kasevich turned heads all spring in Florida. Sure, he was getting more playing time than he probably would have since nearly half the team was playing at the World Baseball Classic, but he made the most of it.

In 20 spring games he slashed .306/.376/.500 with a 7.5% walk rate and 5.0% strikeout rate. He was clearly on Toronto's radar and it looked like the 2022 second round draft pick was a realistic option for a call up should the Blue Jays run into any issues.

Instead, the Blue Jays repeatedly looked elsewhere.

When they wanted more infield depth, they traded for Lenyn Sosa in April. When they needed another option later in the year, they acquired Luis Urías from the Arizona Diamondbacks for cash. At the deadline, they made another surprising move by sending Adam Macko to the Texas Rangers in a deal that brought back Josh Smith and Josh Stephan.

They also gave opportunities to other young players with varying degrees of success, including Charles McAdoo, Yohendrick Piñango and Sean Keys. None of those decisions turned out to be disastrous, but they also super seeded Kasevich's opportunity.

There is an important caveat, of course. Kasevich’s clearest defensive fits were shortstop, second base and third base, and those were not exactly revolving doors for the Blue Jays. Andrés Giménez, Kazuma Okamoto and Ernie Clement were largely healthy for most of the season, which meant there was never an obvious path to everyday playing time.

Calling up Kasevich just to sit on the bench a few times per week would not have helped much, either. For a prospect whose 2025 development had already been interrupted by injuries, regular at-bats in Triple-A may have been the more productive option.

In that sense, the Blue Jays can argue that the plan worked. Kasevich played nearly every day, rebuilt his value and turned in a full, healthy season strong enough to earn Buffalo’s top individual honour. He slashed .285/.362/.367 with four home runs, 76 runs scored and a walk rate of 9.6% and a strikeout rate of 11.5% with a 101 wRC+.

Josh Kasevich could have been the Brett Bateman prototype before he arrived

Kasevich’s MVP award does not prove he would have been an immediate answer in Toronto. It does, however, make his absence from the major league roster more noticeable especially after the Blue Jays brought in a guy that has a similar profile.

In most of the moves the Blue Jays made, they were hoping to inject some power into their lineup - something Kasevich lacks. However, their lineup really got rolling when Brett Bateman was slotted into the top of the order.

Bateman, acquired for Kevin Gausman at the trade deadline, has been a hit machine, with a .333/.400/.428 slash line, racking up 46 hits through his first 34 games (as of Sept. 18). He's only hit two home runs, but he owns a .419 BABIP and has tremendous speed, with his sprint speed ranking in the 84th percentile.

Kasevich had similar batting value stats to Bateman's 2026 season in Triple-A and one has to wonder if the Blue Jays lineup would have benefitted from having another player who commands the zone so well, while putting tons of balls. Of course there would have been a learning curve adjustment for Kasevich moving up to the minors - so we'll never know if that may have actually been the case.

Still, it is hard not to wonder what might have happened if the Blue Jays had given him even a brief look. Toronto spent much of the year cycling through external depth options and fringe roster fits, while one of its own former top draft picks was turning into the best position player on its Triple-A affiliate.

After the season he just had, the question heading into 2027 is how much longer will Kasevich have to wait for that chance?

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