Blue Jays winter to-do list: All the tough decisions Toronto faces and more

The Toronto Blue Jays’ 2023 offseason was headlined by Shohei Ohtani. There were reports that the Blue Jays had signed the superstar two-way player, that he was on a flight to Toronto, and that he would be the highest-paid player in baseball history.

Only one of those turned out to be true, as Ohtani signed a record-shattering 10-year, $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. There was never any agreement with the Blue Jays. There was never any flight to Toronto. It was all one big disappointment.

Which, in hindsight, was a good preview for the Blue Jays’ season. At 73-84, the Blue Jays are in last place in the American League East. They have been eliminated from playoff contention and have many difficult questions to ask internally, starting with the futures of executive Ross Atkins and manager John Schneider.

For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work onThe Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop between now and the MLB offseason.

Blue Jays free agent targets

If the Blue Jays pursued Ohtani last winter, and were seriously in the bidding for his services, then they should absolutely have enough money to pursue Juan Soto in free agency.

The bidding for Soto is expected to exceed $500 million and could even approach $600 million, with the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants and Philadelphia Phillies all looming as potential threats.

But the Blue Jays’ offense needs more reinforcements than just Soto. They rank 20th in baseball in runs scored (653), 15th in OPS (.704) and 25th in home runs (153). And the Blue Jays better make sure that whatever decisions they make are the right ones. They cannot afford another Daulton Varsho for Gabriel Moreno and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. trade – a move that looked smart at the time – that turned out to be a disaster.

In addition to the offense, the Blue Jays need bullpen help. They also have a solid trio in the rotation in Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios and Chris Bassitt. After that, there are question marks, and some clarity - and potential reinforcements - would surely be welcome.

Will the Blue Jays be active in the trade market?

The answer is yes. The Blue Jays will surely be active in trying to seek upgrades. But they will surely be asked about both Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette in trade talks once again.

At the trade deadline, the Blue Jays signaled to teams that they wanted to compete in 2025. That meant holding onto Guerrero Jr. and Bichette for the upcoming season and unless there’s a change atop the front office, it’s almost unimaginable that either player will be moved this offseason.

There will surely be plenty of trade rumors surrounding both players. It comes with the territory when you are an underperforming team. But if you read the tea leaves, trades involving either Guerrero Jr. or Bichette seem really, really, really unlikely – unless they are blown away with an offer.

What free agents should the Blue Jays keep?

The only free agent currently on the Blue Jays’ roster is Ryan Yarbrough. There were plenty of others, but they were all moved at the deadline as Toronto wanted to shed expiring contracts.

Since acquiring Yarbrough from the Los Angeles Dodgers, the 32-year-old has posted a 2.28 ERA and a 23/7 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 27.2 innings. He’s surely worthy of being brought back and should be cheap on a one-year contract.