Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Ross Atkins

Managers & Top Front Office Executives On Expiring Contracts

By | at

In the same way that players feel extra pressure to produce entering their last season before free agency, managers and front office bosses similarly feel the heat when entering the final year of their contracts.  The difference is that even if a player has a rough season, they’re usually still in position to land at least a one-year deal in some fashion for the next year — a manager or a GM could find themselves fired in the wake of a bad year, with no guarantee about when (or even if) they’ll get another shot at leading a dugout or a front office.

This list details the baseball operations bosses (whatever their specific title) and managers who are entering the final year of their contracts, as well as the personnel whose contractual situations aren’t publicly known.  Some clubs don’t publicize the terms of employee contracts, so it is entirely possible that some of these names signed extensions months ago but the teams have chosen to keep these new deals quiet for the time being.  And, of course, the length of a contract doesn’t always correlate to job security.  One bad season or even a poor start could suddenly threaten the status of a manager or head of baseball ops that seemingly seems safe right now.

As always, thanks to Cot’s Baseball Contracts for reference information on some of these contracts.

Angels: It’s pretty unusual to see a newly-hired manager already on this list, yet that is the situation Kurt Suzuki finds himself in after signing just a one-year guarantee to become the Halos’ new skipper.  The deal has multiple club option years attached, and while one would imagine Suzuki wouldn’t be let go so quickly, the Angels’ manager’s office has been enough of a revolving door in recent years that it is hard to guess what owner Arte Moreno might do next.  GM Perry Minasian is also entering the final guaranteed year of his contract, with a club option for the 2027 season.  Ten consecutive losing seasons has led to a lot of discord in Anaheim, and an eleventh sub-.500 year might get both Suzuki and Minasian sent packing by next offseason.

Astros: GM Dana Brown and manager Joe Espada are each entering their final season under contract, with Brown hired in January 2023 and Espada in November 2023.  Earlier this month, Astros owner Jim Crane didn’t entirely close the door on the possibility of an extension for either Brown or Espada, but said “I think we’ll go through this year like we always do, evaluate it and then make the decision at the end of the year.”  Reading between the lines, it certainly seems like the spotlight will be on Brown and Espada, especially since the Astros are coming off their first non-playoff season since 2016.  While the team’s laundry list of injuries is a valid excuse for their 2025 letdown, some personnel changes might well be coming if Houston can’t get back into the postseason hunt this year.

Athletics: General manager David Forst’s contract has already expired, as his most recent deal with the team was up following the 2025 campaign.  Owner John Fisher has stated that “conversations are ongoing” about another extension, and since it has apparently been business as usual for the A’s this offseason, it seems like it’s just a matter of time before Forst formally extends his long stint in the team’s front office.  Forst only officially took over the baseball operations department in the 2022-23 offseason, but he has been with the Athletics since 2000, first working as a scout and then becoming one of Billy Beane’s top lieutenants.

Blue Jays: GM Ross Atkins and manager John Schneider are both entering the final year of their contracts, as the Jays exercised their 2026 club option on Schneider’s deal back in November.  This duo was facing heavy pressure heading into the 2025 season, yet Toronto’s AL pennant and near-miss in the World Series has entirely changed the narrative for both Atkins and Schneider.  The Blue Jays already extended team president/CEO Mark Shapiro a few weeks ago, and extensions for Atkins and Schneider should follow before Opening Day.

Brewers: Pat Murphy is entering the final season of his three-year contract, but it is hard to believe the Brew Crew won’t have the manager soon locked up on another deal.  Murphy has been named NL Manager of the Year in each of the first two seasons, won consecutive NL Central titles, and this October led the Brewers to their first NLCS appearance since 2018.  October also saw Matt Arnold receive a promotion from GM to president of baseball operations, even though Arnold has already been the Brewers’ top baseball exec for the last three seasons.  Arnold’s specific contract situation hasn’t been made clear for a few years now, but it would surely seem like Milwaukee’s continued success and his new job title probably landed the PBO an extension at some point.  Regardless, Arnold seems in no danger of being fired even if 2026 is his last year under contract.

Cardinals: Oli Marmol is headed into his final year, but the manger and the Cardinals have already started discussing an extension to retain Marmol beyond the 2026 campaign.  It seems like something should be finalized in due course, with St. Louis continuing to entrust Marmol with the reins as the team now moves into a full-on rebuild phase.

Diamondbacks: Torey Lovullo has quietly become one of baseball’s longer-tenured managers, as Lovullo has been running Arizona’s dugout since the 2016-17 offseason.  He has signed multiple extensions (none for more than two guaranteed years) since his initial three-year pact, yet while 2026 represents the final year of Lovullo’s current deal, the Diamondbacks are reportedly going to let Lovullo enter the season without an extension in place.  Owner Ken Kendrick did praise Lovullo’s efforts in keeping the D’Backs competitive amidst a swath of pitching injuries and a partial trade deadline selloff in 2025, but it is intriguing that the vote of confidence wasn’t backed up by another contract.  This will be a storyline to watch as the Diamondbacks’ season progresses, and a change in the dugout might well be coming if the D’Backs can’t get back into the postseason.

Dodgers: President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman first came to Los Angeles on a five-year, $35MM pact covering the 2015-19 seasons, and he signed an extension back in November 2019.  Terms of that deal weren’t known, yet it is clear that if Friedman hasn’t already signed another new deal in the last six years, the Dodgers are almost surely keen in retaining the executive.  The Dodgers have reached the playoffs in every single season of Friedman’s tenure, have won three World Series championships under his leadership, and have become baseball’s dominant franchise due to both their record-high payrolls and their ability to draft and develop minor league talent.

Guardians: Chris Antonetti gets an obligatory mention since the Guardians haven’t publicly addressed his contract status since he signed an extension with the team back in 2013.  Following the 2015 season, Antonetti was promoted to the president of baseball operations title, and his decade in charge has seen Cleveland make seven postseason appearances.  As the Guards are coming off their sixth AL Central crown of Antonetti’s tenure, there is no sense ownership is looking to make a change, nor is there any sense Antonetti (who has turned down overtures from other teams in the past) is looking to leave.

Mariners: Dan Wilson’s contract terms weren’t made public when he was hired as manager in August 2024, and president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto’s status hasn’t been addressed since he signed a contract extension of an unknown length back in September 2021.  It may very well be that Dipoto has quietly signed another deal in the last four-plus years, but regardless, the Mariners’ success in 2025 very likely means neither Dipoto or Wilson are going anywhere, even if the M’s don’t feel the need to publicize any extensions.

Marlins: Previous Miami GM Kim Ng was signed to a three-year contract with a club option for the 2024 season, and the Marlins chose to pass on that option in order to hire Peter Bendix as the new president of baseball operations.  Terms of Bendix’s contract weren’t disclosed, so given the length of Ng’s contract, it is possible Bendix could also be entering his final guaranteed year if Miami pursued the same structure with another first-time front office boss.  While Ng’s dismissal caught many in baseball by surprise, Bendix’s job appears to be a lot safer, as the Marlins’ surprising surge to 79 wins in 2025 is a promising step forward for the team’s (latest) rebuild.

Mets: Carlos Mendoza is entering the final guaranteed year of his three-year contract, and New York holds a club option on the manager’s services for the 2027 season.  The Mets have overhauled both Mendoza’s coaching staff and a good chunk of the roster in the wake of the slow-motion collapse that left the team outside the playoff picture in 2025, so far more is expected than just an 83-79 record this year.  The club option probably means that the Mets will wait until after the season (if at all) to discuss an extension, and given the Mets’ high payroll and expectations, even a slow start might put Mendoza’s status in jeopardy.

Orioles: Mike Elias’ contract terms were never publicized when he was hired to lead Baltimore’s front office in November 2018, though he did receive a title change from general manager to president of baseball operations last offseason.  Elias’ specific contract status remains unspecified, and it is possible he could be facing more heat if the O’s have another subpar season.  Consecutive playoff appearances were followed by the thud of a 75-87 record in 2025, though ownership appears to have given Elias some support in the form of bigger budget, as the Orioles’ busy offseason has been highlighted by the blockbuster Pete Alonso signing.

Padres: Reports in early November suggested that A.J. Preller was close to signing a new extension to remain as San Diego’s PBO, though close to three months later, there hasn’t been any word of a deal between the two sides.  It could be that a contract was signed but simply not publicly announced, or perhaps Preller and the team agreed to table the negotiations until after most of the Padres’ offseason business was complete.  Considering all the reports of discord within the Padres’ ownership situation and some possible tension between Preller and team CEO Erik Greupner, a contract extension probably shouldn’t be considered a sure thing until a deal is actually done, though things still seem to be leaning in the direction of Preller getting re-upped.  For all of the off-the-field drama that has frequently defined Preller’s long tenure in San Diego, the Padres are coming off their fourth playoff appearance in the last six seasons.

Reds: As Cincinnati is coming off its first playoff berth since 2020, president of baseball operations Nick Krall looks to have a decent amount of job security, and might be in line for an extension depending on his current contract status.  Krall has been in charge of the Reds’ front office for the last five seasons, and he received an extension of an unspecified length when he was promoted to the president of baseball operations title following the 2023 campaign.

Tigers: Scott Harris has now finished three full seasons as Detroit’s PBO, so if a four-year contract might be considered the usual minimum for a first-time president of baseball ops, 2026 might be Harris’ final year under contract.  It’s all speculative, of course, since Harris’ terms weren’t made public, and it might also be a moot point since Harris could be an extension candidate, if anything.  The Tigers have made the second round of the playoffs in each of the last two seasons, though the team’s late-season collapse in 2025 and the uncertainty over Tarik Skubal’s future remain areas of concern.

Twins: Derek Falvey’s shocking decision to step down as Minnesota’s president of baseball (and business) operations has unexpectedly made GM Jeremy Zoll the top voice in the team’s front office.  Zoll was promoted to the GM role in November 2024 to become Falvey’s chief lieutenant, and the length of Zoll’s contract isn’t known.  It is fair to guess that Zoll might’ve gotten an extension after becoming general manager, so he probably remains under team control through at least 2027 even after this sudden elevation to the head of the baseball ops department.

White Sox: Chris Getz has been the team’s GM since August 2023, and his tenure has included a record 121-loss season in 2024 and an improvement to “only” 102 losses in 2025.  Getz’s contract term wasn’t publicized at the time of his hiring so this is just a speculative entry in case his first deal was only a three-year pact.  There doesn’t appear to be any sense that ownership is displeased with the Pale Hose’s progress during the rebuild, so if Getz actually did sign a three-year deal, the Sox might look to extend him at some point this season.

Yankees: Brian Cashman is the longest-tenured front office boss in baseball, acting as the Yankees’ GM since February 1998.  That remarkable 28-year run has included 28 winning records and four World Series titles, though the team hasn’t won the Series since 2009.  Owner Hal Steinbrenner appears to trust Cashman as much as ever, so it seems very likely that Cashman’s tenure will stretch into a third decade barring an utter disaster of a 2026 season.  Cashman’s last deal covered the 2023-26 seasons, but since the Yankees’ aversion to extensions also extends to personnel as well as players, he might not sign his next contract until after his current deal actually expires.  It’s a sign of Cashman’s job security that he has waited until December to sign each of his last two contracts to remain with the club.

Blue Jays Notes: Helsley, Berrios, Management Extensions

By | at

The Blue Jays had “at least preliminary interest” in Ryan Helsley before the right-hander signed with the Orioles, The Athletic’s Mitch Bannon reports.  Toronto has shown past interest (both last offseason and at the trade deadline) in trading for Helsley when he was still a member of the Cardinals, so it tracks that the Jays would’ve again considered Helsley in free agency.  As it turned out, the Blue Jays will now have to deal with Helsley pitching for a division rival while Toronto’s own search for bullpen help continues.

Such pitchers as Helsley, Raisel Iglesias, Phil Maton, Edwin Diaz, and Pete Fairbanks have been linked to the Jays thus far, and the first three of those names have already come off the board.  Given how Ross Atkins’ front office is known for casting a wide berth in its free agent explorations, it’s probably safe to guess that the Jays have called about most or all of the top relievers on the market, ranging from set-up men to proven closers like Diaz.  Atkins said after the season that the team was open to the possibility of moving Jeff Hoffman into a set-up role, thus opening the door for Toronto to seek out another top saves candidate.

Of course, the Jays’ biggest winter moves to date have come in the rotation, not the bullpen.  Shane Bieber made the first move himself when he decided against opting out of the final year of his contract, and then the Jays made the priciest free agent signing in franchise history by inking Dylan Cease to a seven-year, $210MM contract.  Within less than a month after the end of the World Series, the Blue Jays rotation suddenly went from a question mark to all but settled.

The projected starting five looks like Cease, Bieber, Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage, and Jose Berrios, with Eric Lauer on hand as a swingman.  Adam Macko, Ricky Tiedemann and Bowden Francis are further depth options.  It’s a deeper group with a higher ceiling than the starting pitching mix that got the Jays to the World Series, though it’s possible another starter could still be added.

To make room in the rotation for a higher-caliber arm, the Jays could consider trading Berrios.  Bannon (in a piece for the Athletic) and the Toronto Star’s Gregor Chisholm each floated the concept, as Berrios ended up being the odd man out of the starting mix even before a bout of elbow inflammation kept him sidelined for the Blue Jays’ entire playoff run.  The Jays planned to transition Berrios to bullpen work prior to the postseason, and Berrios made all of one relief appearance before hitting the injured list.

Trading Berrios would be tricky for a few reasons — his eight-team no-trade clause, the three years and $66MM remaining on his contract, and the opt-out clause Berrios holds after the 2026 season.  There’s also the fact that Berrios was pretty unspectacular in 2025, posting a 4.17 ERA and a set of below-average Statcast numbers across 166 innings.  Any Berrios suitor would be counting on a bounce-back, naturally, but primarily might be interested in the veteran righty as a durable source of innings.

Berrios’ ability to eat innings makes him valuable to the Jays as well, considering how their pitchers added more mileage during an extended postseason run.  Moving Berrios would open up some payroll space for Toronto as well, though in limited fashion.  It’s pretty unlikely that the Jays would find a team willing to take the entirety of Berrios’ $66MM salary, plus spending capacity might not really be a concern for a Blue Jays club that already shown it is willing to stretch its payroll even further in search of a championship.

Turning to other topics from Chisholm’s mailbag piece, he believes the Blue Jays might’ve already finalized extensions for Atkins, team president Mark Shapiro, and manager John Schneider if the club hadn’t still been playing on November 1.  Regardless, it just seems like a matter of time before the trio are all officially retained.  Shapiro’s contract is already technically up, and Atkins and Schneider’s deals are up after the 2026 season (the Jays already exercised their club option on Schneider for 2026).

Ross Atkins Discusses Deadline Needs, Santander

By | at

The Blue Jays have finally put the lengthy Vladimir Guerrero Jr. extension saga behind them and are in the midst of a resurgent season with a 45-38 record that puts them in third place in a competitive AL East, just two games back of the Yankees for the division lead. In the Wild Card race, they’re in the second of three spots with a 2.5 game cushion over the Mariners. Despite all of that success in the standings, there’s plenty of cracks in their performance. That’s best represented by their (slightly) negative run differential of -3. That would suggest they should be around .500 rather than seven games over at this point, so there’s clearly work to be done on the roster.

Club GM Ross Atkins acknowledged as much to reporters (including Shi Davidi of Sportsnet) earlier today, when he said that the Blue Jays “can obviously be better” before adding that the front office will “focus on that” ahead of the trade deadline. As noted by Keegan Matheson of MLB.com, Atkins also added that the club has the financial support of ownership headed into the deadline and will have the ability to “flex that muscle” this summer. That suggests at least some willingness to take on salary in trade, which is notable for a club that’s already well into luxury tax territory this year. It was a somewhat roundabout way of confirming that his team figures to buy this trade season, but that didn’t stop Atkins from mentioning a pair of needs: pitching help and a right-handed bat.

That those would be needs on the team’s wish list is hardly surprising. The Blue Jays have a bottom-five rotation in the majors by both ERA and FIP this year, and that seems unlikely to change any time soon with Bowden Francis on the injured list and Max Scherzer still working through his nagging thumb issue. As noted by Matheson following Scherzer’s 71-pitch start earlier this evening, manager John Schneider told reporters after today’s game that Scherzer is battling through some “fatigue” in his thumb. That seems to be a day-to-day issue that could be managed without a trip to the shelf, but even if he can avoid the injured list Scherzer may be limited by his ailing thumb going forward.

That should make adding starting pitching a priority for the Jays. Potential front-of-the-rotation arms who could be available this summer include Sandy Alcantara and Zac Gallen, but both players are going through down seasons and aren’t exactly surefire bets to put up elite numbers. More stable veterans like Merrill Kelly and Mitch Keller could be attractive alternatives for a team like the Jays that’s in need of steady innings, but Atkins has suggested the club is more focused on adding depth to its pitching staff. Perhaps that means wading only into the shallow end of the starting market and focusing on relatively low-cost veteran rentals like Andrew Heaney and Michael Lorenzen.

The club’s search for a right-handed bat, then, could take priority. Third baseman Eugenio Suarez and DH Marcell Ozuna are perhaps the top righty hitters who could be available this summer, though neither Arizona nor Atlanta is guaranteed to sell. Even if they do, there’s some questions to be asked regarding either player’s fit in Toronto. George Springer is best served acting as a DH for the Jays, and Addison Barger has enjoyed something of a breakout season while splitting time between right field and third base for the club. If the Blue Jays are looking for a lower cost addition with more versatility, perhaps someone like Nationals infielder Amed Rosario or Red Sox infielder Romy Gonzalez could be of interest.

One other way to help the club hit against lefties would be a healthy and effective return from switch-hitting slugger Anthony Santander. Santander is a career 112 wRC+ hitter against lefties who posted an even stronger 121 figure against them last year, but he’s been on the injured list for a month now due to inflammation in his left shoulder. Atkins revealed today (as relayed by Davidi) that Santander actually suffered a subluxation (partial separation) in his left shoulder after crashing into the outfield wall in Anaheim in early May. Atkins notes that Santander initially tried to play through the injury, but he hit just .122/.265/.195 between the end of the club’s series against the Angels and his placement on the IL three weeks later. MLB.com adds that Atkins is “optimistic” that Santander could resume hitting soon and adds that he may be able to return to the Jays in late July.

Ross Atkins Will Return As Blue Jays’ General Manager In 2025

By | at

11:00am: Atkins revealed during his own media availability that bench coach and offensive coordinator Don Mattingly will no longer oversee the team’s offense; he’ll fill a “more traditional” bench coach role. Between the change in Mattingly’s role and the reported firing of hitting coach Guillermo Martinez — which Atkins confirmed — the team will conduct an external search to bring in new voice to oversee the team’s offense.

10:15am: Blue Jays team president Mark Shapiro is currently meeting with the media on the heels of a season he described as a “bitter disappointment” and announced that Ross Atkins will return as the team’s general manager for the 2025 season. “There won’t be a change with Ross,” said Shapiro. (Readers can watch the live press conference via Sportsnet.) The 2024 season was Atkins’ ninth season as Toronto’s general manager after spending 14 seasons as an integral part of Cleveland’s player development department. He signed a five-year contract extension covering the 2022-26 seasons back in April of 2021.

This past season was indeed a disaster for the Jays, who finished out the season at 74-88 — last place in the American League East. The Blue Jays made a spirited run at Shohei Ohtani in free agency last offseason but added primarily complementary pieces after he signed a ten-year deal with the Dodgers. The Toronto front office inked Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Yariel Rodriguez to multi-year contracts, also adding veterans Justin Turner and Kevin Kiermaier on one-year deals (Kiermaier’s second one-year pact with the Jays).

Depth proved to be an Achilles heel for the Jays as injuries mounted. Bo Bichette endured multiple IL stints and was limited to half a season’s worth of uncharacteristically feeble production at the plate. Alek Manoah underwent UCL surgery. Closer Jordan Romano pitched just 13 2/3 rough innings before undergoing arthroscopic elbow surgery. Top prospects Orelvis Martinez (PED suspension) and Ricky Tiedemann (Tommy John surgery) had lost seasons. Meanwhile, key veterans like Kiermaier, George Springer, Danny Jansen, Erik Swanson, Tim Mayza and others turned in performances that were not commensurate with their prior standards. The Jays turned to a host of in-house stopgaps but, particularly in the bullpen, were unable to piece together a serviceable performance.

The end result saw Jansen, Kiner-Falefa, Yusei Kikuchi, Yimi Garcia and Nate Pearson all traded away in deadline swaps for younger talent. The Jays were universally praised for a strong return on Kikuchi, an impending free agent. However, that’s at best a silver lining when considering the team entered the 2024 campaign looking to build on last year’s Wild Card berth into the playoffs and was viewed as a legitimate contender in a deep AL East division.

Heading into the 2025 season, it’ll be incumbent upon Shapiro and Atkins to engineer an immediate turnaround, lest the calls for changes in leadership grow even louder. Asked about the club’s payroll outlook for the ’25 campaign, Shapiro demurred, calling it “early” to ask such a question and suggesting that next month’s GM Meetings or even December’s Winter Meetings would be a time at which he could offer a clearer answer. For now, the club’s president merely suggested he didn’t anticipate player payroll rising or decreasing in a significant manner.

If that’s indeed the case, Atkins will have his work cut out for him. The Jays entered the 2024 season with a club-record $225MM Opening Day payroll. RosterResource currently pegs them for just shy of $125MM in 2025 commitments, not including an arbitration class projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to cost more than $61MM in total. Add in a slate of league-minimum players to round out the roster, and the Jays are at just over $194MM. There are some likely non-tenders in this offseason’s class of arbitration-eligible players, but the group is headlined by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and his projected $29.6MM salary, with notable paydays projected for Romano ($7.75MM), Daulton Varsho ($7.7MM) and Alejandro Kirk ($4.1MM) as well.

Asked multiple times about Guerrero’s future, Shapiro generally sidestepped the question. The slugger is entering his final season of club control before potentially becoming one of the most coveted free agents in recent memory. Manager John Schneider recently touted Guerrero as a generational talent. Asked today whether he agreed with that assessment, Shapiro questioned the definition of what constitutes a generational player and suggested that it’s tough to say right now, noting that Guerrero has the “potential” to become such a player but implying that such a label can’t be placed on him this early in his career.

Atkins spoke more directly on the matter of Guerrero’s future, suggesting that ownership will provide the support to make long-term commitments to both Guerrero and Bichette. That doesn’t guarantee an extension for either player will happen, of course, and Atkins noted that it’s “difficult” to construct a contract of such magnitude for even one player — let alone two players. Still, he voiced confidence that the Jays can support long-term deals for both and still have the resources needed to build a competitive roster around what would presumably be a pair of substantial contracts.

With regard to the forthcoming offseason, Atkins spoke generally about the need to be “more aggressive” with external additions to the roster than the Blue Jays were this past offseason, specifically in the bullpen. He also called adding a power bat “low-hanging fruit” but also noted that it’s not as simple as adding a pure slugger, citing a need to look at contact ability, on-base skills, and strengths against specific pitch types.

Asked whether the aforementioned Rodriguez and Bowden Francis have pitched well enough to solidify their spots in the rotation next season, Atkins praised both pitchers for the job they did in the season’s second half. The Jays will be in the market for both depth and “impact” starting pitching, per Atkins, but with Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios, Chris Bassitt, Rodriguez and Francis all in the fold, the GM said he feels fortunate to not feel a dire need to be in the market for a top free-agent starter.

The manner in which the Jays will pursue upgrades was left fairly open-ended. Both Atkins and Shapiro spoke favorably of the 13 young players Toronto acquired at this season’s trade deadline. Atkins acknowledged that while many of those players are viewed as potential near-term contributors, that influx of talent into the system also opens the door for potential trades involving some of those same prospects. The Blue Jays will explore both the free agent and trade markets as they look to revamp the roster, but it’s clear from both men’s comments today that the club does not plan to take any kind of step back and will endeavor to put a playoff contender on the field next year. That much has been reported at various points since the deadline, but today’s on-record commitment to such an approach from the team’s top two decision-makers is nevertheless notable.

Blue Jays President Mark Shapiro Discusses Team’s Future

By | at

In the midst of a season that has been an unmitigated disappointment for Blue Jays fans where the club has fallen to last place in the AL East and sold off pieces at the trade deadline, club president and CEO Mark Shapiro spoke to reporters including Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith and MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson about the club’s plans for 2025 and beyond.

Shapiro did not mince words while describing the organization’s failures this season and acknowledged that the team’s performance this year has represented the “biggest disconnect from expectations” he’s overseen during his tenure at the helm of the club, which began in August of 2015. Even as he called this season the “biggest disappointment” of his time in Toronto, however, Shapiro seemed disinclined to entertain parting ways with GM Ross Atkins. While he prefaced his comments by emphasizing that he does not comment on his employees’ job statuses while the season is ongoing, he also made a general case for continuity within the organization:

“I’m a huge believer in stability and continuity and those are competitive advantages in professional sports,” Shapiro said, as relayed by Matheson. “Reacting and changing don’t necessarily mean improvement. We need to be better. We have to be better. Stability, continuity and making adjustments are where I’m focused right now.”

Parting ways with Atkins, who has been the club’s GM in each of Shapiro’s nine seasons at the helm in Toronto, would certainly be considered a move away from that message of continuity and stability. The Jays have seen some success with the duo of Shapiro and Atkins making decisions, as they’ve made the playoffs in four of their nine seasons with the club. The team only advanced beyond the Wild Card round of the postseason once, however, and that came all the way back in 2016 during their first season with the club.

Since then, the Blue Jays rebuilt and constructed a young core centered around stars Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette before supplementing that group with veterans such as George Springer and Kevin Gausman. Solid as that strategy may have seemed on paper, however, the results on the field have left something to be desired for a club that has failed to win the competitive AL East even once while going 423-338 since the 2019 season where Guerrero made his MLB debut. Now, both Guerrero and Bichette are entering their final seasons of arbitration eligibility, and the possibility of losing one or both in free agency next winter looms as a distinct possibility.

Of course, it’s possible that Toronto could ink one or both of their stars to an extension before they leave town. Shapiro declined to comment on the possibility of extending specific players, though he did acknowledge that it’s “certainly easier” to build a championship-level roster with players of Guerrero’s and Bichette’s caliber in the fold “for extended periods of time.”

An extension for either player would surely require a considerable financial investment, however. Guerrero in particular has re-established himself as one of the league’s premiere offensive talents this year with a fantastic .317/.391/.537 slash line, 29 doubles, and 22 homers in 112 games this year. With the slugging superstar set to hit free agency following his age-26 season next year, he appears to be in good position to cash in on a significant payday in free agency.

On the other hand, Bichette has dealt with injuries and under-performance this year as he’s been limited to 79 games while slashing just .223/.276/.321. With that being said, he’ll be coming off his age-27 campaign when he’s expected to reach free agency next winter and that combination of youth, a strong offensive track record (he was a career 127 wRC+ hitter entering the 2024 campaign), and his ability to play a premium defensive position should allow the shortstop to do quite well in free agency as long as he rebounds to something closer to his previous career levels in 2025.

Fortunately, the club figures to have plenty of payroll flexibility this winter with which they can look to sign the pair long-term while retooling the rest of the roster. The club’s final payroll is expected to land (per RosterResource) just over $218MM, with their estimated payroll for luxury tax purposes sitting just over $241MM. That’s a little more than $4MM over the first threshold of the competitive balance tax, although it’s worth noting that publicly available payroll estimates are just that. For his part, Shapiro suggested (per Matheson) that the Jays currently expect to come in under that $237MM threshold though he did acknowledge that the situation is “fluid.”

Regardless of where the club ends up in terms of final luxury tax calculations this year, they have plenty of money coming off the books this winter. RosterResource indicates that they have just over $124MM committed for 2025, and while arbitration raises for players like Guerrero and Daulton Varsho figure to push that figure up significantly—the Jays’ 2024 arb class cost the club just over $44MM—even that would leave the club with a payroll in the $170MM range, giving them around $50MM to work with this winter if they match this year’s payroll in 2025. Shapiro was vague about Toronto’s exact plans in terms of payroll for next year, however. While he did say that he doesn’t expect there to be a “large-scale pullback” in payroll, he also notes that the difficult season has impacted the club on the business side of things.

Of course, long-term deals for Bichette and Guerrero wouldn’t necessarily impact 2025’s payroll given that Bichette is already under contract for $17.5MM next year while Guerrero is already expected to command a hefty salary in his final trip through arbitration. That being said, if the Jays have their sights set on retaining either or both of their homegrown duo long-term, it’s easy to see that impacting the club’s willingness to sign other top-of-the-market talents to long-term deals this winter. That could create a complicated puzzle for the club as they attempt to return to contention next year while balancing an apparent desire to retain Guerrero and Bichette long-term against the need for significant upgrades to the current roster.

Jays GM Ross Atkins: Trading Guerrero, Bichette “Doesn’t Make Any Sense For Us”

By | at

The Blue Jays have won five of their last six games, but still sit below the .500 mark with a 28-30 record, putting them a few percentage points behind the Rays for last place in the AL East.  As Darragh McDonald put it in a piece for MLBTR last week, some tough decisions will await the club heading into the trade deadline, and perhaps in the bigger picture entirely if the Jays don’t start heating up in a hurry.

Trading either of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. or Bo Bichette would be the most seismic moves Toronto could make if the team did decide to sell at the deadline.  The duo have been the faces of this era of Blue Jays baseball, but since both are scheduled to become free agents after the 2025 season, it isn’t yet clear if either player will truly be in Toronto for the long term — whether due to the Jays’ overall struggles, or the team’s own hesitation about making a big financial commitment to players with inconsistent performance.

In either case, Jays GM Ross Atkins pushed back against the idea of a Guerrero/Bichette trade in an interview today on SiriusXM’s MLB Network Radio, and reiterated that the Blue Jays “believe in their futures and hope that there is a way they can play here for a long time.”  In regards to possible extensions, Atkins said “of course we have dialogue with them” about such multi-year deals, “and that is something that will continue.”

This belief would seem to preclude the idea of Guerrero or Bichette being moved at the deadline.  Atkins said he was “disappointed” in a recent report from MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, which featured a quote from an unnamed AL executive who said Toronto wasn’t “opposed to” moving one of their two cornerstones, and have “talked to teams about it,” though “the asks were ridiculous.”

Atkins didn’t deny that some conversations had taken place with other front offices about Guerrero and Bichette, but in the sense that that the other teams were floating the idea of a trade, not the Jays themselves.  Trading Guerrero or Bichette “just doesn’t make any sense for us…There will be occasional times as you’re talking to other executives, that they’ll ask if we’ll consider, and we just say it’s not something that we have spent any time on.  Because they are so talented and such great teammates, they are attractive to other teams, so [others] will call.”

It is common practice for executives to check in on all sorts of players, simply out of due diligence just in case a rival team might be open to moving a player not known to be available, or if such a player could be available at a lower-than-expected price.  Technically, a trade that “doesn’t make any sense for” in Atkins and the Blue Jays in early June could start looking a lot more sensible if the team is still struggling in late July, and some early groundwork laid by an interested suitor could make them Atkins’ first call at the deadline if the Jays did change direction.

That said, Atkins expressed confidence that better things were ahead for his team, noting that the two players have been hitting better after posting rough numbers in April.  Guerrero in particular has been hot, hitting .366/.458/475 in 118 plate appearances and 26 games from May 1 through June 1, even if he had hit only two home runs in that span.  Bichette has also posted a .318/.356/.471 slash line in his last 90 PA.

Even with the two stars producing, however, the Blue Jays as a whole have continued to struggle to score runs.  George Springer has continued to struggle, Daulton Varsho has cooled off after a solid April, and the improvements from Guerrero and Bichette have been countered by Justin Turner’s bat suddenly going ice cold over the last month.  As a collective group, the Jays are also near the bottom of the league in hitting with runners in scoring position.

With offensive production at a premium, the Jays’ lineup today had the unexpected twist of Guerrero’s return to third base.  Guerrero made his MLB debut as a third baseman in 2019, but hasn’t played the position at all since, apart from two late-game cameos at the hot corner.

Atkins said that the decision to use Guerrero at third base was “something we’ve been working on collectively…and that’s another way for us to deploy a lineup that maybe creates a little more offense.”  Manager John Schneider said the same following today’s 5-4 win over the Pirates, telling Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith and other reporters that Guerrero could perhaps play one of every five or six games as a third baseman.  Turner or Daniel Vogelbach could then be used at first base or DH, or one of the Jays’ two catchers (Danny Jansen or Alejandro Kirk) could get a DH day while the other backstop is also in the lineup and behind the plate.

After Matt Chapman departed in free agency, Ernie Clement and offseason signee Isiah Kiner-Falefa have more or less split the playing time at third base this season, with Turner, Cavan Biggio, Addison Barger, and now Guerrero getting a few stray appearances.  Kiner-Falefa has also seen a good chunk of action at second base, and he has performed well in this virtual everyday role.  Not only is IKF delivering his customary strong defense, but he is also hitting .268/.315/.399 in 182 PA, for what would be a career-high 105 wRC+.

Mark Shapiro Discusses Upcoming Blue Jays Offseason

By | at

The Blue Jays made the playoffs for the third time in the past four years but each trip resulted in a hasty 2-0 playoff sweep. The club’s president/CEO Mark Shapiro spoke to the media today, with Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet among those to relay the information. While Shapiro touched on a number of topics, the key takeaways broadly involve continuity, with the club planning to retain Ross Atkins as general manager and keep the 2024 payroll at a similar level to 2023.

The 2023 Jays club was constructed differently than the 2022 version. Offensive outfielders Teoscar Hernández and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. were traded as glove-first players Kevin Kiermaier and Daulton Varsho were brought in. This had the expected result of the club faring better at run prevention but often struggling to score runs. In 2022, they finished fourth out of the 30 clubs in terms of plating runs but fell to a tie for 14th this year. But in terms of keeping runs off the board, they went from 13th to fifth. The overall effect was close to net neutral, as the club’s win tally fell from 92 to 89 but was still strong enough to get them back to the postseason, with the aforementioned quick exit.

It seems the club is satisfied enough with the regular season results to allow Atkins to continue in his role as general manager, a job he has held since the end of 2015. The club made the playoffs in 2016, advancing as far as the ALCS, before undergoing a quick rebuild with three losing seasons from 2017 to 2019. They started pushing their top prospects to the majors in that time, with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette the most highly touted.

That led to the club making the playoffs in the shortened 2020 season, narrowly missing in 2021 despite winning 91 games, before getting back to the playoffs in the two most recent years. The lack of postseason success is surely frustrating for some fans, but the regular season results have been quite strong for four straight years in arguably the toughest division in the league, making it fairly logical that the club isn’t leaning towards huge changes.

“Ross needs to get better, but he’s done a good job,” Shapiro said today, adding that offense and baserunning are areas for potential improvement, as well as “communication of transparency” with players and staff.

Adding offense this winter will be a challenge since the free agent class is heavy on pitching and generally lighter on impact bats, but it sounds like the Jays should have some resources to attack the problem. Roster Resource calculates their 2023 payroll at $214MM and their competitive balance tax number at $248MM, their first time paying the luxury tax. There are some notable contracts coming off the books, including those of Hyun Jin Ryu, Matt Chapman, Brandon Belt and Kiermaier, with Whit Merrifield likely to be departing as well since mutual options are rarely picked up by both sides.

RR estimates the club’s 2024 payroll at $115MM right now, though a hefty arbitration class could add about $60MM to that and put them in the $175MM range. If they are willing to spend at similar levels nest year as Shapiro suggested, that should give them roughly $40MM or so to spend, perhaps a bit more if they end up non-tendering a couple of players from their arb class.

That money gives them some the potential to pursue various avenues this winter but, as mentioned, the free agent class skews towards pitching. The Jays are in good position in that department, with Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt, José Berríos and Yusei Kikuchi all still under contract next year and the departure of Ryu opening one spot. The giant unknown right now is how much the Jays believe in Alek Manoah’s ability to bounce back next year, though they also have top prospect Ricky Tiedemann knocking on the door of the majors. The bullpen was also a strength this year and the club figures to retain Jordan Romano, Erik Swanson, Tim Mayza, Yimi García, Génesis Cabrera and others.

But more offense is certainly required and the club will have to replace the production of Chapman, Kiermaier, Belt and Merrifield just to break even in that regard. Belt had a wRC+ of 138 this year, though in a part-time/platoon role. The other three finished with a wRC+ between 110 and 93 but each brought some speed and/or defense to the table. The Jays could get some internal help from key prospects like Orelvis Martinez or Addison Barger but it’s fair to expect them to pursue external options as well.

Chapman is the top free agent third baseman and could be brought back to man the hot corner, but they could also pursue someone like Jeimer Candelario at a lower price point. Merrifield is one of the best second baseman available but the club could perhaps give Davis Schneider and Cavan Biggio some run there after some encouraging results this year.

Varsho could perhaps slide over to take Kiermaier’s spot in center, allowing the club to pursue a bat-first corner outfielder like Michael Conforto or Jorge Soler, or perhaps reuniting with an old friend like Gurriel or Hernández. Belt was in the designated hitter spot most days, so there’s any number of ways the club could go with that spot. Time will tell what specific targets the club has in mind but it seems they will have the ability to reload for what should be another fiercely competitive year in the American League East.

Ross Atkins Discusses Schneider, Coaching Staff, Offense

By | at

During the Blue Jays’ end-of-season press conference today, GM Ross Atkins spoke to reporters about a variety of topics, including the decision to pull right-hander Jose Berrios from what proved to be the club’s final game of the season after just three innings, the future of manager John Schneider and the coaching staff, as well as the club’s offense in 2022.

Regarding the decision to pull Berrios, Atkins emphasized that in-game decision making is a role that belongs exclusively to Schneider, saying (as relayed by MLB.com’s Julia Kreuz) that the front office did not “influence” Schneider’s game plan for the club’s pitching staff, “other than maybe that it was an organizational strategy that had been communicated to players.” Though Atkins emphasized that he did not play a role in the decision, he also expressed support for Schneider’s decision, noting that run prevention wasn’t the club’s issue during the series, where they mustered just one run on fifteen hits across the two games. “The strategy is one that, in the end, was effective if we only allowed two runs,” Atkins said.

While Atkins expressed support for Schneider and confirmed during the presser that he would return as the club’s manager in 2024, the future of Toronto’s coaching staff appears less certain as Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi notes that Atkins described discussions on the future of the club’s coaching staff as “ongoing,” though the specifics of any changes being considered were unclear.

In terms of offseason priorities, Atkins made clear that the club will look to improve its offense ahead of the 2024 campaign. Though the club’s 107 wRC+ was a solid figure that placed them eighth-best in the majors this season, it still represents a noteworthy decline from last year’s AL-best offense that posted a 118 wRC+. The club suffered a particularly tough season in terms of power, as Toronto’s ISO dipped from .168 in 2022 to .161 this year. While that dip may seem insignificant, it’s all the more concerning given the much stronger offensive environment around the sport in 2023, as made obvious by the Blue Jays going from eighth-best in the majors last year to just 18th this season, worst among playoff teams in the AL.

With sluggers Brandon Belt (19 homers, .236 ISO) and Matt Chapman (17 homers, .185 ISO) both scheduled to hit free agency in the coming weeks, even more pressure figures to be placed on franchise face Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to bounce back from 2023’s down season . That said, stronger performances from outfielders George Springer and Daulton Varsho as well as catcher Alejandro Kirk will also be necessary if the club’s offense is going to regain its top-of-the-league form from 2022. Of course, the team could also look to free agency in order to give their offense a facelift. Chapman and Belt will be joined by the likes of Mitch Garver, Rhys Hoskins, J.D. Martinez, and Joc Pederson as some of the better power bats available this winter.

GMs Ross Atkins, Mike Hazen Share Details On Blue Jays/Diamondbacks Trade

By | at

After months of speculation and interest from multiple teams, the Diamondbacks finally traded one of their left-handed hitting outfielders and the Blue Jays finally moved one of their catchers.  The two clubs joined forces on Friday’s three-player deal that saw outfielder Daulton Varsho head to Toronto in exchange for catcher Gabriel Moreno and outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr., in a trade that checks several boxes for both organizations.

Given how the D’Backs and Jays’ needs dovetailed so neatly, it isn’t a surprise that Toronto GM Ross Atkins said it was “from the very beginning of the off-season that dialogue began” between the two sides.

“It absolutely was a great fit with their surplus of outfielders, specifically left-handed hitting centre fielders and us having a surplus of catching and their need,” Atkins told reporters, including TSN’s Scott Mitchell. “Right from the start, we felt that was going to be a very important team and fit.”

The Blue Jays entered the winter with Moreno, Alejandro Kirk, and Danny Jansen all lined up as options behind the plate, with Moreno (one of the game’s best prospects) looking ready for an extended audition after making his MLB debut with 25 games played in 2022.  While Varsho has only 283 MLB games on his resume, he was actually the most experienced of Arizona’s outfield core — Corbin Carroll and Alek Thomas both made their big league debuts in 2022, and Jake McCarthy has appeared in 123 games for the Diamondbacks over the last two seasons.

Varsho’s longer track record seemingly made him the most sought-after player by interested teams, especially since the D’Backs made Carroll (another elite prospect) all but untouchable in trade negotiations.  With the Diamondbacks intent on adding “impact in this trade,” according to Arizona general manager Mike Hazen, that need couldn’t be met just by shopping Thomas or McCarthy.

“I think there was more certainty — and clearly, we have it, too — with Daulton’s performance to this point in his career, and probably rightly so, that teams were willing to pay more for that.  I don’t know that we were ever going to cross that divide otherwise,” Hazen told the Arizona Republic’s Nick Piecoro and other reporters.

Such teams as the Yankees, Reds, White Sox, Athletics, Astros, Brewers, and Marlins were also linked to the Diamondbacks’ outfielders on the rumor mill, as both contenders and rebuilding teams alike had interest in Arizona’s mix of controllable young players.  Likewise, Toronto got lots of calls about its catchers, but reports suggested that the Blue Jays first wanted to wait and see where some other catchers on the free agent and trade market landed.  Once the Braves acquired Sean Murphy from Oakland and once Willson Contreras (Cardinals) and Christian Vazquez (Twins) signed, the road was then a little more clear for the D’Backs and Jays to align on a trade.

Even then, Atkins said that finding a match was tricky since “all three catchers were of some interest to them and all of their outfielders were of some interest to us.  The component that made it challenging is that we were both trying to consolidate more talent on our Major League roster.  They are looking to take steps forward obviously and push the envelope on the winning front and that’s why Lourdes Gurriel came into the picture and made this deal work.”

Gurriel’s inclusion gives the D’Backs a veteran but not old (Gurriel is entering his age-29) outfield presence to join with Carroll, McCarthy, Thomas, and former AL Rookie Of The Year Kyle Lewis, who was acquired in another trade with the Mariners earlier this winter.  “I’m hoping the contact, the on-base, the ability to hit, the two-strike approach, is going to lend itself to making our lineup even tougher to face with the way some of those kids are going to be running around the bases the way they did last year,” Hazen said.  “I feel like a lot of that dynamic offense has a chance to be enhanced.”

The trade with the Jays and Mariners represent Arizona’s biggest moves of the winter, as the D’Backs have otherwise mostly focused on their bullpen with relatively lower-tier moves like the signings of Miguel Castro and Scott McGough.  Friday also saw the D’Backs complete another trade, bringing Diego Castillo from the Pirates to add more infield depth to the mix.

With Arizona still trying to finds its footing after three straight losing seasons, the Blue Jays are in a different position as a club intending to compete for a World Series in 2023.  After a disappointing collapse against Seattle in the Wild Card Series, the Jays have been aggressive in signing right-hander Chris Bassitt to a three-year, $63MM deal, signing Kevin Kiermaier to a one-year contract, and trading Teoscar Hernandez to the Mariners for Erik Swanson and prospect Adam Macko.

Now that the Jays finally pulled the trigger on a catcher trade, Atkins said “I think our heavy lifting is done” for the rest of the offseason, though the front office is “certainly not ruling anything out and would expect some incremental improvements.”  Varsho and Kiermaier are both left-handed hitters, and thus the Blue Jays will “look to improve our team from the subtraction of Gurriel, but in our view it doesn’t need to be right-handed or left-handed, it’s more about the impact and the fit beyond that.”

GM Ross Atkins On Blue Jays’ Winter Goals

By | at

The Blue Jays would love to add an infielder to complement their current mix of young gloves in the dirt, but it’s not a necessity, says GM Ross Atkins, per Scott Mitchell of TSN. That includes, of course, a potential reunion with Marcus Semien, though having a versatile defensive player like Cavan Biggio on the roster gives Atkins some flexibility. Filling Semien’s spot at the keystone is the natural place to add an infielder, but Biggio could slide to second, opening the hot corner for a bigger fish like Matt Chapman of the A’s, whom Mitchell speculates could be a target.

Of course, injuries limited the 26-year-old Biggio to just 79 games last season and a .224/.322/.356 batting line, so an argument could be made to look for an upgrade at third base regardless of what happens at second. Wherever they make additions, for the second consecutive winter, the Blue Jays are no doubt buyers in this free agent market. If not another infielder, Toronto will surely explore rotation and bullpen upgrades, notes Mitchell.

Specifically, Atkins did not rule out getting a more established closer that might bump Jordan Romano from the role that he stepped into last season. Romano notched 23 games for the Jays last season, but he also picked up a handful of holds while only recording a single blown save. Steady as he was, there is no such thing as too many high leverage arms.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top