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Blue Jays’ Adam Macko Undergoes Meniscus Surgery

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Feb. 20: Macko underwent arthroscopic knee surgery this morning, manager John Schneider announced to the Jays’ beat (via Shi Davidi of SportsNet). The team is not yet putting forth a formal timetable on his expected recovery.

Feb. 17: Blue Jays pitching prospect Adam Macko is likely headed for surgery to repair a meniscus tear in his left knee, manager John Schneider told reporters (including Hazel Mae). The 24-year-old southpaw came out of a recent bullpen session with knee discomfort.

Macko has been on Toronto’s 40-man roster for the past year. The Jays acquired the former seventh-round pick from the Mariners in the Teoscar Hernández trade. Toronto selected his contract last offseason so as not to lose him in the Rule 5 draft. He spent most of the ’24 season at Double-A New Hampshire. Macko posted a 4.87 ERA across 87 1/3 innings. His 26.4% strikeout rate and tolerable 8.8% walk percentage were more impressive than the run prevention mark.

The Jays promoted Macko to Triple-A at the end of last season. He only pitched three innings there and is likely headed back to begin this season. He should be in the mix for a major league call midseason, though this could set his promotion timetable back. A meniscus repair is unlikely to cost him the whole year but would certainly call for a season-opening injured list stint.

Toronto could eventually place Macko on the 60-day injured list if they want to open a spot on the 40-man roster. Doing so would start his service clock and require paying him a prorated $760K major league minimum salary for however long he was on the IL.

MLBTR Podcast: Alex Bregman, The Padres Add Players, And No Extension For Vlad Jr.

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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 Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • The Twins had a quiet offseason but projection systems have them winning the division. Are they the best team in the AL Central? (38:25)
  • Why did the Giants have a quiet offseason apart from Willy Adames and Justin Verlander? Was it ownership reluctance or Buster Posey’s conservative stance? (42:25)

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!

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Expects To Reach Free Agency Without Extension

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Blue Jays position players reported to camp this morning for the club’s first full-squad workout of the spring, and superstar first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. set a deadline of today for extension talks with the club ahead of his final season under club control before free agency. That deadline has come and gone, and Guerrero told reporters (including Keegan Matheson of MLB.com) this morning that the sides did not reach a deal. ESPN’s Jeff Passan adds that Guerrero does not intend to negotiate during the season and now expects to reach free agency, while Hazel Mae relays (Video Link) that Guerrero noted he “would not close the door” on signing if Toronto brass presented him with a “realistic” offer.

Guerrero, still just 25 until March 16, is one of the most accomplished young players in the league and is likely to enter free agency as the most sought-after player available. A four-time All-Star with a Gold Glove award at first base and two Silver Slugger awards under his belt, Guerrero is a .288/.363/.500 (137 wRC+) hitter for his career. That type of offensive talent will always be enticing to clubs in free agency, but what makes Guerrero stand out as a top-of-the-class hitter is his combination of youth and ceiling.

Few hitters in the game can accomplish what Guerrero has in his peak seasons; his 2021 campaign was second only to Shohei Ohtani in AL MVP voting as he hit .311/.401/.601 (166 wRC+). His 48 home runs were tied with Salvador Perez for the most in the majors that year, and his .401 on-base percentage led the American League while trailing only Juan Soto and Bryce Harper in the NL. Steps back offensively in 2022 and ’23 raised questions regarding whether that otherworldly performance might be a fluke, but Guerrero squashed those concerns by more or less repeating his 2021 heroics this past season. Guerrero slashed a sensational .323/.396/.544 (165 wRC+) in 159 games for the Jays this past year, hitting “just” 30 homers in the process but making up for that with a career-best 44 doubles and a 13.8% strikeout rate that was the lowest of his career. Just nine qualified MLB hitters struck out less often than Guerrero in 2024, and among that group only Jose Ramirez and his 39-homer campaign were able to top Guerrero’s .221 isolated slugging percentage.

Reaching free agency on the heels of his age-26 season should make Guerrero all the more attractive in free agency come November. Guerrero will hit the open market just one year older than Juan Soto was during his own free agency this past winter, and that young age was crucial for Soto in securing his record-shattering deal that figures to pay him $765MM over the next 15 years and could max out at more than $800MM. That massive payday came in spite of Soto being a limited defender in the outfield corners who does not provide substantial value on the basepaths. While Soto is arguably in a class all his own as a hitter, with his career 158 wRC+ nearly matching Guerrero’s peak seasons, his record payday is still great news for the Jays’ slugger as there’s arguably no better comparison for Soto in the league than Guerrero at his peak.

Given that, it’s easy to imagine the bidding for Guerrero’s services surpassing half of a billion dollars. That seems to be right around where Guerrero set the bar in extension talks with Toronto, as reports regarding his asking price have suggested he was looking for north of $450MM. As Passan notes, Guerrero answered with a simple “No” when asked if the Blue Jays had put forth an offer that was close to his price point, and given Guerrero said earlier this winter that Toronto’s offer to him prior to Soto’s deal with the Mets sat at $340MM it’s hard to argue with his assessment unless the club brought their offer significantly higher over the course of the offseason.

Given the gap between the Guerrero’s rumored demands and the offer he said the Blue Jays made, it’s hardly a shock that the sides did not work out a deal. That’s reflected in a poll of MLBTR readers last month, where just 19.49% of respondents believed Guerrero would sign long-term with the club before today’s self-imposed deadline. Even so, Guerrero made clear to reporters that he’d still like to be a Blue Jay for life even as he went on to note that Toronto will now have to compete with 29 other clubs for his services on the open market. On the other hand, he also noted (as relayed by Matheson) his desire to win a World Series championship with his next club. That desire to win could hurt the Blue Jays’ odds of keeping Guerrero, as they finished dead last in a crowded AL East division with a 74-88 record. They appear to be longshots for the postseason this year as well after the Yankees and Orioles augmented their already playoff-caliber clubs while the Red Sox put together a strong offseason that saw them add multiple star players in Garrett Crochet and Alex Bregman.

As for the front office’s perspective, club GM Ross Atkins spoke to reporters shortly after Guerrero did and expressed disappointment that a deal did not get done, as relayed by Matheson. Atkins went on to emphasize that the club “worked very hard” in their efforts to come together on a deal and added that the “motivation” on the organization’s part to keep their superstar in the fold is “still there.” Atkins refused to get into specifics regarding numbers and contract offers but described their offer to Guerrero as one that would’ve been record-setting for the Blue Jays and made Guerrero “one of the highest paid players” in baseball if signed (video link via Mae). Atkins also made clear that the club’s inability to get a deal done with Guerrero was not a matter of resources, though that’s hardly a surprise given their high-dollar bids for Ohtani and Soto the past two winters.

Going forward, the Blue Jays figure to continue trying to win during Guerrero’s final year of club control. They’ve long resisted the possibility of trade talks involving their star slugger and, after spending $166MM to add Yimi Garcia, Jeff Hoffman, Anthony Santander, and Max Scherzer in free agency this winter while adding another $96.5MM in trade by taking on the Andres Gimenez contract from the Guardians, it seems unlikely that they would change course now rather than push in for 2025 and hope they can convince Guerrero to return next offseason. It’s possible that they could revisit the possibility of dealing Guerrero at the trade deadline this summer if they’ve fallen completely out of the playoff picture by then, however, and if shopped Guerrero would be the most impactful rental moved at a trade deadline since Manny Machado in 2018.

Blue Jays Sign Jacob Barnes To Minor League Deal

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The Blue Jays announced that they have signed right-hander Jacob Barnes to a minor league deal with an invite to major league spring training. The righty is represented by the VaynerSports agency.

Barnes, 35 in April, is a veteran journeyman. He has suited up for nine clubs in his career, including a previous stint with the Blue Jays in 2021. Between the Mets and Jays that year, he tossed 28 2/3 innings with a 6.28 earned run average. He struck out 25.8% of batters faced while giving out walks at an 8.6% clip. Those were pretty decent rate states but he allowed seven home run in that time, which pushed some extra runs across. That’s why SIERA, a metric that normalizes home run rate, gave him a 3.67 mark that year.

His strikeout rate has dipped in recent years but he’s coming off a decent campaign regardless. He tossed 66 innings for the Nats in 2024 with a 4.36 ERA. He only struck out 19.9% of batters faced but his 7.2% walk rate was good and his 6.4% barrel rate was below the 7% league average. That was his third straight season with a barrel rate better than par. However, his 89% average exit velocity and 41.6% hard hit rate were a bit worse than league averages.

When combined with some work for the Tigers, Yankees and Cardinals, Barnes tossed 102 big league innings over the past three campaigns with a 4.85 ERA, 17.2% strikeout rate and 7.4% walk rate.

The bullpen was a big factor in Toronto’s disappointing 2024 season, as their relievers had a collective 4.82 ERA that was better than just the Rockies. The club has made a number of changes to the group going into this year. They outrighted Génesis Cabrera and non-tendered Jordan Romano, with both of those guys having signed elsewhere. They acquired Nick Sandlin from the Guardians and signed free agents Jeff Hoffman and Yimi García.

They also added some veteran non-roster depth by signing Richard Lovelady and Amir Garrett. Those two might have a bit of an edge over Barnes since they are left-handed. The Jays have three lefty relievers on the 40-man in Brendon Little, Josh Walker and Easton Lucas but no one in that trio has even one year of big league service time. Regardless, Barnes will report to camp and try to earn a spot on the club.

Blue Jays Sign Amir Garrett To Minors Contract

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The Blue Jays have signed left-hander Amir Garrett to a minor league deal, according to Johnny Giunta of the Gate 14 Podcast.  Garrett will earn a guarantee in the “low seven figures” if he makes Toronto’s active roster, Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith writes.  Garrett has been on the open market since last August, when he was released by the Angels.

A veteran of eight MLB seasons, Garrett tossed a career-low 5 1/3 innings in the Show in 2024, as he spent the majority of the season with the Angels’ Triple-A affiliate.  The southpaw inked a minors deal with the Giants a year ago but was released near the end of Spring Training, and then quickly caught on with Los Angeles on another minor league contract just prior to Opening Day.  Selected to the Angels’ active roster at the end of April, Garrett had a 5.06 ERA in his brief stint in Anaheim before he was designated for assignment and released in mid-May, only to soon rejoin the Angels on another minors deal.

Control problems have long plagued Garrett’s career, but he kept the walks in check along enough to deliver some good results out of the Reds’ bullpen during the 2018-20 seasons.  It seemed like the former top prospect had carved out a niche for himself as a reliever, but things then went sideways, as Garrett has posted a 5.06 ERA and 15.7% walk rate over 122 2/3 innings since Opening Day 2021.

Garrett’s mid-90’s velocity and strikeout potential is still apparent, as he also has a 27.2% strikeout rate in his last four seasons of big league work.  But, his walk rates have only continued to increase, and Garrett has also had trouble keeping the ball in the park.  The lefty’s minor league numbers weren’t too promising, as he had a 5.08 ERA in 33 2/3 innings with Triple-A Salt Lake in 2024, though with at least a better (10.6%) walk rate and a strong 28.5K%.

Garrett turns 33 in May, so it remains to be seen if he can truly harness his control at this later stage in his career.  If he can limit his walks to even a passable number, the Blue Jays can certainly use such a pitcher in their bullpen mix, particularly since Brendon Little is the only southpaw projected to be part of the relief corps.  Easton Lucas, Josh Walker, and another minor league signing in Richard Lovelady are also in Toronto’s camp battling for a potential bullpen spot if the Jays opt to break camp with a second left-handed reliever.

Blue Jays, Bo Bichette Haven’t Discussed Extension

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Bo Bichette will become a free agent at the end of the 2025 season, but the shortstop has yet to discuss a long-term deal with the Blue Jays, Bichette told MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson and other reporters.  “We haven’t had any talks, but from my perspective, we all grow up wanting to be one of those guys that has an opportunity to stay with an organization for their entire career,” Bichette said.  “I’m just focused on what I’ve got to do this year to help the team win and be the best version of myself.  Whatever happens will happen.”

While negotiations could still begin later in Spring Training, the lack of activity between Bichette and the Jays isn’t too surprising.  For one, Toronto is facing a more pressing deadline in extension talks with Vladimir Guerrero Jr., as the first baseman said he isn’t willing to continue discussions beyond February 18, which is the Blue Jays’ first full day of spring camp.  Since a Guerrero extension would surely represent both the largest deal in Jays history and one of the larger deals in baseball history, such a big-ticket negotiation is naturally the team’s priority before turning to any other contractual matters.

There’s also the simple fact that it isn’t clear whether or not Bichette is even still in the Blue Jays’ long-term plans, coming off a surprisingly poor 2024 campaign.  Bichette hit only .225/.277/.322 over 336 plate appearances, and played just once after July 19 due to a lengthy recovery from a right calf strain.  A previous IL placement due to another calf strain sidelined Bichette earlier in the season, plus he also had surgery on a fractured right middle finger in late September.

Plenty of other Toronto players struggled and/or battled injuries during an overall dismal year for the franchise, but getting virtually nothing from a cornerstone player like Bichette was a particularly harsh blow to the lineup.  Bichette more or less hit the ground running from the start of his MLB career in 2019, with a strong .299/.340/.487 slash line and 89 home runs over 2328 PA from 2019-23.  Bichette received down-ballot MVP support in each of the last three of those seasons, and twice received All-Star nods while also leading the American League in hits in both 2021 and 2022.

At this time last year, in fact, there was plenty of debate about whether Bichette or Guerrero was the better long-term investment for the Blue Jays, as Guerrero was coming off a relatively modest 118 wRC+ season in 2023 before returning to superstar form in 2024.  It should be noted that Bichette’s own 2023 campaign wasn’t without its warts, as knee and quad problems greatly reduced his production over the final two months of that season.

With all this recent history in mind, “it feels very difficult to find a middle ground both sides would agree on” in extension talks, Matheson observes.  Bichette surely feels like a big rebound year is coming, and so he isn’t going to sell himself short on an asking price.  From Toronto’s perspective, it is only natural that the team wants to see how (or if) Bichette bounces back before considering him for a hefty multi-year pact.

It isn’t too often that star players sign extensions once they get too deep into their final season prior to free agency, so even if Bichette does return to form, it feels like he is essentially a lock to test the market next winter.  Some trade speculation has circled around Bichette over the last couple of years, and while GM Ross Atkins has been steadfast in his refusal to deal Bichette, a trade might become more possible at the deadline if the Blue Jays are struggling again.

MLBTR Podcast: Pete Alonso’s Deal, And Potential Landing Spots For Bregman and Arenado

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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 Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

  • Pete Alonso re-signing with the Mets (1:45)
  • What’s next for the Blue Jays after not getting Alonso? (9:25)
  • Will the Mets and Alonso going to reunite again in the future or will this be it? (12:55)

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • What teams could still sign Alex Bregman? (17:50)
  • Can the Cardinals trade Nolan Arenado to the Red Sox? (29:20)
  • Do the Orioles need an ace? (37:55)
  • What are the Marlins building right now? (39:30)

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!

Angels Claim Michael Petersen, Designate Kelvin Cáceres For Assignment

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The Angels announced that they have claimed right-hander Michael Petersen off waivers from the Blue Jays. The latter club had designated him for assignment last week. To open a roster spot, the Angels designated fellow righty Kelvin Cáceres for assignment.

Petersen, 30, made his big league debut with the Dodgers last year, pitching 14 innings with a 6.43 ERA. He went from Los Angeles to the Marlins via waivers late in the year and tossed another five innings for Miami. Overall, he finished with a 5.95 ERA, 15.6% strikeout rate and 12.2% walk rate in his first 19 2/3 innings in the majors.

The U.K.-born Petersen spent his career prior to last season with the Rockies and Brewers organizations. He’d joined the Dodgers on a minor league pact and posted lights-out numbers in Triple-A: 1.64 ERA, 35.2% strikeout rate, 6.4% walk rate in 33 innings. Petersen’s towering 6’7″ frame only makes his 97 mph heater and upper-80s cutter play up. That power arm, last year’s huge numbers in the minors and multiple minor league option years have combined to make a popular waiver target. The Angels will be his fourth organization since September.

Cáceres, 25, missed the entire 2024 season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn lat. He made his MLB debut with the 2023 Angels but pitched just 1 1/3 innings in that brief cup of coffee. He’s posted solid numbers in the minors with the Halos, most recently working to a combined 4.12 ERA with a 34.8% strikeout rate and 13.1% walk rate in 54 2/3 innings across three levels. That included a dominant 10-inning run in Triple-A, where he allowed just one run on five hits and five walks with 11 strikeouts.

Cáceres sits 95-96 mph with his heater and couples the pitch with a curveball and changeup. He still has multiple minor league options remaining, so perhaps another club will be intrigued by the optionable power arm and place a claim or work out a small trade. His health outlook remains murky for now, but an optionable 25-year-old with a power arm and a history of missing bats is the type of prospect teams love to speculate on if they have the roster space.

Poll: Who’s Winning The Offseason In The AL East?

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The calendar has flipped to February and the start of spring is just a matter of days away. While some notable free agents (including seven of MLBTR’s Top 50) remain unsigned, most clubs have already done the heavy lifting in terms of preparing their roster for the 2025 season. For the past week, we’ve been taking a look around the league at which clubs have had the strongest offseason to this point. The Mets, Cubs, Dodgers, and Tigers have decisively won the polls covering the National League’s three divisions and the AL Central, but things were much closer in the AL West where the Athletics narrowly beat out the Rangers. Today, we’ll turn our attention to the league’s final division: the AL East.

While the Yankees managed to make it all the way to the World Series before losing to Los Angeles in five games, 2024 was a less than stellar year for the rest of the division. The Blue Jays and Rays sold off pieces at the deadline after underperforming badly in the first half, while the Red Sox struggled down the stretch and ultimately missed the playoffs despite adding at the deadline. The Orioles, meanwhile, managed to make the postseason for the second year in a row but have still yet to win a playoff game between those two appearances after getting bounced by Detroit in two games during the AL Wild Card series. All five teams in this division are ostensibly attempting to compete again in 2025, however, and there’s been noteworthy moves all throughout the division this offseason.

Which team has done the most to set themselves up for success this winter? Teams are listed in order of their 2024 record.

New York Yankees

A discussion of what the reigning AL champions have added this winter can’t begin without addressing what they’ve lost. Juan Soto signed a record-shattering contract to move across town to the Mets, and in doing so removed a vital piece from the heart of New York’s lineup. Down one perennial MVP candidate, the Yankees focused this winter on fixing up their roster around the one that still remains in Aaron Judge. The club kicked off the offseason by calling the bluff of veteran ace Gerrit Cole when he opted out of his deal with the club only to agree to return on his current deal rather than test free agency when the Yankees declined to tack on an extra year and $36MM to his contract to force him to stay. They then paired another veteran ace with Cole at the top of the rotation by signing southpaw Max Fried away from Atlanta, which freed them up to trade Nestor Cortes to the Brewers as part of a package that landed them star closer Devin Williams. Trading for Fernando Cruz and reuniting with both Tim Hill and Jonathan Loaisiga in free agency further bolstered the club’s strong bullpen mix.

While the club’s pitching moves have been quite impressive, the same can’t necessarily be said for the lineup. The club swapped Cody Poteet to the Cubs to acquire Cody Bellinger in what amounted to a salary-dump move for Chicago, and the addition of Bellinger allowed the club to move Judge back to his natural position of right field. With that being said, however, their only other move of note on offense has been to sign Paul Goldschmidt coming off a career-worst season. Those additions are likely upgrades over Alex Verdugo and Anthony Rizzo, but losses of Soto and Gleyber Torres on offense have not been addressed. The Yankees have tried to trade Marcus Stroman to free up funds for further lineup additions, but that goal has not yet borne fruit.

Baltimore Orioles

The Orioles haven’t made the splashy addition many expected this winter after a difficult season that saw them get swept out of the playoffs for the second year in a row. Right-hander Corbin Burnes departed for Arizona and was replaced by veteran arms Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano rather than a true ace. Aside from those rotation additions, the club has also added Andrew Kittredge to its bullpen mix as a set-up man for returning closer Felix Bautista. Most of the focus has been on the lineup this winter, however, as they’ve added Tyler O’Neill to replace Anthony Santander, Gary Sanchez to replace James McCann, and then further bolstered the club’s outfield depth with deals for Ramon Laureano and Dylan Carlson. That leaves the club set to enter 2025 with a position player mix that might be even deeper than last year’s, but a pitching staff that carries even more question marks.

Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox set out to improve their rotation this winter and accomplished just that. They swung a trade for White Sox southpaw Garrett Crochet at the Winter Meetings, shipping out top prospects Kyle Teel and Braden Montgomery in a four-player package that brought back a lefty ace with two years of control remaining before free agency. They followed that addition up by replacing outgoing veteran right-hander Nick Pivetta with a high-upside roll of the dice on Walker Buehler, who struggled in 2024 coming off a return from Tommy John surgery but was among the best pitchers in the sport before going under the knife.

Outside of those moves, however, the Red Sox have been surprisingly quiet. They were involved in the sweepstakes for top free agents like Juan Soto and Max Fried but ultimately did not sign any of those impact players, or even players in the next tier down like Nathan Eovaldi and Teoscar Hernandez.  The additions of Aroldis Chapman and Justin Wilson should help to improve the bullpen, but the team’s long-acknowledged need for a right-handed bat who can help balance their lineup has gone unaddressed. That could change as they appear to be involved in the markets for both Alex Bregman and Nolan Arenado, but for now the offense has gone largely unaddressed.

Tampa Bay Rays

The Rays’ offseason moves have largely been overshadowed by the situation regarding Tropicana Field, which was badly damaged by Hurricane Milton and will not be usable for the 2025 season. That’s forced the Rays to temporarily relocate to Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, but the new location hasn’t stopped the club from being fairly active this winter. The club was long expected to deal from their starting pitching surplus this winter, and did so when they shipped Jeffrey Springs to the A’s alongside Jacob Lopez in a return highlighted by flamethrowing right-hander Joe Boyle. The club also traded Jose Siri to the Mets shortly before the non-tender deadline, leaving them with plenty of question marks in the outfield, but did manage to address other key areas of the roster in free agency.

After entering the winter with catcher as their biggest question mark, the club added the winter’s top free agent at the position in Danny Jansen. More recently, the Rays addressed their lackluster mix of players at shortstop by bringing Ha-Seong Kim into the fold on a sh0rt-term deal. The club’s lack of solid outfield options, which will likely force infielders like Christopher Morel, Richie Palacios and Jose Caballero onto the grass in 2025, leave a major question mark on the club’s roster, but the additions of Jansen and Kim along with the impending return for ace Shane McClanahan from injury leave the club into a relatively good place headed into 2025.

Toronto Blue Jays

Long considered to be the bridesmaid but never the bride when it comes to landing top talent in free agency, the Jays once again came up short in their pursuit of top free agents like Soto, Burnes, and Roki Sasaki. That didn’t stop them from upgrading the roster this winter, however, as they’ve been one of the more active teams around the league. Jeff Hoffman, Josh Walker, Nick Sandlin and Yimi Garcia were both brought in to shore up the club’s lackluster bullpen mix after the club non-tendered closer Jordan Romano, while future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer will be tasked with replacing Yusei Kikuchi in the club’s rotation as he enter his age-40 campaign.

In addition to those pitching moves, the Jays made two major additions to their lineup: they traded Spencer Horwitz to land Guardians second baseman Andres Gimenez alongside Sandlin during the Winter Meetings, providing them with a quality defensive option at the keystone and a viable long-term alternative to Bo Bichette at shortstop. That move was followed up by signing slugger Anthony Santander to a five-year deal, with Santander set to offer power in the lineup as well as some protection for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in his final season before free agency. Guerrero’s future has been a key topic of Toronto’s offseason to this point, and while the sides have discussed an extension there’s been no signs of a conclusion in sight even with Guerrero’s self-imposed deadline just a week away.

__________________________________________________________

The AL East stands out among the other divisions around the league in part because all five teams have at least a couple of notable additions to their roster in a winter where a surprising number of clubs mostly stood pat. With that being said, however, most of those additions either left a hole in the roster unaddressed or fell short of what outside observers felt was needed to push the team to contention in 2025. All five teams made worthwhile moves this winter, but will it be enough for the Yankees to overcome the losses of Soto and Torres, or the Orioles to overcome the loss of Burnes? Will the Red Sox be able to to get by without adding to the lineup, and will the Rays be able to compete with questions all over the outfield? Are the Blue Jays’ aggressive additions enough to put them back into the playoffs for Guerrero’s walk year? With all five teams trying to win in 2025 despite holes and question marks, the AL East figures to be perhaps the most interesting of the league’s divisions this year, top-to-bottom.

Of the five AL East clubs, which one has had the strongest offseason so far? Have your say in the poll below:

Blue Jays Hire Kevin Kiermaier As Special Assistant

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Retired center fielder Kevin Kiermaier has joined the Blue Jays’ front office as a special assistant, as noted by Keegan Matheson of MLB.com. Kiermaier wrapped up his MLB career with the Dodgers this year after being traded by Toronto at the trade deadline, but played for the Blue Jays in each of the past two seasons after spending the bulk of his career with the Rays. Kiemaier’s role hasn’t been strictly defined, but he told Matheson that he pitched himself to the Jays as an “outfield whisperer.”

“Please, just trust me. Let me be a part of this. Let me bounce around,” Kiermaier told the club, as relayed by Matheson. “Let me offer my services here, from top to bottom in the organization. Let me show you what I can do. Let me be the outfield whisperer to these guys.”

It’s hard to argue with Kiermaier’s resume, which should make him very well-suited to a role coaching outfielders on defense all throughout the organization. The 34-year-old wasn’t drafted by the Rays until the 31st round of the 2010 draft, but worked his way through the organization on the back of his defensive prowess and went on to have a strong career in the majors that saw him earn four Gold Glove awards in center field and play in 12 MLB seasons. While he was a decent hitter who provided roughly league average offensive value, defense was Kiermaier’s calling card as he accumulated 26.7 fWAR and 36.5 bWAR throughout his career.

While he ultimately wound up with the Blue Jays, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports that Kiermaier talked about serving as an outfield instructor for the Rays and one other team before reaching an agreement with Toronto on his new special assistant role. He expressed his excitement about his new role to Topkin, but made clear he has absolutely no plans to attempt to make a comeback as a player in any capacity.

“I’ve done light stuff at the gym, and my body still just doesn’t feel great,” Kiermaier said, as relayed by Topkin. “I’m like, there is just no way I could ever get through a season again. And I don’t want to. I went out the way I wanted to, and now I am focusing my sights elsewhere. So. I’m a happy man.”

Daulton Varsho is expected to be the club’s primary center fielder, and he’s grown into one of the top defensive outfielders in the game. With that being said, it’s certainly possible Kiermaier could help the club’s other outfielders reach a new level with the glove in a coaching role. Incoming slugger Anthony Santander as well as youngsters and less-established players like Nathan Lukes, Davis Schneider, and Joey Loperfido could all benefit from Kiermaier’s tutelage to say nothing of prospects further down the organizational ladder. A Florida native, Kiermaier is expected to be in Dunedin with the club during Spring Training before traveling around the club’s affiliates at various points throughout the season.

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