The future of the Toronto Blue Jays franchise hinges on the front office's ability to re-sign Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and potentially Bo Bichette, but most eyes are on Guerrero.
The superstar is projected to land a contract worth north of $500 million when he hits the open free agency market next winter, but the Blue Jays are continuing to try to boost their odds of keeping him. The first way they're doing this is by trying to sign him to a contract extension, duh. But that doesn't seem too likely.
So the Blue Jays did their best to put together a winning team around Guerrero in an attempt to show him the team means business. Playing for a winning culture for the next 10 or 15 years is seemingly going to be important for Guerrero, so the Blue Jays must prove they can win this year by going to the postseason.
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Andrés Giménez trade is shaping up like the best move for Toronto
Among the moves made by Toronto this offseason was the blockbuster signing of Anthony Santander. Santander steps into the Blue Jays' lineup as a top of the order bat with the potential to slug 40 home runs and protect Guerrero at the top of the order.
With that said, the early-season star for the Blue Jays has been trade acquisition Andrés Giménez. Giménez has gotten off to quite the fast start as he's slashing a very impressive .333/.455/.944 with three home runs and five RBIs in just 18 at-bats. To put things into context, he hit just nine home runs in nearly 600 at-bats a year ago.
While this offense is great, Giménez is mainly there for his defense. He's one of the best infield defenders in the league and the Blue Jays can use him as the center piece of their infield on defense.
Beyond Giménez, Toronto added a new hitting coach this year and the team looks to be responding well to the teaching. Toronto is going to need to make the postseason to increase their chances of re-signing Guerrero and the offense is off to a solid start with this goal in mind.