MLB Rumors: Blue Jays GM forecasting departure of 3 big names

Toronto Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins may have hinted that the Blue Jays won't be bringing back some of their best players in 2023, according to Josh Goldberg.

Goldberg reported that Atkins "basically just said" that Matt Chapman, Brandon Belt and Kevin Kiermaier won't be returning to the Blue Jays for the 2024 season. That could severely deplete Toronto's lineup moving forward into next season.

For the second season in a row, the Blue Jays failed to win any games in the postseason. In the club's last three postseason appearances since 2020, they haven't won one wild card game and have lost six. That's not ideal, obviously.

Blue Jays preparing to lose Matt Chapman, Brandon Belt, more for 2024

The Blue Jays have failed to make any big postseason moves recently and haven't done anything since the 2016 postseason. Now, big changes must occur. It's uncertain if they will rebuild or not, but they need to reinforce the team as a whole, and it seems those three aren't part of the future.

The Blue Jays have so much talent on the roster, but in the coming seasons, they will keep having some of their best players becoming free agents. They only have two seasons left of Chris Bassitt, Bo Bichette, Jordan Romano, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and others.

It's likely the Blue Jays will move on from Belt due to his age, but it's questionable whether they would want to move on from Kiermaier due to his amazing fielding ability while being an above-average hitter. Chapman has widely been regarded as one of the top infielders in free agency this offseason, which could ultimately be pricing Toronto out of his market.

It's vital that the Blue Jays decide what they want to do now. If they wait too long, players like Vlad Jr. and Bichette will lose their trade value if they decide to go down that route.