If the early offseason rumours are to be trusted, the Blue Jays certainly appear to be interested in spending this offseason. After coming within a game of a World Series title, Ross Atkins and company will look to return even stronger for next year to hopefully return to the playoffs and beyond.
When considering how aggressive a team should be in a given offseason, it’s important to note how the best players in each free agent class compare to those in future years.
Let’s take a look at how this crop of free agents stacks up against next winter.
Top of the order bats
This year’s class has several hitters who should slot in among the top half of their new team’s lineups.
Kyle Tucker is probably the biggest name on the free agent market this winter, a guy the Jays have rumoured interest in. Kyle Schwarber, Bo Bichette, Cody Bellinger, Alex Bregman, and Pete Alonso are also top-flight options that will have the ability to become one of the best players on whichever team they sign with this offseason.
Respectfully, there’s no hitter in next year’s class that offers the upside that any of the aforementioned players do.
Two of the top bats available will be Toronto’s George Springer and Dalton Varsho, who the team could look to extend at some point this offseason. Some of the other top hitters that could be available include Trent Grisham, Jazz Chisholm Jr., J.P. Crawford, Ian Happ, Randy Arozarena, Gleyber Torres, and Max Muncy. While these players are solid big leaguers, they don’t offer the star power and top-of-the-lineup presence that some of the sluggers available this year do.
Starting pitching
This year’s free agent class offers some intriguing starting pitching options, although it probably doesn’t include any true aces.
Framber Valdez, Ranger Suarez and Dylan Cease are the top options available, and each should be considered #2 or #3 starters (or a #1 on some teams that lack a true ace). Brandon Woodruff’s decision to accept his qualifying offer from Milwaukee takes away one of the top options on the market and pushes him to next year’s class. Otherwise, Michael King, Zac Gallen, and Chris Bassitt represent the next best starting options.
There is also an intriguing option coming from Japan in Tatsuya Imai, who was officially posted yesterday for all 30 MLB teams. He figures to be a top-end arm, although he carries the risk associated with a pitcher coming over to the MLB after a strong career overseas.
Next year’s class has a bit more juice as far as starters go, led by back-to-back AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal. There’s a good chance that the Detroit Tigers ace will reset the starting pitching market when he signs next offseason, and there is a chance he could get traded before the next offseason rolls around if the two sides can’t close the gap on extension talks.
Chris Sale, Kevin Gausman, Freddy Peralta, and Woodruff are ace types who should all be highly coveted next offseason. Some other names like Jesus Luzardo, Shota Imanaga, Shane Bieber, Nick Pivetta (potential opt-out), Corbin Burnes (potential opt-out), and Jack Flaherty give this class a lot of depth.
Closers
There are two top free agent closers available this year in Edwin Diaz and Robert Suarez, who opted out of his deal with the Padres. If the Blue Jays are to acquire one of these two, they will certainly need to be comfortable with making one of them the highest-paid closers in the game. Some other closing options include Raisel Iglesius, Ryan Helsley, Pete Fairbanks, and Devin Williams, who should all command a sizeable contract as well.
Next year’s closer class doesn’t offer quite as much, with David Bednar, Bryan Abreu, and David Adam projected to be the top options.
If the Blue Jays intend to spend money on a closer, it’s pretty clear that the time to strike is now.
Final Verdict
This free agent class offers a lot more potential than what may be available this time next year.
The Blue Jays are willing to spend money, and they should not be shy about making some significant offers this year. The one area where next year’s class is stronger is starting pitching, although that group includes two Toronto hurlers in Gausman and Bieber and potentially Berrios, who holds a player option. For this reason, it probably makes more sense to spend on starting pitching this offseason, so that they can field as strong a rotation as possible for 2026.
It remains to be seen who they will be able to acquire, but it’s easy to make the case that the addition of a slugger, starting pitcher, and closer should all be made this offseason instead of next. The abundance of options and win-now mentality should make the Blue Jays one of the most aggressive teams in baseball this winter.