Toronto Blue Jays rookie reveals he barely slept before his MLB debut

When the Toronto Blue Jays acquired Brett Bateman from the Chicago Cubs ahead of the 2026 trade deadline, he probably didn't expect to make his Major League debut just five days later.

Bateman played just two games for the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons before being called up by the Blue Jays for their three-game road series in Philadelphia.

The 24-year-old recently appeared on the Cheap Seats podcast, where he was asked about his welcome-to-the-big-leagues moment. As it turns out, it came immediately after he joined the team in Philadelphia.

"First game, I knew I was going to face [three-time MLB All-Star] Zach Wheeler. I remember sitting down with skipper [John Schneider] in his office, and he asked me how I was doing mentally," Bateman said.

"I said, dude, I'm ready, put me in... Meanwhile, I was on 2.5 hours of sleep and had to take a connecting flight to get from Buffalo to Philadelphia."

Brett Bateman made his MLB debut with the Toronto Blue Jays on Aug. 7 against the Philadelphia Phillies. (John Jones/Imagn Images)

His debut also happened to ironically fall on the same day as Chase Utley's induction into the Philadelphia Phillies Hall of Fame.

"I couldn't believe the people I was around, guys like [George] Springer and [Shane] Bieber; I was trying not to be in my shell — I just wanted to gain their respect."

It didn't take long for Bateman to do just that. He doubled off Wheeler in his first at-bat and eventually came around to score on an Alejandro Kirk sacrifice fly, putting Toronto ahead.

Bateman said his nerves were out the window by that point, and the rest was just baseball.

From Aug. 7 onward, Bateman appeared in 41 more games for Toronto, starting 32 of them in centre field. He hit an impressive .329 and posted a 2.2 WAR, quickly making a case for himself as a potential starting centre fielder for the Blue Jays in 2027.

The 24-year-old outfielder came over to the Toronto Blue Jays from the Chicago Cubs in the Kevin Gausman trade. (Kevin Sousa/Imagn Images)

The first impression even earned him high praise from Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins during the team's end-of-season media availability.

"He couldn't have transitioned into the major leagues any better. He checked all the boxes," Atkins said of Bateman.

"We need to be cautious how much pressure we put on him. We don't want to rely on him for 162 [games] just yet."

Bateman saw eye to eye with Atkins' comments, saying he wants to do whatever he can to fit into a championship-calibre team, whether that means being Toronto's Opening Day centre fielder or playing in a platoon role.

"I want to be a role player here and fit on this team the best I can," Bateman said.