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Blue Jays Interested In Bo Bichette Reunion, Rotation Upgrades

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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

13 Players Receive Qualifying Offers

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Thirteen players have received a qualifying offer this year, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. The list is as follows:

This year’s QO is valued at $22.025MM. All 13 players will have until Nov. 18 to decide whether to accept that one-year offer or decline and become a free agent. They can spend that time gauging the open market to determine interest in their services. If a player accepts the QO, he’ll be treated as a free agent signing and thus will be ineligible to be traded without his consent until June 15 of next year. If he declines, any team that signs him will be subject to draft and/or international bonus forfeitures, depending on its revenue-sharing and luxury tax status.

The bulk of the list was generally expected. Every recipient other than Torres and Imanaga was pegged as likely or a no-doubter to receive the QO on MLBTR’s annual lists of qualifying offer previews for position players and for pitchers. Torres was viewed as something of a long shot, at least on the MLBTR staff. He’s coming off a nice season in Detroit but struggled through a poor finish — perhaps in part due to injury — and wasn’t hit with a QO last offseason when coming off a comparable year at the plate in the Bronx.

Imanaga was listed as a borderline call on our preview as well. The Cubs declined a three-year, $57.75MM option on Imanaga last week. He subsequently declined a $15.25MM player option (which came with an additional player option at $15.25MM) — effectively opting out of a remaining two years and $30.5MM. The Cubs are banking on Imanaga also turning away one year at just over $22MM after turning down that remaining $30.5MM in guaranteed money.

The qualifying offer is determined each year by taking the average of the game’s 125 highest-paid players. We’ve already covered the penalties that each team would face for signing a qualified free agent, as well as the compensation each club would get for losing a qualified free agent to another team.

Among the notable free agents to not receive a qualifying offer are Lucas Giolito, Robert Suarez, Devin Williams and Jorge Polanco. Giolito might have received one had it not been for a late elbow issue that ended his season. Suarez has been excellent and just opted out of the remaining two years and $16MM on his contract, but he’ll be 35 next year. The Padres have been reducing payroll in recent seasons and likely didn’t want to risk Suarez locking in that weighty one-year sum. Williams would have received a QO with a typical season, but he struggled throughout much of the season’s first four months before a dominant finish. Polanco enjoyed a terrific rebound campaign but is 32 years old and was limited to DH work for much of the season due to ongoing injury issues.

The qualifying offer grants each of these free agents the chance at a notable one-year payday, though the majority of them will reject without much thought. Players like Tucker, Bichette, Schwarber, Valdez, Cease, Suarez and Diaz are likely to see comparable or larger (much larger, in Tucker’s case) salaries on multi-year deals in free agency. Even players like Grisham, who probably won’t land a $22MM annual value over multiple years, are still likely to reject. Major league free agents typically — though not always — prioritize long-term earning over short-term, higher-AAV pacts. A three- or four-year deal worth $14-16MM per year, for instance, is typically viewed as preferable to accepting one year at a higher rate.

There’s risk in declining the offer, of course. Teams are more reluctant to sign players who’ll cost them valuable draft picks and/or notable portions of their hard-capped bonus pool for international amateurs. Every offseason, there are a handful of free agents whose markets are weighed down by the burden of draft pick compensation. That typically applies to the “lower end” of the QO recipients. For top stars like Tucker, Bichette, etc. — draft/international forfeitures are simply considered the cost of doing business and don’t tend to have much (if any) impact on the player’s earning power.

Blue Jays Discussing Extension With Manager John Schneider

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The Blue Jays have had conversations with manager John Schneider about a contract extension, GM Ross Atkins confirmed at today’s end-of-season press conference (relayed by Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet). It seems likely that’ll get done at some point this offseason. For the moment, Atkins confirmed that the Jays have officially exercised their 2026 option on Schneider’s contract.

Schneider took over the position on an interim basis when Charlie Montoyo was fired halfway through the 2022 season. The Jays removed the interim tag and signed him to a three-year contract with an option over the offseason. The guaranteed portion of the deal expired at the end of this past season. The Jays weren’t going to make a managerial change on the heels of an American League title.

It was a formality that they’d exercise the option and entirely expected they’d open talks on a multi-year deal. Most teams prefer not to have their managers or top front office personnel working on expiring contracts. That’s especially true when the manager led the team tantalizingly close to a championship. The Jays pushed the Dodgers to the brink in Game 7 of the Fall Classic. They were a blown save and/or one timely hit away from their first title in more than 30 years.

As is the case with any manager, Schneider has made some decisions that came under fire with the fanbase. His handling of the pitching staff during the 2023 Wild Card series loss to the Twins was heavily criticized. One can quibble with how aggressively he pinch ran for many of his best hitters in Game 3 of this year’s World Series, which left the Jays with a mostly punchless lineup in a game that went 18 innings.

Still, the Jays have won just over 54% of their regular season games over three-plus years with Schneider at the helm. He has led the team to two postseason berths, an AL championship, and fostered what appears to be a close-knit clubhouse. That came into play when Shane Bieber exercised a below-market player option to give things another go in Toronto. The Jays’ offseason focus will be on getting a long-term deal done with Bo Bichette and further addressing the pitching staff.

Blue Jays Announce Several Roster Moves

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The Blue Jays announced a series of roster moves this morning. Right-handers Nick Sandlin, Bowden Francis, Yimi Garcia, and Angel Bastardo were all activated from the 60-day injured list. Meanwhile, the Jays outrighted right-handers Dillon Tate, Robinson Pina, and Ryan Burr off their 40-man roster. Tate and Burr both elected free agency, while Pina will qualify for minor league free agency this evening as a player with seven years of experience. Additionally, Toronto has selected the contract of catcher Brandon Valenzuela.

Pina, 27 later this month, made his big league debut earlier this year as a member of the Marlins. His time in Miami lasted just one appearance, as he surrendered a solo home run but allowed no other traffic in his lone inning of work before being designated for assignment. Pina was traded to the Blue Jays just a couple of days later in exchange for minor league hurler Colby Martin, but once again made only one appearance for Toronto in 2025 with a 6.75 ERA in 1 1/3 innings of work. Despite his struggles in the majors in an extremely small sample, Pina did pitch to a respectable 3.58 ERA in 65 1/3 innings of work at Triple-A between his two organizations this year.

Tate, 31, spent most of the year at the Triple-A level. In 39.1 innings there, he pitched to a 2.06 ERA while getting ground balls at a 48.1% rate. He did walk 12.0% of opposing hitters though, and his 4.55 xFIP in the minors suggests that he benefited from good luck. Tate only made it into six big-league games for the Blue Jays in 2025, allowing three earned runs in 6 1/3 innings while striking out eight. His overall body of work is solid and includes a 3.05 ERA with just a 5.5% walk rate as recently as 2022 with the Orioles. He’ll get looks from other organizations as a depth piece.

Burr, 31, underwent season-ending surgery in July to repair a capsule injury in his right shoulder and was therefore seen as a non-tender candidate. He also missed time earlier in the year with shoulder inflammation, which led to him making just two appearances at the big-league level. In 32 2/3 innings for the Blue Jays in 2024, Burr had a middling 4.13 ERA but struck out 33.6% of hitters while walking 8.6% and posting strong peripherals. He’ll find opportunities elsewhere if and when he is recovered from his surgery.

Turning now to the IL activations, these are largely procedural moves. Teams place players on the 60-day IL during the regular season to free up a spot on the 40-man roster. However, they must be added back during the offseason. Sandlin had been out with right elbow inflammation since early July, while Francis went down in June with a right shoulder impingement. Garcia underwent season-ending elbow surgery in August and is expected to be ready for spring training. Bastardo missed the year while recovering from Tommy John surgery. All four are controlled through at least 2026.

As for Valenzuela, the 25-year-old catcher was rated as a top-30 prospect for the Padres in 2024 before being traded to Toronto this past July. He batted a roughly average .229/.313/.387 in 87 games at Double-A but struggled with Toronto’s Triple-A team, with just a 76 wRC+ and a 30.5% strikeout rate in 105 plate appearances. Toronto, of course, has Alejandro Kirk entrenched as their starting catcher, so Valenzuela is likely a depth option behind him and Tyler Heineman.

Valenzuela would have been eligible for minor league free agency as a seven-year minor leaguer if he weren’t added to the 40-man roster. Toronto evidently didn’t want to let him get away for nothing. He still has a full slate of minor league options and can spend the next few seasons in Triple-A, but he’s the clear #3 catcher on the depth chart at the moment.

Don Mattingly Will Not Return As Blue Jays’ Bench Coach In 2026

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10:37am: The Phillies have discussed the possibility of hiring Mattingly to serve as bench coach under manager Rob Thomson, according to a report from Jim Salisbury of PHLY Sports.

10:19am: Don Mattingly is leaving the Blue Jays following their heartbreaking loss to the Dodgers in Game 7 of the World Series last week. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that Mattingly won’t return to the Jays organization in 2026 after serving as their bench coach for the past three seasons. Notably, Heyman adds that Mattingly is not leaving the Jays with the intention of retiring from baseball and would be open to “the right job” if the opportunity presents itself.

That could include a managerial gig, which would be the third of Mattingly’s career. The 2020 NL Manager of the Year has 11 years of managerial experience between his time with the Dodgers and Marlins. He’s made the postseason four times as a manager and has a career 889-950 record in the dugout. The Padres have yet to settle on their next manager after Mike Shildt stepped down last month, and the Rockies have left interim manager Warren Schaeffer’s fate undecided while they focus on a search for the next leader of their front office.

That leaves two plausible places where Mattingly could land as a skipper this winter, though it’s unclear if either team actually has interest in him for the role. San Diego has reportedly already settled on a group of finalists and could be nearing a decision, while the Rockies’ preferences in the dugout won’t be known until there’s a new head of baseball operations who can be tasked with making that decision.

Even as Heyman specifically notes Mattingly would have interest in managing, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the only job that would hold appeal to the longtime veteran of the game. In addition to his lengthy career as a coach, Mattingly also has 14 years in the majors (including an MVP award in 1985) with the Yankees as a player. Mattingly’s resume and decades of baseball experience should make him someone who would be a valuable addition to almost any club in one role or another.

While Mattingly is currently seeking his next job in the game, this winter could prove to be a busy one for him. The 64-year-old is one of eight players who is on this year’s Hall of Fame Era Committee ballot. If at least 12 out of 16 panelists give Mattingly the nod, he’ll enter Cooperstown next summer. The results of that vote will be announced just over a month from now on December 7.

As for the Blue Jays, manager John Schneider will need to find a new bench coach for the 2026 season. That’s assuming that Schneider himself is returning to the Jays next year. He, like Mattingly, is on an expiring contract this winter. There’s little reason to expect that Schneider wouldn’t return to the Jays after their phenomenal 2025 campaign, however. Clarity on the specifics of the Jays’ coaching staff and any other changes that will be made aside from Mattingly’s departure could come later today, as team president Mark Shapiro and GM Ross Atkins are set to make themselves available to the media for an end-of-season presser later today.

MLBTR Podcast: Offseason Preview Megapod: Top Trade Candidates

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams and Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Photo courtesy of Jeff Curry, Imagn Images

Shane Bieber To Exercise Player Option

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Shane Bieber has surprisingly exercised his $16MM option to remain with the Blue Jays, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. He’s passing on a $4MM buyout, so he’ll pick up an extra $12MM to remain in Toronto for a second season.

The decision removes one of the better starting pitchers from the free agent market. Bieber was midway through a Tommy John rehab when he hit free agency for the first time in his career last offseason. He re-signed with the Guardians, then the only organization he’d known, on a two-year deal that allowed him to opt out after season one. Bieber was on a minor league rehab assignment when the trade deadline rolled around. Cleveland, then believing they were out of contention, traded him to Toronto for pitching prospect Khal Stephen.

The Blue Jays made one of the more fascinating risk-reward decisions of the deadline. They surrendered a legitimate prospect for a potential rental starter who hadn’t pitched in an MLB game in more than 14 months. It worked out well, as Bieber returned as the #3 caliber starter he had been with the Guards in 2023. He made seven regular season starts and turned in a 3.57 earned run average across 40 1/3 innings. Bieber fanned an above-average 23.3% of opposing hitters against an excellent 4.4% walk rate. He looked fully healthy and averaged 92.6 MPH on his four-seam fastball — his best velocity since 2021.

Bieber added another 18 2/3 frames over five postseason appearances. He pitched pretty well overall, allowing nine runs (eight earned) with 18 punchouts against six free passes. Bieber did surrender three playoff home runs, including the World Series-deciding Will Smith longball in extra innings of Game 7. It ended in disappointment, but Bieber was generally effective for the Jays both in the regular season and October.

That seemingly positioned him well for a return free agent trip this winter. Bieber turns 31 in May. While he’s unlikely to recapture the ace form that earned him the AL Cy Young award in the shortened 2020 season, he’d certainly have gotten plenty of interest as a mid-rotation starter who is still young for a free agent. A nine-figure deal didn’t seem entirely out of the question. At the very least, he looked set for a higher average annual value on a two- or three-year guarantee that allowed him to opt out after the first season.

The $12MM difference between the option price and the buyout is well below market value for a pitcher of Bieber’s caliber even if he were determined to take a one-year deal. As shown on MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, that’s less than Walker Buehler, Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Alex Cobb, Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano pulled on free agent contracts last winter. It’s a few million dollars above the guarantees signed by Michael Soroka ($9MM) and Michael Lorenzen ($7MM).

Bieber will nevertheless lock that in and try to help the Jays get over the top in 2026 after their heartbreaking near miss. Only his camp knows the specific reasoning behind that decision. Speculatively speaking, it’s possible he’s hopeful of hammering out a longer-term deal with the Jays. He’s clearly comfortable with the city and the organization. However, there hasn’t been any reporting to suggest the sides have opened extension talks, much less made significant progress. That’s not to say it’s impossible that such conversations have taken place behind the scenes, but the option decision is a huge development for the team.

Toronto had been facing the free agent departures of Bieber, Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt in the rotation. They’re balancing their starting pitching needs against their desire to retain Bo Bichette, who could command a $200MM+ contract that makes him the second highest-paid player in the free agent class. Bieber voluntarily locking in a below-market salary to rejoin Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage and José Berríos is a major boost. They’ll still look to add at least one more starter, but this could give the Jays more flexibility to make a competitive offer to Bichette and/or upgrade the late innings.

Image courtesy of John Sokolowski, Imagn Images.

Offseason Outlook: Toronto Blue Jays

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After falling painfully short in the World Series, the Blue Jays now face the challenge of keeping their core roster together, starting with the possible departure of cornerstone Bo Bichette.

Guaranteed Contracts

  • Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 1B: $480MM through 2039
  • Andres Gimenez, 2B/SS: $86.5MM through 2029 (includes $2.5MM buyout of $23MM club option for 2030)
  • Jose Berrios, SP: $66MM through 2028 (Berrios can opt out of contract after the 2026 season)
  • Anthony Santander, OF/DH: $65.5MM through 2029 (includes $5MM buyout of $15MM club option for 2030; Santander has opt-out after 2027 season that Jays can override by increasing salary and exercising 2030 option)
  • Alejandro Kirk, C: $52MM through 2030
  • Kevin Gausman, SP: $23MM through 2026
  • George Springer, OF/DH: $22.5MM through 2026
  • Jeff Hoffman, RP: $22MM through 2027
  • Yariel Rodriguez, RP: $17MM through 2028 (includes $6MM player option for 2028; Blue Jays have $10MM club option if Rodriguez declines)
  • Myles Straw, OF: $8.75MM through 2026 (includes $1.75MM buyout of $8MM club option for 2027; Blue Jays also have $8.5MM club option for 2028 with $500K buyout; Guardians paying $2.75MM to Jays as condition of January 2025 trade)
  • Yimi Garcia, RP: $7.5MM through 2026

Option Decisions

  • Shane Bieber, SP: $16MM player option for 2026 ($4MM buyout)

2026 financial commitments (assuming Bieber declines player option): $164.75MM
Total future commitments (assuming Bieber declines player option): $850.75MM

Arbitration-Eligible Players (service time in parentheses; projections from MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)

Free Agents

As devastating as Game 7 was for the Blue Jays and their fans, the rest of the 2025 season was an unqualified success.  The club won its first AL East title in 10 years and its first AL pennant since 1993, in a stunning turn-around for a club that finished in last place in the AL East just a season ago (and held a modest 26-28 record through the first two months of 2025).

Just about every single Toronto hitter improved on their 2024 numbers, turning the Jays into a dangerous all-around offense fueled by putting the ball in play, high-volume and quality contact, and timely (if not always consistent) power.  Bichette was a key element of this formula.  After struggling with injuries and inconsistent play since August 2023, he returned to his old self in 2025 by hitting .311/.357/.483 with 18 home runs over 628 plate appearances.  Those numbers likely would've been even stronger if Bichette wasn't sidelined by a left PCL sprain in early September, which kept him out of action until the World Series.  Even while clearly limited in terms of running or normal flexibility, Bichette still hit .348/.444/.478 over 27 PA during the Fall Classic.

Bichette has stated that he won't need a knee surgery this winter, and while we could perhaps wait a few days to make sure Bichette wasn't just trying to tough it out for the postseason, it would seem like his PCL sprain shouldn't leave him any worse for wear for Opening Day 2026.  That means the Blue Jays and other suitors will probably feel comfortable in bidding normally on the All-Star now that he's hitting the open market.

There has been speculation for years about how the Jays would approach the free agencies of Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. during the 2025-26 offseason, and the Guerrero debate was firmly answered last April when the two sides agreed to a 14-year, $500MM extension.  With such a big commitment made to Guerrero, of course, that only raised fresh questions about Bichette's future.  Especially when coming off a down year in 2024 and with the Jays acquiring Andres Gimenez last winter, it seemed like Toronto was preparing itself to let Bichette walk.

The team's magical run in 2025 may have changed the equation.  Ownership and the front office may have some natural inclination to try and run it back (as much as possible) with a roster that came two outs away from a championship.  The Rogers Communications ownership group is very wealthy and has been comfortable in taking the Blue Jays' payroll into luxury tax territory in both 2023 and 2025, including the team's record high payroll and tax number this season.  (Cot's Baseball Contracts estimates payroll at $254MM and the tax number at roughly $278.8MM, while RosterResource estimates a $257.8MM payroll and a $282.7MM tax number that would put the Jays over the third penalty tier.)

Would the Blue Jays be willing to pay something in the $150MM-$200MM range on Bichette and add yet another long-term deal to a ledger that already has over $850MM in future commitments?  Guerrero alone takes up a big chunk of that $850MM-plus figure, but the Blue Jays also have to factor in other potential expenditures.  As we'll explore later in the outlook, Toronto will again need to make some investments in its rotation, and Kevin Gausman is a free agent next winter.  Extending George Springer didn't seem like a consideration a year ago, but after Springer's big comeback season, the Jays must now at least be thinking about retaining the veteran when his current deal is up next winter.

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Ryan Borucki, Michael Stefanic Elect Free Agency

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Left-hander Ryan Borucki and infielder Michael Stefanic have both elected free agency, as per the MILB.com transactions wire.  Both players were outrighted off the Blue Jays’ 40-man roster during the regular season and chose to accept the outright assignments rather than elect free agency at the time, but it was expected that they would opt into minor league free agency at some point after season’s end.

Borucki began his career in Toronto’s organization and spent parts of his first five MLB seasons (2018-22) with the Jays before he was traded to the Mariners in June 2022.  After a brief stint in the Cubs’ farm system, the southpaw’s next big league action came with the Pirates from 2023-25 until he was designated for assignment and released in August.  The Jays soon picked him up on a minor league contract and he got a brief run on their active roster in September, appearing in four games before being DFA’ed and outrighted.

Over 256 1/3 innings in the Show, Borucki has a career 4.28 ERA, 19.7% strikeout rate, 8.9% walk rate, and 48.3% grounder rate.  Those numbers included a 4.63 ERA in 35 combined innings with the Pirates and Blue Jays in 2025.  Borucki is the type of specialist reliever whose career was heavily impacted when MLB instituted the three-batter rule for relievers in 2020, as Borucki has struggled badly against right handed-hitting batters but dominant against left-handed bats.

Between those splits, his low strikeout totals, and the natural variance involved with being a grounder specialist, Borucki will very likely again have to settle for a minor league contract as he enters his age-32 season.  He is bound to land somewhere since so many teams need bullpen depth and/or left-handed relief help, but Borucki may be facing another round of DFA and outrights unless he can both earn a look in a big league bullpen and start producing consistent results.

Stefanic began his pro career as an undrafted free agent with the Angels in 2018, and broke into the majors by appearing in 90 games with Los Angeles over the 2022-24 seasons.  He inked a minors deal with Toronto last winter and had his contract selected for a nine-game cup of coffee in May when the Jays were in need of infield depth.  Stefanic produced a .462 OPS over 25 plate appearances in 2025, and he has hit .227/.314/.267 in 289 career PA in the Show.

This uninspiring slash line is a far cry from the impressive numbers Stefanic has posted in Triple-A, as he has batted .332/.427/.454 over 1884 PA with the Blue Jays’ and Angels’ top affiliates.  Between these stats and his ability to play all over the infield, Stefanic should catch on somewhere on another minors contract, but he is out of minor league options.

Chris Bassitt Interested In Return To Blue Jays In 2026

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After last night’s heartbreaking Game 7 loss to the Dodgers, the Blue Jays have been thrust into the offseason on a far more somber note than they were hoping when they headed back to Toronto one win away from a World Series championship. For several of the team’s players, however, yesterday also marked their last official day as a member of the organization before they became free agents earlier today. One such player is right-hander Chris Bassitt, but the veteran told reporters (including MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson) that he hopes he’ll have another chance to play with this group of Blue Jays.

There’s certainly room in the Toronto rotation mix for Bassitt to return. Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage, and Jose Berrios all figure to enter Spring Training with locked-in rotation jobs next spring, but that still leaves two spots open for reunions or external additions. Internal options exist to fill those holes. Eric Lauer and Bowden Francis both started plenty of games for the Jays this year, while the farm system boasts youngsters like Adam Macko and even rehabbing top prospect Ricky Tiedemann, both of whom could impact the big league club next year in theory.

The Jays will likely want more certainty than those internal options can provide for their rotation next year, however, and Bassitt can offer that. He’s made at least 30 starts in four consecutive seasons now, pitching to a 3.77 ERA with a 4.01 FIP in that time. Three of those seasons came with Toronto as part of a three-year, $63MM deal signed prior to the 2023 season. It was more of the same from Bassitt this past year, as he offered the Blue Jays 170 1/3 innings of work while posting a 3.96 ERA and 4.01 FIP. He didn’t slow down much in the second half, either, despite an injury that limited him in late September and cost him spots on the Jays’ Wild Card and ALDS rosters. After posting a 3.69 ERA after the All-Star break in the regular season, he went on to move to the bullpen for the ALCS and became one of the club’s most important arms throughout the final stages of the playoffs with a 1.04 ERA, 1.52 FIP, and 33.3% strikeout rate across seven appearances.

While Bassitt is certainly a useful pitcher even as he looks ahead to his age-37 season, it’s fair to wonder if the Jays might have their sights set higher in free agency this winter. There’s a plethora of quality arms available this winter ranging from Framber Valdez, Ranger Suarez, and Dylan Cease at the top of the market to other intriguing options like Zac Gallen, Michael King, and Tatsuya Imai. Meanwhile, hurlers like MacKenzie Gore, Joe Ryan, and Sandy Alcantara could be available on the trade market. For a Blue Jays team that saw how valuable a true ace can be after facing Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the playoffs, it would be understandable if a front-of-the-rotation arm was at the top of their wish list this winter.

That’s not a profile Bassitt can fill, and trade deadline acquisition Shane Bieber could be much more reasonably expected to provide that sort of production if the Jays want to bring back a newly-minted free agent from the 2025 team. With that said, it’s possible the Jays will aim lower as they fill out their rotation or pursue multiple starters. In those cases, a reunion with Bassitt would make much more sense. If Bassitt doesn’t end up returning to Toronto, there’s a number of teams that figure to be on the lookout for pitching help this winter, and he should have little trouble securing a rotation job somewhere even if his age seems likely to limit him to one-year offers.

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