Dodgers-Blue Jays matchup is a no-lose situation for these players

Journeyman infielder Buddy Kennedy, who played for the Toronto Blue Jays (two games) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (seven games) this year (as well as four games for the Philadelphia Phillies), has become an assured World Series champion. (Reddit via r/baseball Knightbear49)

By MITCH BANNON / THE ATHLETIC

After the 2025 World Series matchup was set, Buddy Kennedy posted a simple message on his Instagram story. It perfectly captured his mix of jubilation and internal conflict. Above a graphic featuring Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Toronto Blue Jays, Shohei Ohtani of Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Commissioner’s Trophy, Kennedy wrote two words:

“Go Team.”

In the battle for World Series rings, Kennedy’s bling was secure before the Series started. He is a champion because of a baseball quirk: Anyone who plays for a World Series champion, at any point that season, almost always receives a ring. Kennedy, 27, played for the Jays (two games) and the Dodgers (seven games) this year. A New Jersey high school legend, he has become an assured champion and was sitting back to watch which team would lift him to glory.

“It’ll be a fun series for me,” Kennedy said before it started. “Because each game is, to me, meaningful in some way. I’m not there, but I was there. I added some little — very, very little — help.”

The Instagram post was the idea of his fiancée, Claire Swift. Kennedy, an infielder, and Swift sat locked on Game 7 of the American League Championship Series between the Blue Jays and the Seattle Mariners, eating dinner as the game began.

After the Dodgers’ earlier sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Championship Series, Kennedy knew he had a 50% shot at a World Series ring. Then he threw on his No. 24 Blue Jays jersey, the one he wore for just two games. George Springer’s home run gave him guaranteed glory.

“It happens every year,” Kennedy said. “It’s so cool. But you never would think it’d be you.”

José Ureña, who pitched briefly for both the Jays and the Dodgers this year, is in the same boat as Kennedy. It was Taylor Trammell last year who was guaranteed a ring when the Dodgers and the New York Yankees met for the World Series. Kennedy didn’t really think he would be in this position. Who would? But on Aug. 17, when he joined Los Angeles — his third team of the season (he also appeared in four games for the Philadelphia Phillies), he knew he had a chance.

The Dodgers, coming off a World Series title, were clear threats to repeat. But he saw something brewing in Toronto, too. He played in the Jays’ 20-1 thrashing of the Colorado Rockies. It took him five days around the Jays to ponder this October matchup. When Kennedy arrived in Los Angeles, Dodgers players asked him about the Jays. He relayed Toronto’s threat.

“They have a great group that just meshes perfectly,” he said. “They go take care of business when they’re in between the lines. It’s exactly what you want from a team.”

The Jays and the Dodgers, Kennedy said, are different organizations. They haven’t collectively decoded some master plan that brought both to the World Series. They use different numbers for outfield reads and infield reads, and different hitting metrics, some Kennedy had never heard of. Every organization has those analytical variations and unique approaches. But the commonality between the teams, Kennedy said, is elite game-planning preparation.

“When the game came, I’m not saying it was a cakewalk, but you kind of felt one step ahead,” said Kennedy, whom the Blue Jays re-signed in September, to a minor league contract. “Both of those teams, that’s why they are where they are.”

A day after Springer’s series-flipping ALCS homer landed, Kennedy received a text from his high school coach. Kennedy will never be the best player to come out of Millville High School. He will never have the local ballpark named after him. Those accolades fall to Mike Trout. But, as Kennedy’s former coach reminded him, he will have something Trout still strives for: a World Series ring.

“That’s kind of, like, the coolest thing,” Kennedy said. “Obviously, I hope it’s not only me, I hope Mike can do that for the Angels. But, if it’s me or anybody, it’s cool.”

It’s a reminder of how rare it is to slide a World Series ring on your finger. Even once-in-a-generation talents can’t do it. So, despite his mere two- and seven-game contributions, Kennedy is grateful. He could not pick a side to root for, Kennedy said. But he didn’t have to. Either way, he is getting a ring.

“It’s not like you’re going out and getting an iPhone,” Kennedy said. “It’s just crazy. It’s a whirlwind.”