Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider likes what he has seen from Kazuma Okamoto this spring.
Coming as close as a team can to winning a World Series, though coming up short at the very end while playing in their home stadium, it was a foregone conclusion that Toronto would tweak its roster this past offseason. Losing their longtime shortstop Bo Bichette to free agency expedited Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins’ decision to make a splash with available international talent. Reaching a four-year, $60 million contract with Okamoto in January went a long way in reaffirming to Canadian baseball fans that returning to the October postseason is a priority.
After missing out on signing mega superstar Shohei Ohtani in 2024 to the Los Angeles Dodgers and being passed over by pitcher Roki Sasaki, also to the Dodgers in 2025, Toronto wasn’t going to swing and miss on a third try with the best available players of Nippon Professional Baseball.
Competing at the highest level of Japanese baseball for 11 seasons, and leading the league in home runs during three of those years, Okamoto became the Blue Jays’ priority after losing Game 7, 5–4, at Rogers Center on Nov. 1, 2025.
With two spring training Grapefruit League games remaining on their exhibition schedule before their regular season begins at home on Friday with the Athletics, Toronto bussed from their southern headquarters in Dunedin, Florida, for a Saturday afternoon game with the Pittsburgh Pirates 50 miles south on I-75.
At Bradenton’s LECOM Park, 90 minutes prior to first pitch, while his club was swinging away during batting practice, Schneider was praising his third baseman’s progress in adjusting to the nuances of MLB life as opposed to what he has known for more than a decade playing in the NPB.
“The whole goal of spring training is to get him on board and comfortable with everything we’re doing here,” Schneider told The Epoch Times on Saturday before an 8–3 loss to the Pirates. “He’s done that. Again, it’s how everyone fits in the lineup. Not just the offense skills, and hitting. The base-running part, too. I have no problem hitting Kaz anywhere, really.”
The rapid emergence of Okamoto, 29, adapting to the Blue Jays’ way of playing the game comes with great relief to Schneider and his coaching staff. In seven games this spring, Okamoto is hitting .333. His on-base percentage (OBP) is an eye-opening .474 (.400-plus is considered elite).
With each swing of his bat, Toronto fans are adjusting to a club without their former highly popular shortstop. Ending his tenure with the Giants in 2025 by smacking 15 home runs and hitting .325, there’s little reason for Schneider not to be optimistic about the contributions he’s anticipating from his new third baseman.
“Right now, Kaz is smoothly transitioning to the ins and outs of fundamentals. Where he needs to go on certain plays, like bunts, knowing the pitchers and how they get off the mound, Kaz has got it. So far, he’s been really, really quick to pick everything up. It’s a lot of work for him. Everyone’s done their part, especially him.”
Bringing back pitcher Max Scherzer on a one-year deal, inking Dylan Cease to a seven-year, $210 million contract to lead their pitching staff, and adding in Okamoto’s salary, the Blue Jays by far have their largest payroll ever. Having last won World Series championships in 1992 and 1993, Canadians are hungry for a winner. Luring a Japanese superstar who six times slugged 30-plus home runs (41 in 2023) is a commitment to Toronto’s base that in 2026, the American League pennant won’t be the only validation of success. A World Series title is a must.
On Saturday, Okamoto hit seventh in Schneidner’s lineup and is the starting third baseman. After three at-bats, Okamoto was replaced by minor leaguer Cade Doughty. After one final Grapefruit League game on Sunday with the Tampa Bay Rays, the team flies north, and on Monday, at Dunedin’s TD Ballpark, an early afternoon intrasquad scrimmage is scheduled. Blue Jays versus Blue Jays. Two final opportunities for Schneider to observe and offer any adjustments to his newest star infielder.
“It’s been pretty impressive to see him kind of slow the game down a little bit,” says Schneider, who is in the final year of his contract with the team that he led to a 94–68 record in 2025. “I have found myself at times over-explaining things to him, and he’s giving me, ‘I gotcha.’”
Learning where to position himself when new pitchers come into games or how to approach them at the plate may take a little more time for Okamoto to conquer. These are the situations that are important for him to remain vigilant on before the regular season starts. The signs are there already that Okamoto is fitting in well with his many high-profile teammates of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., George Springer, Ernie Clement, and Daulton Varsho. While waiting to take to the field during batting practice in Bradenton, Okamoto mingles with them all, smiling and tossing balls to waiting gloves.
With the added pop from Okamoto’s bat and his anticipated steadfast play at third base (he has also played games at first base and in the outfield for the Giants), the Blue Jays are positioned to unequivocally be among the final American League clubs standing this fall for postseason play. The addition of Okamoto to Schneider’s option could be the difference in repeating as pennant winners and beyond.
