Blue Jays Will Have to Substantially Increase Payroll to Accomplish Offseason Goals
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After the Toronto Blue Jays suffered their agonizing loss in Game 7 of the World Series, both president Mark Shapiro and general manager Ross Atkins were pointed about what they want to get accomplished this offseason.
Understanding that Bo Bichette is going to be at the forefront of everyone's mind, Atkins stated they would like to re-sign the star infielder. But he also gave some insight into other areas the team will be targeting, which is upgrading the starting rotation and adding bullpen pieces.
That all sounds great on the surface. Every team would love to keep one of their star players around and add more pitching depth. But for the Blue Jays to actually accomplish that, the ownership group has to be willing to spend some serious money.
Blue Jays Will Need to Increase Payroll in Massive Fashion
"I don't see that support going backwards at all," Atkins said, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet, regarding the commitment from the ownership group when it comes to payroll.
Well, Toronto will need the support to push forward in order to keep Bichette around, bolster the starting rotation and add some more bullpen arms. Because Darragh McDonald of MLB Trade Rumors took a look at the payroll from 2025 and what it could be in 2026, and it's clear the Blue Jays will have to shell out money.
"RosterResource projects the club for a $235MM payroll next year. That's more than $20MM shy of the $258MM they spent in 2025, per RR. If payroll stays steady, that gives the Jays some room to make a notable move, though it would obviously be easier if the budget goes up," McDonald stated.
Considering Bichette is projected to get a contract that's $25 million or more on an annual basis, and quality starting pitchers can be worth $15 million or more per year, just that alone would put Toronto's 2026 payroll above what they had this past season. And that's without adding a single reliever.
Blue Jays Ownership Will Be Tested on Their Commitment
How far Rogers Communications is willing to go will be tested this winter. There's no doubt they have put a ton of resources into this ballclub. They were one of the top spending teams in baseball this year and have been towards the top for some time. But if the Blue Jays are actually going to accomplish what they want this offseason, then even more money will have to be spent.
That's a lot to ask. But coming off a World Series appearance that ignited the entire country, doing whatever they can to get back to that point is something that should happen in Toronto.
