4 Offseason Priorities the Blue Jays Can’t Afford to Miss
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The Toronto Blue Jays' dramatic 2025 season ended in crushing heartbreak. Now, the focus turns to gearing up in an effort to get back to the postseason and finish the job in 2026.
That means that it's time for the Blue Jays' much-maligned-but-now-validated two-headed brain trust of President Mark Shapiro and GM Ross Atkins to get to work. While much of the foundation of the club that came within two outs of being World Series champions is set to return, there are some key players in need of new contracts and some work to be done to address roster deficiencies.
As Toronto gets set to embark on a busy winter filled with hope, belief and some pretty high stakes, here are the club's top priorities:
1. Sign Bo Bichette
The Blue Jays' unforgettable 2025 season started with their first of many successes: locking up superstar Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to a 14-year, $500 million contract. Now, the team has another homegrown star to sign.
Following a down 2024 campaign, Bo Bichette did wonders for his contract value, slashing an impressive .311/.357/.483 while recording 18 home runs and 94 RBI in the regular season before returning from injury in the World Series to hit .348/.444/.478 and deliver a three-run blast in Game 7.
Thanks to his redemptive 2025 season, Bichette now stands as one of the most in-demand free agents on the market. He has already expressed a clear desire to remain a Blue Jay, but it remains to be seen if the two sides can come to terms.
2. Figure Out the 2026 Starting Rotation
Some fans will surely be clamoring for more emphasis placed on addressing other areas of concern among Toronto's pitching staff (more on that momentarily), but the rotation could be in flux even after a strong 2025.
As it stands, Kevin Gausman and Trey Yesavage appear to be locks for the 2026 rotation. Beyond that, Jose Berrios remains under contract but faces a murky future after falling out of favor and losing his starting spot prior to injury. Meanwhile, Chris Bassitt and Max Scherzer are bound for free agency, while Shane Bieber holds a $16 million player option, he is unlikely to exercise.
Plenty of starting depth will be needed for a club anchored, in part, by a 22-year-old Yesavage with a mere three regular-season starts under his belt. The club still has depth options like Eric Lauer and Bowen Francis (remember him?) under contract, but could also look to a free agent class that includes hurlers like Framber Valdez, Ranger Suarez and Dylan Cease.
The front office also may have interest in reunions with Bassitt and/or Scherzer, but their ages (37 and 41, respectively) make it difficult to expect either man to remain healthy and effective for a full season. And in spite of his playoff struggles, you'd have to expect the Blue Jays to have interest in bringing Bieber back.
3. The Bullpen
It’s no secret that the bullpen was the glaring weak spot on a Blue Jays team that didn’t have many. Brendan Little ultimately became a popular scapegoat, but there was shakiness throughout the relief corps at various times.
Addressing the bullpen ahead of 2026 seems inevitable, but there aren’t any easy answers to be had. Jeff Hoffman, who held onto the closer’s role all season despite never gaining complete trust, has two more years and $22 million on his contract. Yariel Rodriguez and Yimi Garcia remain on the books, while Louis Varland, Mason Fluharty, Braydon Fisher and Little are still under club control.
There figures to be some turnover within the relief ranks, but it's unclear how much focus Shapiro and Atkins are willing to place on the bullpen with many other areas to address. It may not be perfect, but Hoffman, Varland, Fluharty and a healthy Garcia serve as a good starting point for the unit heading into 2026.
4. The Arbitration Candidates
As is typically the case after a World Series run, there are plenty of players who delivered for Toronto and are now deserving of raises. Fortunately for the Blue Jays, many key contributors, including Yesavage, Varland and Addison Barger, are not yet eligible for arbitration and, therefore, remain on team-friendly deals.
There are some players, however, who remain under team control but carry arbitration eligibility, meaning there is likely some urgency to get a deal done before the ugliness of the arbitration process. Daulton Varsho and Ernie Clement headline an arbitration-eligible group that also includes Lauer and Tyler Heineman.
Varsho is probably due a raise on the $8.2 million he earned last season as an elite defensive center fielder who is also coming off of 20 home runs. Clement, meanwhile, has earned a considerable jump from the $2 million he made in 2025, particularly after setting a single-season MLB playoff record with 30 hits.
In spite of the disappointment with how the World Series ended, Toronto finds itself in the enviable but challenging position of trying to retain and even improve upon a hugely talented roster. Shapiro and Atkins are now operating with the knowledge that there is only one acceptable outcome for 2026: a championship.
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Ben Fisher is a long-time sportswriter and baseball lover, dating back to 2008, when he was a member of the media relations team for the Toronto Blue Jays. He has covered a wide range of sports for a seemingly endless array of publications, including The Canadian Press, Fansided and The Hockey Writers. When he isn't writing about sports, he can be found coaching his equally baseball-obsessed sons' Little League teams.