Rays steal a page out of the Blue Jays playbook to fuel their winning success in 2026

It has been well-documented how the Toronto Blue Jays established their camaraderie among the clubhouse to help pave the way to their success last year. Not only did the Blue Jays end up winning the American League East division, they surprised everyone by making it all the way to the World Series through their selfless play, tight bond and friendship.

It appears as though the Tampa Bay Rays have now stolen a page out of the Blue Jays’ playbook to help fuel their winning success so far in 2026. As Adam Berry of MLB.com has put it, their “power of friendship” has enabled the Rays to get off to one of their best starts to a season in franchise history.

The Rays have found their recipe to success in 2026, courtesy of the 2025 Blue Jays

Currently, Tampa Bay finds themselves atop the AL East standings with a 28-14 record and two games up on the New York Yankees. For a team that finished fourth in the division with a losing record in each of the past two years, the Rays dominance early in the 2026 MLB season is certainly a breath of fresh air for the franchise. But how are they doing it?

As Berry described it, Tampa Bay’s “lineup depth and versatility have become key traits for the Rays and so has their eagerness to put the ball in play”. The Rays’ players would further elaborate on how they find the keys to their success.

“Even when you’re not starting, you’re going to play on this team. Everybody’s always ready, trying to do the best that they can with their skill set,” said Rays infielder Richie Palacios.

Tampa Bay starter Shane McClanahan would even bring in the key missing ingredient, which was the clubhouse chemistry and the “power of friendship”.

“I’ve been joking around and calling it the power of friendship. Obviously there is more to it than just that. Everybody here does what they do so well and everybody’s allowed to be who they are as a competitor, as a person, and it definitely translates,” McClanahan explained.

Sounds all too familiar? That is because it is exactly what the Blue Jays had and did last season on a daily basis. One day it would be a Nathan Lukes clutch hit, another day would be a solid defensive play by Myles Straw in the field, and then it would be Ernie Clement doing all that he can to get on base. In the end, everyone in the lineup contributed in one way or another by doing their part and would all be congratulated once they got back to the clubhouse on a job well done. At the same time, all of the Jays would be having fun, enjoying the game, feeding off of each other, and most importantly, winning games.

With the Blue Jays’ rough start to their 2026 campaign, perhaps they should start churning up that “power of friendship”, as the Rays call it, to get themselves back into the race as Toronto currently holds a 19-24 mark and sit two games behind the final wild card spot. Otherwise, if the Jays fall too far behind, their camaraderie might not even be enough to save their season when all is said and done.

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