Fans aren't the only people who take fantasy football incredibly seriously. Baseball players are deeply invested in fantasy sports as well. That notion was made particularly evident after veteran starter Chris Bassitt faced a punishment for finishing last in the Blue Jays’ fantasy football league last season.

Bassitt was forced to serve as Toronto’s ball boy during a spring training game on Saturday, according to Jomboy Media on X. His jersey number was 4-10, indicating his record as a manager in the Blue Jays’ FFB league. Making matters even worse, this all went down on Bassitt’s 36th birthday. Yikes.

The Blue Jays struggled last season, going 74-88 on the year and finishing last in the AL East. Toronto missed the playoffs for the fifth time in the last eight seasons. The team’s starting pitching was especially poor. And although Bassitt set a franchise record for ERA against Toronto’s divisional rivals, the New York Yankees, the 10th-year veteran took a step back from his solid 2023 campaign.

The Blue Jays are entering a pivotal season

Sep 17, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Chris Bassitt (40) pitches against the Texas Rangers during the first inning at Globe Life Field.
Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
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The Blue Jays are in an interesting spot in 2025. The team toyed with the idea of moving cornerstone stars Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette at the trade deadline last season. Now, as they enter the final year of their contracts with Toronto, the Blue Jays must decide if they’ll re-sign the players and attempt to compete for a title with a team built around the talented duo or if they’ll move on and enter a full rebuild.

Toronto was unable to sign Guerrero Jr. to an extension this offseason, with some observers believing that Juan Soto’s deal with the Mets made Vladdy reconsider what he could earn in free agency. Bichette, on the other hand, has not engaged in extension talks with the franchise.

The Blue Jays missed out on the biggest names in free agency this offseason. The team did, however, add veteran starter Max Scherzer to the rotation for 2025. So that's something.

It remains to be seen how Scherzer will perform in the Blue Jays’ fantasy football league, under commissioner Daulton Varsho. But the prospect of seeing Scherzer forced to endure an outing as a ball boy with his FFB record emblazoned on his uniform is enticing to say the least.