3 Toronto Blue Jays who won't be back if they break the bank for Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Coming off a last-place finish in the AL East and entering the final years of team control for stars Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette, it's safe to say the Toronto Blue Jays are set to enter their most critical offseason in quite some time. And it's not hard to figure out where the job will begin for GM Ross Atkins: Locking Guerrero Jr. up to a long-term deal.

Guerrero Jr. has been the team's foundation since before he even got to Toronto, and he's coming off arguably the best offensive season of his career in 2024. If the Blue Jays are serious about contending both in 2025 and in the future, it starts with him, especially considering how increasingly difficult it is to find his sort of elite production at first base.

But as necessary as a Vladdy megadeal is, it's still going to come at quite the cost — both in dollars and in collateral damage. Toronto's pursuit of Shohei Ohtani (and its reported flirtation with Juan Soto) shows a willingness to spend big, and it'll have even more room after clearing house at the trade deadline and dipping back under the luxury tax. But $30-40 million a year is a healthy chunk of change, and it's likely to mean that certain members of the team won't be part of the team's long-term plans.

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3. RHP Chris Bassitt

It was a bit surprising to see Bassitt stick around past the deadline this year; he's showing real signs of decline at age 35, and he's got just one year of team control remaining. If the Jays want to make a run at someone like Soto on the free-agent market in addition to paying Guerrero Jr., getting Bassitt's $22 million off the books would be helpful, and he could still draw interest from teams around the league with money to burn and a desperate need for even league-average starting pitching (the Cardinals, perhaps?).

2. OF George Springer

Speaking of pricey players who aren't earning their paychecks anymore: Springer was rough in 2024, posting an OPS+ below league average for the first time in his career while hitting fewer than 20 homers for the first time since 2015 (when he played in just 102 games). At age 35, it sure seems like the arrow is pointing straight down here, which makes his $24 million salary something of an albatross as Atkins looks to add talent this winter. Springer doesn't figure to have much of a trade market, but if Toronto packages him with something a bit more enticing, maybe the team can find a deal and free up some payroll space.

1. Bo Bichette

Here's the big one. Atkins hasn't ruled out the possibility of re-signing both Guerrero Jr. and Bichette, but it's hard to believe that the team can afford both while also doing enough to plug the many other holes on this roster. Add in the fact that Bichette and the Jays aren't likely to agree on the shortstop's value — especially after a down 2024 season in which he battled injury — and it sure seems like we're headed for an impasse here. And if the two sides in fact can't agree to a deal, the Jays will be faced with a choice: Move Bichette before he hits free agency next winter, or likely lose him for nothing but a compensatory draft pick.

Maybe Atkins wants to hold on to him until at least the trade deadline, both to see how good this team can be in 2025 and to give Bichette a chance to rebuild his value. But that also comes with risk: Teams figure to be far less willing to shell out to acquire half a season of Bichette ahead of his free agency than a full year. Either way, a Guerrero Jr. deal would officially start the clock on Bichette's time in Toronto.