Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro and general manager Ross Atkins met with the media this week to discuss various topics on the heels of the club’s 2025 season, which was mostly sweet but ended bitterly. Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet rounded up some of the pertinent details. Most notably, the Jays are interested in reuniting with infielder Bo Bichette and are also on the hunt for pitching. Some trade talks involving starting pitching have already taken place.
Neither detail is a big surprise. The Blue Jays are the only team Bichette has ever known. He has expressed a willingness to return and continue playing alongside Vladimir Guerrero Jr., as the two have done for years. The Jays would surely love to have Bichette back.
The Jays were able to get through the ALDS and ALCS without Bichette, running out an alignment that usually featured Guerrero at first and Andrés Giménez at short, while Ernie Clement, Addison Barger and Isiah Kiner-Falefa split the second and third base duties.
They could run most of that crew back, though Kiner-Falefa is now a free agent. Davis Schneider could factor in at second base at times. But the Jays are surely a better team with Bichette in the lineup, especially when he’s fully healthy. He has a career .294/.337/.469 batting line and had an even better .311/.357/.483 showing in 2025.
Now that Bichette is a free agent, other clubs will come calling. Teams like the Giants, Tigers, Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox and Mets are logical landing spots, among others. MLBTR predicted Bichette to land an eight-year, $208MM contract. The Jays have never given that kind of money to a free agent, though they did more than double that on Guerrero’s $500MM extension. With the recent revenue generated from the club’s World Series run, perhaps they make an aggressive push to bring Bichette back.
Even if the Jays do have the money to get it done, there will be the question of positioning. Bichette has largely been a shortstop in his career. As he was shelved with a knee injury late in 2025, Giménez took over that spot. Bichette got healthy enough to be activated for the World Series but was clearly not 100%. The Jays kept him at second base and put him in the designated hitter spot a few times when George Springer was hurt.
Bichette has never been a great defensive shortstop but Giménez seems to be strong there, despite being mostly a second baseman in recent years. While Bichette was willing to play second in the World Series and while still hurt, would he be willing to make a permanent move to that spot? If he would like to stick at shortstop for a few more years, would the Jays accommodate him? If not, how much would that impact his signing decision?
The non-Bichette part of the free agent market includes players such as Alex Bregman, Eugenio Suárez, Gleyber Torres, Ha-Seong Kim and others. Guys like Brendan Donovan, Brandon Lowe, Alec Bohm, CJ Abrams, Josh Jung, Nolan Gorman and others might be available in trade.
There’s also Japanese infielder Munetaka Murakami, with Nicholson-Smith listing the Jays and Yankees as two teams linked to him. He is to be posted today, so his free agency will be resolved in the next 45 days.
Murakami wouldn’t be a perfect fit for the Blue Jays. He does have massive power from the left side, something that would work well in their lineup. However, his third base defense is considered poor, with many suspecting that he will quickly wind up at first base in the majors. With Guerrero signed at first base for the next 14 years and guys like Springer and Anthony Santander lined up for DH time, Murakami would have to be shoehorned in a bit.
If the Jays do think he can hack it at third, that would bump Clement to second and Barger to the outfield. That is something that could work but it wouldn’t really leave room for Bichette, barring a trade of some kind. The Yankees also have kind of an awkward fit with Ryan McMahon at third, Ben Rice at first and Giancarlo Stanton the DH, though perhaps they could find a way to balance things by having Rice behind the plate.
Turning to Toronto’s pitching, they just got a huge boost when Shane Bieber surprisingly triggered his player option. He can now be slotted into the 2026 rotation alongside Kevin Gausman and Trey Yesavage. The Jays should also have José Berríos back in the mix. He finished 2025 on the injured list but Atkins said he’s in line for a normal offseason, per Nicholson-Smith.
Guys like Eric Lauer, Bowden Francis, Adam Macko, Lázaro Estrada and Easton Lucas could compete for the #5 spot but the Jays will look at add someone else. In that scenario, Lauer would come into camp as the #6 guy, which was sometimes the case in 2025. He could work a long relief role when everyone is healthy and jump into the rotation as injuries pop up. Everyone else in that cluster of depth arms is optionable and could be in Triple-A. Guys like Angel Bastardo, Ricky Tiedemann and Jake Bloss missed all or most of 2025 while injured and could work into the mix when healthy.
The free agent market features starters like Dylan Cease, Framber Valdez, Tatsuya Imai, Ranger Suárez and plenty of others. Guys like MacKenzie Gore, Joe Ryan, Mitch Keller and others should be available on the trade block.
In Nicholson-Smith’s column, Shapiro didn’t give a clear answer about the 2026 payroll but he praised the support the club has received from ownership and said “I don’t see that support going backwards at all.” That’s logical because, as mentioned, the club just raked in a bunch of money from their extended playoff run.
RosterResource projects the club for a $235MM payroll next year. That’s more than $20MM shy of the $258MM they spent in 2025, per RR. If payroll stays steady, that gives the Jays some room to make a notable move, though it would obviously be easier if the budget goes up. Signing both Bichette and a notable starting pitcher, for instance, would require more than $20MM annually.
In the bullpen, there are dozens of potential players they could target, including free agents and trade candidates. They could even go after closers, as Atkins was noncommittal about Jeff Hoffman staying in that role next year, per Keegan Matheson of MLB.com. “The great thing about Jeff is he’s not married to that,” Atkins said. “I think he would be open to anything that makes us better.”
The Jays signed Hoffman to a three-year, $33MM deal last offseason. He saved 33 games for the Jays this year, plus two more in the playoffs, but in uneven fashion. His strikeout rate was good but he allowed 4.37 earned runs per nine, thanks to allowing 15 home runs on the year, more than in his previous three years combined. As Jays fans well know, or maybe have blocked out, he allowed a game-tying home run to Dodgers #9 hitter Miguel Rojas in the top of the ninth of Game Seven of the World Series.
Home run spikes like that can be fluky. A measure like SIERA, which controls for such things, gave Hoffman a 3.21 mark this year. Still, it’s understandable that the Jays would at least consider adding an established closer and bumping Hoffman into a setup role. The free agent market features guys with closing experience like Edwin Díaz, Robert Suarez, Pete Fairbanks and Devin Williams. Depending on the final payroll, the Jays will have to weigh those pursuits against their other targets.
As for Shapiro himself, his contract only ran through the 2025 season but it would be a shock if he weren’t kept around after such a successful season. He previously hinted that he and the club would likely work out a new deal and he gave similar comments this week. Per Nicholson-Smith, he says he and the team agreed to table extension talks during the postseason run but will “likely work something out soon.”
The coaching staff will also likely be coming back, for the most part. Per Nicholson-Smith, Atkins said there would be no “proactive subtractions,” which seems to be GM speak to indicate no one is getting fired. Bench coach Don Mattingly is walking away and it’s always possible that someone on staff gets offered a promotion with another club, but it’s notable that the Jays plan on keeping the group together as much as they can.
Photo courtesy of John E. Sokolowski, Imagn Images
Giminez seems to be fine there? Lol
Guys elite.
Gimy stays at ss and bo moves to 2nd. Easiest decision in baseball…if bo resigns, of course
I don’t think Bo is going to take a home town discount or give in to not playing SS right away.
I think his jays are done but a pretty cool last memory taking shohei deep on one good leg
Why would his days in Toronto be done? 99.9% he returns to Toronto long term with Vlad.
I’m thinking another team will be wiling to pay him more than the jays will.
The Giants SHOULD, but whether Buster would rather spend solely on the rotation and RF remains to be seen.
“Why would his days”…Agreed. Bichette’s is borderline iconic in Toronto and with his injury history probably doesn’t have that same value anywhere else.
Which team is looking for a $200+ mediocre fielding SS? I believe Bo moves to 2b and stays in Canada.
The Phillies have entered the chat
Moving Rice to C to replace Wells shouldn’t ends be a real discussion. Wells has been a top defender at the position, and at minimum given them some power from the left hand side, ironically tho, not taking advantage of Yankee stadium’s short left porch much. Stick Rice at 1b and move on.
MLB just had one of the most exciting (and most watched) WS in a while and they’re likely going to lock out players and kill fan support. Tony Clark and agents like Jim Murray work for Manfred and instead of settling on a deal that raises the floor for min salary players while lowering the ceiling for top salary players by increasing arbitration pay and luxury taxes. MLB will push for a system like the NFL (silly dead cap charges) or NBA (silly tax aprons and cap circumventing no-show deals). Manfred needs to focus on what’s right for the game, decreasing the gap between haves and have-nots through increased taxes and giving the majority of players not named Soto or Ohtani raise while growing the game internationally.
If you’re hoping Manfraud changes his stripes, you’ll be sadly left wanting. The man is a shill.
It’s people like you enable his behavior. Calling him out is my responsibility as a fan of baseball. Keep making excuses for his behavior and I’ll keep responding to you enablers
Jays should be champs
Congrats to mlb . All the hard work helping deferrals W paid off. Literally
jAyS wErE tHe BeTtEr TeAm
Blue jays weren’t even as good as the mariners. They got lucky to even make the World Series.
@fred
What difference does it make what jays did or didnt do at any point before the ws? They dominated la. Like a shark devouring a baby seal. But mlb & the umps made sure to give every advantage humanly possible to la. There is 0 integrity left in baseball. Tragic
The Blue Jays should be interesting because there will be a lot of questions no matter what they do.
– If Bichette resigns does Ernie get bumped to third base, utility or traded? If it’s third base does Barger go to RF or get traded? If he goes to RF then what happens to Loerfido? Is it worth keeping Loperfido (will be 27 in May) around in a just incase scenario and risk his development (with Varsho in CF and Santander/Springer in LF/DH) or trade him? Do you trade Lukes (turns 33 in July) or keep him around for a 4th outfielder even though you already have Miles Straw’s contract for that. Is Lukes capable of producing anything close to his 2025 season, even as a 4th outfielder? Does he have any trade value?
If Bo re-signs, it’s:
Springer DH
Lukes LF
Vlad 1b
Bo 2b
Santander RF
Barger 3B
Kirk C
Varsho CF
Jimenez SS
With Clement, Schneider, Straw and Heineman on the bench.
With a lefty on the mound, Ernie at 3rd, Schneider at 2nd, Barger in RF, Tony in Left
Can also see an outfield of Straw / Varsho / Tony with a fly ball pitcher
Ernie probably plays 4 games a week.
If anyone would be willing to give them a 6th inning reliever for any one of Straw / Varsho / Lukes / Loperfido, I’d be surprised, and then accept. immediately. As is, Loprefido still has options, I think and so is odd man out.
If Bo doesn’t re-sign, they sign Bellinger for LF, and go Barger/Jimenez / Clement on the infield, or a power 3rd baseman and put Barger in right full time
If Bo re-signs and that puts Clement on the bench to play Santander I’ll lose my mind.
Could play Ernie at 3rd most of the time, I guess, with Tony / Varsho / Barger in the outfield, with Vlad/Bo/Tony hitting 2/3/4
Makes Lukes your 4th outfielder, but he’s the only true 2 hole hitter on the team.
Well lose your mind Santander is going to play if he is healthy and if last year was a fluke, due to injury, and he returns to form, you will be glad for it. They ain’t paying Santander to sit on the bench.
I am not sure they are outright giving Lukes the starting job. The chances that he comes close to last year (he did great) are not high and why risk Loperfido’s development (unless he is traded) to give a soon to be 33 year old journeyman reps. Loperfido has more long term potential and potential power. Also they will have others that may need an opportunity to get a look..
@Toronto Blue Jays Jason – Lukes is not an ideal 2 hole hitter and he may not even come close to last years production. I mean if they keep him and he does come close, great but he will be 33 next year and doesn’t have a long track record of being that good. I think there are better options for the 2 hole.
Loperfido will be 27 by the all-star break. He’s not a prospect anymore, IMO. So for the right price, he, and Clement, and Lukes, and Straw, and Varsho and Schneider could all be had.. And if they falter, they’ll find the next guy.
Part of me even thinks there’s a way I can see Barger being traded, but that would have to be for J-Ram, and given the age / money difference there, I’m not sure of that
I hear ya and I agree they all could be had for the right price and maybe some of them should be traded. I would even add Varsho to that list, with one year left and not developing into the player Atkins thought he was getting. Obviously this would require some additions of some sort being made via trade, free agency or development.
IMO I would give Loperfido one more year with a good look to see if there is really something there or is he another 27 year old misfire.
Lukes is 31 now so don’t quite know how he’ll be 33 next year.
If Bo re-signs, the Jays are playing Clement over Lukes.
Clement at 3B, Barger in RF, Santander in LF.
The Jays have flexibility with Clement and Barger able to play multiple positions which makes another position player signing possible as well.
Bo is not leaving. Him and Vlad are the heart and soul of the Bluejays, came up together and went to the world series together. They should both be Jays for life.
If the Blue Jays only have $20M to spend, Bo seems as good as gone given their pitching needs.
Jays have like 60 mil coming off the books
On Bo, i think as long as they go to $200, they’ll keep him. I expect there is a $2-3M / year hometown discount, and don’t think any team would go to $225+., so they said go find out what’s out there, and come back and talk.
I also expect ownership has given Shapiro and Atkins a budget waiver – total budget is $250, unless you’re resigning Bo and then you can go to $270. they play him at short until Nimmala’s ready, and then move him to second when Jimenez leaves in a couple years
If they don’t find a way to keep Bichette, it’s a complete failed off-season for Toronto regardless of other moves.
He’s a homegrown player with a high level bat. He’s a big part of the nucleus of the team. He brings an edge and grit that’s needed once you start getting to the playoffs consistently. On one leg he was worth more than most of the players the Dodgers faced this postseason.
If they don’t lock him up, it’s just sad. They have the resources. Get it done.
I’ve seen too many people who say they want to be here walk for less money to play elsewhere. I hope he stays, I want him to stay, but it’s called free agency for a reason.
Toronto pitching staff says YES to Gimenez staying at SS!
His value is greater there and if Bo can play a decent 2B, his value will stay the same.
I’d he won’t move, then don’t sign him.
IKF says, “Whenever you’re ready, just let me know.”