2023 Toronto Blue Jays Schedule

Table of Content

• ESPN
• Team Batting
• Why the Blue Jays should take a run at Shohei Ohtani this winter
• Red Sox Sign Masataka Yoshida To Five-Year Deal
• Welcome to the team! Gil Thorp comic strip welcomes new author Henry Barajas
• Reports: Mets land catcher Omar Narvaez; sign 5 to minor league deals
• Dan Shulman walks away from ESPN baseball, hopes to call a Blue Jays World Series for Canada

2021 is here....and things are already looking up because New Year's Day brings us the College Football Playoff Semifinals. Love him or hate him, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is one of the best in the NFL. But beyond the flamboyance and flash, there's a side most people haven't seen...especially when it comes to his big brother, Eagles center Jason Kelce.

This is likely the 32-year-old's best chance to secure a longer-term contract, and it's unclear if it makes sense for the Blue Jays to make that type of commitment. The two sides have at least been in touch as they explore their options, according to Nicholson-Smith, so this is still a situation to keep a close eye on. One of the most intriguing names on the relief market is Robert Suarez, who opted out of his deal with the San Diego Padres.

ESPN

Earlier this month she accused a powerful Chinese political figure of sexual assault, and then was not seen or heard from for weeks. This past weekend the public saw and heard Peng via a video clip of a Chinese tennis competition, and a video call between her and sports officials, including IOC President Thomas Bach. ESPN's Dan Murphy shares the latest, and why big questions remain about Peng's safety. Then, we call up our Monday Morning QB Alex Smith to recap the NFL action in Week 11.

ESPN's David Hale is here to tell us what's really going on across the collegiate landscape, what the hidden cost of NIL is for athletes, and how to fix a system that might already be broken. When Jimmy Butler didn't return to the second half of Game 3 vs. the Celtics, the Heat showed no signs of cooling down. Career performances from Kyle Lowry and Bam Adebayo and yes, even Max Strus, gave Miami the surge it needed to take the series lead, up 2-1. Ahead of Game 4 in Boston, Nick Friedell dissects the finest sample of Heat Culture we've seen so far...and he tells us what it means for the rest of the series. Then, a check in on the Western Conference Finals...where the Mavs are in danger of turning into dust...on the verge of being swept by the Warriors, now down 3-0. Now it seems obvious that Jayson Tatum was destined for NBA stardom, the one to watch for the Celtics as they square off against Golden State in Game 3 of the NBA Finals tonight.

Team Batting

Can Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers challenge Nathan McKinnon and the defending champs? In the Eastern Conference, do Sidney Crosby and his aging crew of Penguins have what it takes to make one more run? And what should we make of Buoy, the Seattle Kraken's new mascot? Our resident NHL expert Greg Wyshynski brings us up to speed on everything in the hockey world and tells us who we should be rooting for as hockey season starts. The Brooklyn Nets were the talk of the NBA offseason, and as their season tips off tonight, it seems like the dust has settled...for now. But what's Kevin Durant's future just months after he requested to be traded away?

The "Battle of the Sexes" tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs is one of the most iconic moments in American sports history. Set against the backdrop of the women's liberation movement, King's 1973 victory over Riggs transcended sports. But a news tip from an unexpected source, 40 years later, sent ESPN's Don Van Natta Jr. down a path that led him to investigate whether the match was rigged. Van Natta details his reporting on the lead-up to The Battle of the Sexes, and how Riggs' own agenda may have impacted the historic outcome. It's broadcasting Wrestlemania 36 this weekend -- after recording it on a restricted set -- with no audience. How did WWE pull this off, and why does Wrestlemania seem to be such a touchstone in this moment?

Why the Blue Jays should take a run at Shohei Ohtani this winter

ESPN Senior Writer Liz Merrill joins us to discuss Ionescu's run of triple-doubles, her relationship with Kobe Bryant, and her ultimate quest to deliver the Ducks their first-ever NCAA women's basketball championship. Well...in South Korea, where the KBO has started its season, with games broadcast live on ESPN. No fans are in attendance, but Korean baseball energy is very much about the audience, performance and celebration. Our own Mina Kimes got to the bottom of how a taboo in MLB became a signature of KBO play. In a switcheroo, Pablo Torre asks Mina about her travels to Korea to investigate how bat flipping became part of their game, tied to the bigger history of the sport abroad.

Toronto added one of the best available starting pitchers in an attempt to close the gap with the Yankees in the AL East. Senga is coming off a tremendous 2022 performance, earning a 1.89 ERA and a 2.76 FIP across 23 starts with Nippon Professional Baseball’s Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. He also racked up 159 strikeouts over 148.0 innings, logging a 27.4 percent strikeout rate. Like Rodón, the fellow 29-year-old could potentially command a lucrative five-year deal via free agency.

But yesterday, there appeared to be at least some reason for hope, as sources say MLB is willing to pay players their full prorated salaries...if the players agree to a much shorter schedule. ESPN's Jeff Passan weighs in on the latest in the negotiations, and tells us whether the players are likely to buy in to playing baseball for what could be just a 50-game regular season. Then, Jeff talks about the fate of the minor leagues, as hundreds of players have lost their jobs ahead of a potentially canceled season. The death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer has spurred an outpouring of grief and anger across the sports world...and incited a conversation about race, power and privilege. Comments made by Drew Brees and others have been met with backlash from athletes, and the players everywhere are demanding their voices be heard.

As his country deals with increasing contagion, we hear what happens when life and baseball pause, and how he's staying connected to the sport he loves. While most of the sports world remains on hiatus, China could restart live basketball in a matter of weeks. And what will it take to bring pro sports back across the rest of the world? ESPN's Jonathan Givony joins the show to explain the timeline, stakes, and challenges that basketball faces, and how it's all being handled in leagues overseas.

Welcome to the team! Gil Thorp comic strip welcomes new author Henry Barajas

And we'll see what franchises that traded up for higher draft picks have in mind. The 2021 NFL Draft first round is in the books, and prospects are on their way to their new teams. From the 49ers' secretive plan to take QB Trey Lance as the number three pick, to the Bears trading up for QB Justin Fields, quarterbacks remained the story at the center. And then there are the other wins down the roster, like the Falcons' new tight end Kyle Pitts. But we also have to talk about Aaron Rodgers' surprise pre-draft gripes about Green Bay, don't we? Bill Barnwell sizes up the surprises and key storylines of draft night.

Ahead of the National Championship Game, ESPN's David Hale tells us the legend of this bayou man. On Saturday two UFC legends collide on ESPN+ as Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone faces Irishman Conor McGregor, perhaps the most notorious fighter in mixed martial arts. ESPN Senior Writer Kevin Van Valkenburg visited Ireland to see how years of controversy, troubling behavior, and criminal allegations have affected McGregor's folk hero status at home. Now, he's a senator in the Philippines, his home country, and could be gearing up for a presidential run there in 2022. So how did one of the most prolific boxers become a political leader? ESPN's Tim Keown joins the show to share his reporting from the Philippines and explain Pacquiao's rise.

Bill Barnwell breaks down whether the Rams' gamble was worth it...and just how the Lions might go about their rebuilding process under new head coach Dan Campbell. Then, ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk and Marc Spears pay tribute to the late NBA reporter Sekou Smith, who passed away last week due to complications from COVID-19. After a turbulent season, Tom Brady and his newfound Bucs host Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, who are seeking their second-straight title. Do the Bucs have a new plan to stop the Chiefs' explosive offense? Then, 50 years ago astronaut Alan Shepard's took a golf shot on the surface of the moon. Victoria Nenno of the US Golf Association Museum details the only out-of-this-world sports moment.