3 former Blue Jays left off of their new teams' playoff rosters

The MLB playoffs are in full swing with a handful of teams vying to win the World Series. The Toronto Blue Jays, on the other hand, are a week into their offseason. In case you didn't hear, they finished last in the AL East this year.

Despite the lack of October baseball in Toronto, Blue Jays fans can still still get their postseason fix. Whether it's rooting for another team — preferably not the New York Yankees — or picking some former Jays players to follow, there are plenty of options during the best month of baseball.

3 former Blue Jays left off of their new teams' playoff rosters

There are, however, some former Blue Jays who aren't playing in the postseason despite their team's advancing to the Division Series. Playoff teams set a new 26-man roster for each series, and not everyone who contributed during the regular season gets a chance at postseason glory.

Here are three former Blue Jays players who didn't make the cut with their new teams.

Taijuan Walker, PHI

Former Blue Jays pitcher Taijuan Walker had a forgettable season for the Philadelphia Phillies, seemingly doing everything in his power to not get picked for the NLDS roster. The Phillies, who finished with the second-best record in MLB and have their sights set on their second trip to the World Series in three seasons, have no room for dead weight.

If you have forgotten that Walker ever suited up in a Blue Jays uniform, you're forgiven. The 32-year-old right-hander played half of the shortened 2020 season with the Blue Jays, making six starts with a 2-1 record and a 1.37 ERA.

No one was surprised when the Phillies left Walker off their postseason roster after a disastrous regular season. He posted a 7.10 ERA in 83 2/3 innings around a couple of lengthy stints on the injured list and became public enemy No. 1 among Phillies fans. The Phillies even tried moving him and his $18M per year contract to the bullpen, but the late-season experiment went just as poorly as his 15 starts.

Marcus Stroman, NYY

After a few seasons out of the AL East, Marcus Stroman returned to the division in 2024 on a two-year contract with the Yankees. The 33-year-old spent parts of five seasons with the Blue Jays and was a part of the 2015 and 2016 playoff teams.

Stroman was a serviceable starter for the Yankees this year but was left off their ALDS roster in favor of a projected rotation of Gerrit Cole, Luis Gil, Carlos Rodon and Clarke Schmidt. Stroman went 10-9 with a 4.31 ERA in 30 games (29 starts) for the Yankees this season, posting the lowest K/9 (6.58) and highest BB/9 (3.49) of his career.

There's a good chance that his finish to the season sealed his fate as a postseason spectator. He pitched to an 8.80 ERA in 15 1/3 September innings, with opposing hitters lighting him up to the tune of an absurd .419/.442/.500 slash line.

Kevin Kiermaier, LAD

Only in Toronto for a season and half, Kevin Kiermaier endeared himself to Blue Jays fans through a wildly successful first season in 2023. His second season in Toronto was rough, and he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers at the trade deadline. In 116 games between the Blue Jays and NL West champion Dodgers, the 34-year-old batted .197/.237/.313.

He appeared in 34 games for the Dodgers after moving to the West Coast, but hit just .203 in 64 plate appearances. With the World Series the be-all-end-all for Los Angeles, Kiermaier didn't make the team's NLDS roster. The Dodgers opted for a youth movement when setting their 26-man roster for the best-of-five showdown with the San Diego Padres, picking 23-year-old Andy Pages over Kiermaier.

There's a chance that Kiermaier gets another shot, as unlikely as it seems, if the Dodgers advance or they suffer injuries in the outfield. He does have 31 games of postseason experience between his time in Tampa and Toronto.