Blue Jays news: Vlad Guerrero Jr. threat, Bo Bichette downer, Pete Alonso interest

This offseason has been a winter of discontent for the Toronto Blue Jays, who were hell-bent on rebounding from a last-place finish in 2024 with just one year of team control remaining over first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and shortstop Bo Bichette. But the splash the team was dreaming of has failed to materialize, as big name after big name have refused to take Toronto's money.

Now, time is running out, both to acquire the impact talent the Jays need in 2025 and to convince Guerrero Jr. to stick around for the long haul. And the latest update on both fronts will have all of Toronto pushing the panic button.

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Blue Jays news: Red Sox emerge as Vlad Guerrero Jr. threat

After whiffing in the first (and second) wave of free agency, Toronto has pivoted to engaging Guerrero Jr. about a long-term extension. But it seemed as though the team's offer was well short of what the All-Star was expecting. And now we now just how short: According to USA Today's Bob Nightengale, "Guerrero and the Blue Jays are at least $100 million apart, with Guerrero seeking at least $450 million."

Toronto can't be surprised about where Guerrero Jr. has set his asking price, especially after he just watched his friend Juan Soto cash in to the tune of $765 million back in December. What's more surprising is that the Jays have refused to get anywhere near it: At this point, convincing Guerrero Jr. to stick around for the long haul is the best possible thing the team can do with its giant pile of cash.

And if they aren't willing to pay up, Guerrero Jr. will have no shortage of suitors in free agency next winter, highlighted by a couple of division rivals. We know that the New York Yankees are looking for a long-term solution at first base, and Nightengale reports that Vladdy "would love to be with the Red Sox" if he doesn't reach an agreement with Toronto by the time Spring Training begins.

Blue Jays news: Bo Bichette 'as good as gone' in free agency

While Guerrero Jr. is at least entertaining the idea of remaining in Toronto, the same can't be said for the guy he broke into the organization with. Per Nightengale, who cites friends of the shortstop, Bichette is "as good as gone, with no real interest in returning" either via an extension or in free agency next winter.

The feeling seems to be mutual; while there's been a ton of chatter about the Jays trying to find common ground with Guerrero Jr., it's been more or less radio silence with Bichette. Coming off a career-worst season in which he posted -0.3 bWAR and a .598 OPS in just 81 games, the Jays probably aren't thrilled about paying Bichette what he likely thinks he's worth. But he's about to enter his age-27 season, and he earned down-ballot MVP consideration in each year from 2021 through 2023.

If Toronto won't give him the $25-30 million a year he's looking for in a long-term deal, someone else will, and it seems like Bichette has soured on the direction of the franchise.

Blue Jays news: Toronto beginning to circle Pete Alonso

The Jays have swung and missed a lot this winter, but there are still some opportunities remaining to add impact talent in 2025 and beyond. The team has already extended a contract offer to switch-hitting slugger Anthony Santander, and now a new name has emerged as a possibility: former New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso.

It still seems like a reunion with New York makes the most sense for Alonso, who's faced a frostier market than he or agent Scott Boras anticipated when they turned down a $158 million extension back in 2023. Nightengale reports that Boras is now trying to use Prince Fielder’s nine-year, $214 million contract with Detroit Tigers in 2012 as a benchmark, but baseball's economy has changed a lot over the last 12 years, and teams aren't lining up to hand that kind of money or that many years to a bat-only hitter on the wrong side of 30.

But the longer this saga drags on, the greater the likelihood that some team will eventually get desperate and meet Alonso somewhere closer to his asking price. And it seems like that someone might be Toronto, who Nightengale cites as one of eight teams who have shown "at least some interest" in the two-time Home Run Derby champ. On the surface, Alonso and Guerrero Jr. wouldn't seem to fit on the same roster, but the Jays need to add talent however they can right about now, especially with the uncertainty surrounding Guerrero Jr.'s future.