First look at the Blue Jays' 2025 regular season schedule

Can we just wait until this season is over before worrying about the next one? Most baseball fans probably had this reaction as the 2025 schedules for all clubs were released. For beleaguered Blue Jays fans, it's hard to think too far ahead. Who knows what will happen over the next two weeks. Now fans must think ahead nine months into the future?

The schedule release is early, but it's vitally important for baseball fans as they plan their trips to MLB ballparks next summer. Blue Jays fans always pay particular attention to the annual treks to Seattle and Detroit (Mother's Day weekend and late July). The time is now to reserve hotel rooms and plane tickets as the costs will only keep rising.

Nowadays, the schedule release is less suspenseful. This is due in part to the balanced schedule that was introduced prior to the 2023 season. Every team will play the other 29 clubs at least once and visit each city every other year. Toronto has made trips to Arizona and Milwaukee already, with those clubs scheduled to land in Canada next summer. The big item of intrigue now is when will you have to endure those long trips out to the west coast? How many games will be played in cold climates during the first few weeks of the season? When are some star players coming to the Rogers Centre?

The regular season opener is against a talented Orioles squad at home and the Blue Jays will be facing elite competition in that first month. Canada Day is against the rival Yankees and you can expect most of the theme nights to make another appearance next season. Blue Jays fans are gaining a reputation for ingesting hot dogs at record rates and putting on a fun experience for young fans. Game times haven't been released, but one would imagine the starting times for Saturday home games and getaway days remaining in place.

At first glance, it appears Toronto will face west coast trips in early May and early August. Not too bad, especially when you consider that the farthest they have to travel in September is Kansas City. There would be nothing worse for a club that may not be in contention at the end of next season to have to travel thousands of miles west at the end of a long season. At the same time, Toronto will be playing ten games along the northeast corridor in the opening weeks of the regular season. All you can say is make sure to pack the extra layers of warm clothing for those contests!

The month of September appears to be heavy on divisional matchups, which makes a ton of sense and adds a level of intrigue to potential playoff races down the stretch. Some of the beautiful National League ballparks that fans will have an opportunity to visit next season include PNC Park, Busch Stadium, Coors Field and Great American Ballpark. In terms of stars coming to play the Blue Jays, you probably won't see anything like Ohtani's visit earlier this season. Do the young stars in Atlanta or San Diego intrigue you enough? Would you like to see Cody Bellinger launch balls into the Canadian sky?

The most "newsworthy" part about the release may be how the formerly-Oakland Athletics are going to be represented on the schedule next season. There is no need to rehash the history of why the Oakland Athletics are leaving the Bay Area, but it has been determined that they will be called simply the "A's" next season. Going forward, it appears that they will be represented on the schedule with "ATH". Make of that what you want. Toronto will host the "A's" in late May and then travel to California right before the All-Star break. Playing in a minor league ballpark will be something to watch.

The Blue Jays should have few complaints regarding this schedule. As the only MLB team residing in another country, they can usually complain about the schedule in a number of ways. With this version, however, it doesn't appear like they will have too many qualms. The bigger question facing this team is how different they will look by the season opener,