TORONTO - It seems like there is always a Buffalo connection to every major sporting event in some fashion. This year’s World Series proves the adage true in several different ways. The Buffalo Bisons are the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, who dispatched of the Seattle Mariners in the American League Championship Series in seven games.
Not only is the Blue Jays roster filled with homegrown talent that has spent time at Sahlen Field the last several years, but a majority of the postseason roster has also been on the Bisons roster just this season on Major League injury rehab assignments.
Future hall of famer Max Scherzer made two starts for the Bisons this season, including on June 13 when he delighted the home crowd to four and one-third innings as he worked back from a thumb injury. Fellow right-hander Shane Bieber was acquired at the trade deadline and made his Blue Jays organizational debut in Downtown Buffalo with the Herd. The 2020 AL Cy Young Award winner pitched seven innings to defeat the Lehigh Valley IronPigs in mid-August before joining Toronto’s rotation for the stretch run.
George Springer hit the series clinching home run in game seven against Seattle this past Monday. But before that, he spent more than a week-and-a-half with the Bisons as he was returning from a concussion. Both Blue Jays catchers also appeared in rehab assignments with the Herd due to concussions.
Addison Barger been an important piece to both Toronto’s defense and offense. The young utilityman has four home runs and five RBIs this postseason and played in 12 games for Buffalo to begin the season. Barger is one of many players that have spent multiple seasons in Triple-A before making a major impact this October.
The same can be said for outfielder Nathan Lukes, as well as pitchers Mason Fluharty and Bryadon Fisher. All three were members of the Bisons roster last season and have spent almost all of 2025 with the Blue Jays. Lukes first played for Buffalo in 2022 and was the team’s MVP that season. Fluharty pitched the most games of anyone on the team last season and made his Major League debut this season, just like Fisher.
Brighton, NY native Ernie Clement has not played for the Bisons in two seasons but burst onto the scene with the team in 2023. Clement has been a clubhouse leader for the Blue Jays, a role he took on with Buffalo in his only Triple-A season in Western New York. Known as the ‘Ern Dog’ he has become a fan favorite in Toronto and uses the ‘Shout’ song as his walk-up music in tribute to the Buffalo Bills.
One of Clement’s closest teammates is Davis Schneider. The two were main pieces of Buffalo’s 2023 roster and became roommates the following Spring Training.
Schneider was optioned to the Bisons in late April and played in 38 games with the team this season.
Oh, and that says nothing of two of the biggest stars on the Toronto Blue Jays roster who were members of the Bisons earlier in their professional careers. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was the top prospect in Minor League Baseball when he debuted with the Bisons in 2018. At one point, the ALCS MVP homered in four straight games in August 2018 with Buffalo. He played in a handful of games with the Bisons in 2019 before being promoted to the Blue Jays and becoming a megastar and fan favorite.
Bo Bichette also was a teammate of Vladdy’s in Buffalo in 2019. Unfortunately for the all-star short stop, an injury prevented him from going to the big leagues until late in that season. He has since appeared in games with Buffalo in the 2023 and 2024 seasons to rehab injuries.
If you want a Buffalo connection, it does not take much effort to find one as you watch the 2025 World Series. It also goes to prove that the best way to learn about your favorite team’s future is to catch them in action in a minor league game, if you can. It is fun to say ‘I saw him when…’