The Toronto Blue Jays continue to run circles around their divisional peers — and MLB at large — this offseason. Japanese infielder Kazuma Okamoto inked a four-year, $60 million contract with Toronto on Saturday afternoon. The deal includes a $5 million signing bonus and no opt-outs. He is expected to start at third base, with the ability to occupy first base or left field as needed.
Toronto was painfully close to dethroning Los Angeles in last year's World Series. The front office clearly took the loss hard and has responded with unmatched aggression in the free agent market, signing Dylan Cease, Cody Ponce and Tyler Rogers to augment the pitching staff. Now, Okamoto shores up the offense, which was already elite. That begs the question: How can the rest of the AL East respond?
Tampa Bay Rays: Trade for 2B Ketel Marte
We can probably split the AL East into three tiers: Toronto at the top; New York, Boston and Baltimore grappling over second place; and of course, the Tampa Bay Rays bringing up the rear. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Tampa tends to exceed expectations on an almost annual basis, and there’s plenty of talent on this roster. Drew Rasmussen, Shane McClanahan and Ryan Pepiot anchor a rock-solid rotation (when healthy, at least). Yandy Díaz, Jonathan Aranda and Junior Caminero can all mash. The Rays have the top-end guys to be frisky.
Depth has been an issue, with Tampa relying heavily on internal development over free agent spending. That’s a fine enough strategy in such a small market, but it’d be nice to see the Rays take a big swing. Seldom has a better, more obvious opportunity presented itself than the Ketel Marte trade sweepstakes. The odds of Arizona holding tight increase by the day, but Tampa has exactly what the Diamondbacks want from a trade, in theory: a bunch of young pitchers and enough prospect capital to drive a deal across the finish line.
With Boston apparently bowing out of the Marte sweepstakes, the stage is set for a Rays coup. Tampa freed up second base with the Brandon Lowe trade and stockpiled quality prospects with the Shane Baz trade. It feels like every move has been calculated, with an end goal of acquiring Marte. Maybe that just doesn’t happen. But if the All-Star second baseman goes anywhere, I’d put my money on Tampa.
Marte is a rare breed. He finished last season with an .893 OPS and 145 OPS+. He raked 28 home runs. The blend of contact skills and raw power is tantalizing. He’s also under contract through 2030 (with a 2031 player option), never exceeding $22 million annually. That is an absurd value in today’s market. Marte even being available to begin with is a fluke, a borderline miracle. Tampa needs to leap at the opportunity.
Baltimore Orioles: Sign SP Framber Valdez
The idea of Framber Valdez as this offseason’s most coveted free agent pitcher was always a bit fishy — it was always Dylan Cease — but the 32-year-old southpaw is still an extremely accomplished individual with a lot to offer the right team. And few organizations need a stabilizing force atop their rotation more desperately than the Baltimore Orioles.
Valdez is beginning to lose a bit of oomph, and his off-speed stuff is regressing, but he still finished last season in the 97th percentile for ground-ball rate. That sinker works, and he posted a 3.66 ERA across 31 starts and 192 innings. He’s also a true workhorse, with 31-plus starts and 190-plus innings in three of the last four years.
Baltimore has dealt with far too many injuries to its pitching staff in recent years. Hopefully, Valdez can break that trend. This O’s rotation is not as dire as folks make it out to be: Shane Baz has real upside, while Kyle Bradish is great when healthy and Trevor Rogers was an absolute beast down the stretch of last season. Still, Valdez’s experience, especially in October, ought to come in handy. He addresses the biggest remaining weakness for a Baltimore team that suddenly appears willing to spend.
The Orioles are a bit of an enigma, but no team besides Toronto boasts a higher ceiling. If Gunnar Henderson returns to MVP form, if Adley Rutschman returns to All-Star form, if Jackson Holliday and Coby Mayo take a leap — man, this team could get scary, fast. Taylor Ward and Pete Alonso hit a combined 74 home runs last season. That lineup is about to vault into a different stratosphere. Valdez can help the pitching staff keep up.
Boston Red Sox: Sign SS/2B Bo Bichette
It’s unwise to rule out anything with Toronto at this point, but the Okamoto signing dramatically decreases the likelihood of re-signing Bo Bichette. It feels like Kyle Tucker or bust the rest of the way for this Blue Jays front office. That frees up Bichette to, potentially, join a division rival. And while Boston Red Sox fans broadly prefer Alex Bergman, and understandably so, there’s a strong argument in favor of signing Bichette instead.
The age factor is significant in favor of Bichette, who’s almost four full years younger than Bregman. And while Bregman generates a bit more pop and provides far more consistent defense, Bichette is a different beast at the plate. He finished last season hitting .311 with an .840 OPS and 129 OPS+. With the exception of a wonky 2024 campaign, Bichette has proven extremely consistent in his approach and his production.
Whereas Bregman’s bat faded toward the end of last season, Bichette is virtually immune to strikeouts and he can still generate hard contact, even if it typically manifests as lightning-bolt line drives into the gaps rather than towering home runs. Bichette more closely aligns with the timeline of Boston’s young core and he is one of the purest hitters this sport has to offer.
As an added benefit, the Red Sox would be poaching directly from a division rival, with Bichette no doubt motivated to prove his mettle and reach the World Series stage again. An injury prevented Bichette from leaving his full mark on the Blue Jays’ magical 2025 postseason run, but he returned for the World Series and hit an almost-legendary tank off of Shohei Ohtani in Game 7. Boston can slide him to second base, plant Marcelo Mayer at third and go into next season with extreme confidence in its lineup.
New York Yankees: Sign SP Ranger Suárez
Giving Ranger Suárez a seven-year contract while he’s serving up low-90s fastballs past his 30th birthday is probably not a good idea. But I remain deeply skeptical of Suárez getting the contract length he desires, even if it means Scott Boras will drag this thing out another two months. One possible outcome: a shorter-term deal with opt-outs, allowing Suárez to test the market again. Or maybe he just gets, like, five years. Something more modest. Either way, the New York Yankees ought to register interest.
So much is made about players who are “built for New York” and those who are not. A lot of that is projection from disgruntled Yankees fans, but there is some truth to the pressure of performing at Yankee Stadium. And if anyone’s built for it, Suárez is: The man is, rather famously, as cool as a cucumber, with an impressive track record of elevating his performance in the postseason. That should appeal to Yankees brass.
New York has a ton of talent in the rotation already, but Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón and Clarke Schmidt will all begin 2026 on the IL. Max Fried and Cam Schlittler can hold down the fort, but this team needs depth and stability in the interim. Suárez finished 2025 with a 3.20 ERA and 1.22 WHIP in 157.1 innings. He’s not without an injury ledger of his own, but when he’s available, the lefty tends to push deep into games. He’s extremely precise with his command, he gets a lot of soft, ground-ball contact and he’s incredibly clutch in tight spots. If he’s the No. 3 or 4 starter when the Yankees are at full strength, that is an extremely favorable setup.
The Yankees’ offseason has been awfully quiet since Trent Grisham picked up his qualifying offer. It’s unclear if Brian Cashman actually has the clearance to purchase from the top shelf of free agency. But we’re talking about the damn Yankees; any reason not to spend is an excuse to be cheap, not an actual limitation. Suárez addresses a need and should age somewhat gracefully if he can maintain his command, even if pitchers in his mold tend to have complicated career arcs on the back half. It’s time for the Yankees to put up or shut up.