The ultimate offseason checklist for Blue Jays: Juan Soto sizzle, Vladdy extension, more

After everything that transpired over the last calendar year, the 2024 offseason is a crucial one for the Toronto Blue Jays. The year began with a failed Shohei Ohtani pursuit, and that carried into what turned out to be a wildly disappointing regular season.

The Jays still have a decent amount of talent on their roster, but a lot will have to go right for them to steer this ship back in the right direction.

This offseason checklist outlines what Ross Atkins should do. With his job likely on the line, the pressure is on for him to deliver an offseason Blue Jays fans can get behind.

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Pursuing Juan Soto is great, but the Blue Jays must have a reliable backup plan

Last offseason, the Blue Jays were somewhat surprising threats in the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes. They appeared to have a legitimate shot of signing him, but in the end, the Los Angeles Dodgers got him and won the World Series less than one year later. The Jays have that money prepared for this offseason's crown jewel, Juan Soto, and it'd be great if they signed him, but they must have a backup plan.

Where the Jays went wrong last offseason wasn't the Ohtani miss. Nobody really expected them to come as close as they eventually did. The big miss was the organization not having a clear backup plan to turn to. The Jays essentially ran back what was a flawed roster from the season prior and disaster struck as a result.

Several aces like Corbin Burnes, Max Fried, and Blake Snell are available. Star position players such as Alex Bregman, Anthony Santander, and Willy Adames are free agents. The trade market will eventually get moving, and should have several players who fit the roster.

Signing Soto, of course, would be unbelievable for so many reasons. With that said, it cannot be the end all be all. Signing Soto does not mean they can't add around him, and missing out on Soto doesn't mean they should just give up on adding players.

A Vladimir Guerrero Jr. extension is a must to avoid complete catastrophe

One of the very few players who actually exceeded expectations on the 2024 Blue Jays was Vladimir Guerrero Jr. He didn't quite match the numbers he put up when he was the AL MVP runner-up in 2021, but he did put up his best season by far since then, and he was able to do that despite having little to no protection in the lineup.

As fun as it was to watch Guerrero dominate, it felt like the better he did, the louder trade rumors wound up. The reason why his name was so prevalent in trade rumors was that he's only under team control through 2025. Without an extension, the trade talk will never stop.

Luring Soto to Toronto is the dream scenario, but Guerrero - a star in his own right - is currently in Toronto. By all accounts, he'd like to stay in Toronto long-term. We know that the Blue Jays have the money at their disposal to pay him. Extending him right now would make it clear that he's staying in Toronto and could also help the Jays build around him as other free agents and trade candidates see that Guerrero is a Blue Jay.

Without an extension, it becomes increasingly tougher to justify not trading Guerrero while they still can. Letting him walk for nothing would be a complete catastrophe.

Blue Jays won't go anywhere without improving their bullpen in a big way

The starting rotation underwhelmed and the lineup predictably struggled, but the bullpen was an absolute mess for the Blue Jays in 2024. Their 4.82 bullpen ERA ranked 29th in the majors and their -2.5 bullpen fWAR was the worst mark in the majors by far. They were worse in both categories than the 121-loss Chicago White Sox.

Obviously, the Jordan Romano injury and Yimi Garcia trade played a huge role in this disaster, but for the most part, this Jays bullpen leaves a lot to be desired. For them to be taken seriously, it'll need a complete overhaul with few exceptions.

Whether the upgrades come in free agency, the trade market, or both, the Jays must add three or four relievers to make their bullpen a somewhat serious one. Romano and Chad Green should probably be the only relievers guaranteed to have roster spots come Opening Day.