Ross Atkins 'desperate' to make next big mistake, and it's all the Blue Jays' fault

The 2024 Toronto Blue Jays understandably had lofty expectations, having made it to the postseason in three of the previous four seasons. But just about everything that could go wrong did go wrong, and the team went just 74-88, finishing in last place in the AL East.

Toronto's miserable season put GM Ross Atkins squarely on the hot seat. In fact, it was a bit surprising that Toronto didn't fire him once the season came to an end. Sure, it isn't his fault that the team missed out on signing Shohei Ohtani; but it certainly is Atkins' fault that they did relatively nothing after the fact, a complacency which played a huge role in the team's demise.

Now fighting for their jobs, Atkins and Co. are big-game hunting again this offseason, with Juan Soto as the team's No. 1 priority. The Jays are in on him, but odds are Soto will spurn them and sign elsewhere. Assuming that happens, Toronto will be left looking for somewhere to splash a ton of cash, and what ESPN's Buster Olney is saying about the Blue Jays makes it seem as if Atkins is going to make some choices that could set the franchise back for years to come.

"At the beginning of this offseason, I was told by some agents and some executives of other teams that the Blue Jays reek of desperation. The Blue Jays are going to do something big. They're going to be aggressive, because they have a situation where you have one year left with Vladimir Guerrero Jr., you got one year left with Bo Bichette. You basically, going forward, have almost a clean slate of a payroll."

Now, on the surface, this sounds perfect for a Soto pursuit. The Jays have tons of money right now, and with a mostly payroll after the 2025 season, they can reasonably commit long-term to Soto without skipping a beat. There is a problem with that, though.

"I don't think he's going to wind up with the Blue Jays, and if he's not, they're going to go out and they're going to do some other things."

Here's where the problem lies. Olney believes that Soto is unlikely to sign with the Blue Jays. If the Jays miss out on him, they're still going to do other things. Doing other things as a team that "reeks of desperation" sounds like it won't play out well.

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Ross Atkins seems determined to make next big mistake, and it's all Toronto's fault

If Atkins can't lure Soto to Toronto, he'll presumably turn his attention to other high-end free agents like Corbin Burnes, Max Fried, Willy Adames and Anthony Santander (to name a few). While all of those players make sense for Toronto, they're also going to make substantial sums of money. A desperate Jays team could offer them something they'll regret, especially considering how difficult it is to convince free agents to sign in another country.

Even if the Jays get two of the four names above, how much better will they be realistically? This is a team that won 74 games last season. The roster is full of holes. They'd be better, but would they be a playoff team?

Atkins is very desperate, because he knows that the 2025 season could be his last as the team's GM. He knows that he almost certainly can't afford another losing season, especially with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette entering their final year of club control. Signing older veterans to massive long-term deals would improve their chances in 2025, and that's all he cares about.

Instead of having Atkins make a massive mistake, the Jays could've (and probably should've) fired him and started fresh. If Guerrero and Bichette refuse to ink extensions, the Jays could've traded them for hauls and gotten a great start on a rebuild. Instead, it sounds like the team will miss out on the best free agent again, and this time, turn to making one or more desperate deals while also risking losing Guerrero Jr. and/or Bichette next offseason.

The Jays are in a rough spot, but choosing this direction instead of firing Atkins and starting fresh is completely on them.