There are two baseball players who can start looking forward to receiving their 2025 World Series ring – and they’re not even going to be playing in the Fall Classic.
No matter if the Los Angeles Dodgers or Toronto Blue Jays win the World Series — which starts this Friday at Rogers Centre — Buddy Kennedy and Jose Urena will be taking home a championship souvenir.
That’s because the journeymen appeared in games for both teams during the 2025 season, which entitles them to a championship bauble.
Kennedy also played for the Phillies this year, starting the season with Philadelphia and appearing in four games for the eventual NL East champs before being released on July 5.
On July 9, he was signed by Toronto and was called up during an early August trip out West.
During his brief stint with the Jays, Kennedy appeared in two games, one against the Colorado Rockies and the other against the Dodgers – during which he had his lone hit for Toronto, a double in a 9-1 loss.
Kennedy was designated for assignment and then picked up the Dodgers on Aug. 15.
He would play seven games for L.A., going 1-for-17 at the plate, before again being cut loose and then re-signing with the Blue Jays on a minor-league deal.
He would finish the season with the Jays’ triple-A affiliate in Buffalo.
Kennedy joked about the strange circumstances on his Instagram story after the matchup was set, sharing a promotional photo for the World Series with the words “Go Team” written above.
As for Urena, his luggage got its fair share of use this year, moving to five different teams throughout 2025.
The Dominican righty began the year with the Mets before moving on to the Jays, Dodgers, Minnesota Twins and finally the Los Angeles Angels.
Of his 19 total games in 2025, he appeared in six games for the Jays and two games for Dodgers.
This isn’t the first time that a player or players have been guaranteed a championship ring before the World Series even started.
Last year, minor league outfielder Taylor Trammell was in a similar spot after having appeared for the Dodgers and New York Yankees.