Opening Day is now just days away, and the Toronto Blue Jays still have tons of questions to answer as they embark on a make-or-break season. Did Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins do enough to get this team back into at least the AL Wild Card picture? Will Max Scherzer's thumb injury derail his tenure in Toronto before it even begins? And will this be the last time we see faces of the franchise Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette in a Blue Jays uniform?
Toronto no doubt hoped to be on firmer footing entering 2025, with Juan Soto in tow and Guerrero Jr. signed to a long-term contract extension. Instead, things feel pretty much just as precarious as they did at the end of 2024. Here's the latest news around the team.
For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB season.
Blue Jays news: Mark Shapiro expresses 'optimism' about signing Vladimir Guerrero Jr., with one big catch
After Guerrero Jr.'s self-imposed deadline came and went without a new deal, it seemed like that might be that for the first baseman in Toronto — an impression he hasn't exactly dispelled in the weeks since. But Vladdy is still under contract with the Blue Jays, and as long as that remains true, there's still at least an outside chance that he stays that way.
At least, that's what Shapiro is selling on the eve of Opening Day.
"I think we're going to sign him. I think we're going to extend him,” Shapiro told reporters on Thursday, a rare departure for an executive who typically chooses his words very carefully.
“We have such a clear alignment on the desired outcome. Vlad wants to play his whole career as a Toronto Blue Jay. We want him to end his career in a Blue Jays uniform and be a true legacy player for the Toronto Blue Jays. That’s a pretty good place to start.”
Of course, then came the caveats. Shapiro called it “an oversimplification based upon only part of the information" that the team and Vlad Jr. were just $50 million or so apart, suggesting that both sides remain dug in as time winds down.
And unless that changes, it's hard to see how Guerrero Jr. won't be hitting free agency next winter: He's made it clear that he won't be budging on his price, and every day closer to hitting the free market gives him less and less reason to; it's up to the Jays to decide whether they want to meet that price, and on that front Shapiro still sounds skeptical, suggesting that “sometimes free agency provides the clearest answer” on the “sweet spot of sharing risk”.
Blue Jays news: Toronto not ready to buy back in on Bo Bichette just yet
While Shapiro was shockingly forthcoming on Guerrero Jr., he was ... less so when it came to his other big pending free agent, shortstop Bo Bichette.
Asked Shapiro how the club views Bo Bichette:
— Hazel Mae (@thehazelmae) March 20, 2025
"The player I'm most excited to watch.. I look at him, his maturation, his trajectory, he has the determination.. When he's at his best, he is a winning player that can help us win.
Would not comment on potential extension talks.
It's seemed all along that Toronto doesn't have much of an appetite for paying Bichette what he no doubt expects to be paid in a new deal, not least because they still have that money earmarked for Guerrero Jr. Bichette has also given them little reason to trust him as a player of late, coming off an injury-ravaged season in which he struggled mightily at the plate.
But he's back healthy now, and he's been tearing the cover off the ball this spring. That's put Blue Jays brass in a tough spot, trying to say all the right things about keeping Bichette around beyond 2025 without overreacting to what is ultimately a couple weeks' worth of meaningless at-bats. Of course, Bichette himself might not be so understanding, and if he does put up a bounce-back year, he'll be well within his rights to wonder why he should head back to a team that wasn't willing to believe in him until he forced them to.
Blue Jays news: Top prospect Ricky Tiedemann offers positive update on Tommy John rehab
Whether Guerrero Jr. and Bichette are around to see it or not, Toronto's future has a whole lot riding on the left arm of top pitching prospect Ricky Tiedemann. When healthy, the lefty has been as-advertised, showcasing some of the best pure stuff in the Minors. But he hasn't been healthy in a while at this point, having undergone Tommy John surgery last July.
At this point, it's fair for fans to wonder whether Tiedemann will ever make good on his immense promise, and you'd be justified for adopting an "I'll believe it when I see it" approach. But for what it's worth, it seems like his rehab is going well.
"I feel great," Tiedemann told The Canadian Press this week. "I feel brand new again."
Tiedemann has yet to start throwing off a mound again, still focusing on workouts to improve his strength and flexibility. But he's still eying a return to competitive action at some point this year, which would be a boon for a player who simply hasn't thrown very many professional innings to date: just 61.1 combined over the last two seasons, in fact.
"It's always as soon as possible," Tiedemann said. "I don't have a date set in my mind. It's more how I'm feeling right now. I don't want to look too far ahead. When you look too far ahead, you forget how things are going right now.