Toronto Blue Jays 2025-2026 Offseason Wishlist
The Blue Jays were one of baseball's very best teams in 2025, but fell just short in the World Series. How can they upgrade ahead of another run in 2026?
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Many of the Toronto Blue Jays‘ wishes came true this season – they made the World Series, won the American League East, had one of the league’s best offenses, and had one of the most memorable seasons in franchise history. But they still fell short of their ultimate goal of actually winning the World Series, so there’s still a wishlist to be made.
Regardless of how the season ended, however, the offseason has begun and the Blue Jays need to look forward to next year and not dwell on the successes and failures of this specific season. Some players are locked up for years to come and others might be on their way out, but the Jays have a big offseason ahead of them.
Free Agents
- Bo Bichette (Declined $22.05M QO)
- Chris Bassitt
- Max Scherzer
- Seranthony Domínguez
- Isiah Kiner-Falefa
- Ty France
Out of the six players who have become free agents for the Blue Jays, Bo Bichette is without a doubt the most important name to focus on. It’s a no-brainer for the Blue Jays to have a successful offseason that Bichette needs to remain a Blue Jay. His presence in their lineup has been so steady and consistent throughout his years in Toronto.
Chris Bassitt found a new role in Toronto’s bullpen in the postseason, pitching to the tune of a 1.04 ERA over seven relief outings in October. He’s going to be paid as a starter wherever he goes, but this just goes to show his dedication to the franchise. His impact will be missed if he doesn’t re-sign.
Kiner-Falefa, France, and Domínguez were all trade deadline acquisitions this season that played their own crucial roles throughout the Jays’ run to the World Series. While unfortunate for the team that they’ll likely head elsewhere in free agency, they’ve earned themselves some more bargaining chips in their own contract negotiations. Plus, France won a Gold Glove this season!
Top Offseason Priorities
Entice a Big-Time Hitter
The Blue Jays have long been rumoured to be close to signing some of the biggest names in free agency over the last few seasons and have come up short nearly every single time, and they need a big-name player to add to their intimidation factor.
Shane Bieber opting into his player option for 2026 is indicative of the enticing atmosphere surrounding the Jays right now, and they need to capitalize on it.
Potential Free Agents: Bo Bichette (R), Kyle Tucker (L), Cody Bellinger (L)
The Jays might not have reached an agreement with Bichette on an extension while he was still under contract, but they remain one of, if not the most, likely to sign him in free agency. He declined a $22.05 million Qualifying Offer from the Blue Jays, securing the team a compensatory draft pick if Bo signs elsewhere, but this doesn’t have any bearing on whether he’ll choose to re-sign in Toronto or not.
His 181 hits land him in a tie for second-place in MLB alongside Luis Arráez of the Padres, as Bobby Witt Jr. slugged 184 hits in a Silver Slugger and Gold Glove-winning season..in 18 more games played than Bichette. According to FanGraphs’ “Clutch” metric that defines a player’s ability to outperform their average output in high leverage situations, Bichette is the third-most “clutch” player in MLB.
If sabermetrics aren’t your thing, then just look at his slashline with runners in scoring position (RISP): .381/.427/.626, leading all qualified hitters in batting average in this split and has the third most RBI (80). Suffice to say, the Blue Jays need to keep Bichette if they want to make it back to the World Series once more.
A vast number of MLB insiders have been whispering that the Jays are the most likely team to land outfielder Kyle Tucker to a long-term deal and, as much as that could potentially be true, it falls in line with how close the Jays have been on guys like Juan Soto and Shohei Ohtani…close but not close enough.
Tucker and Bellinger would serve in the Jays’ corner outfield (likely right field) and would seek to improve upon what’s left to be desired of the Anthony Santander contract. It’s unclear how the lineup could be shaken up with an addition like one of these outfielders, but they headline the hitters’ market and would be incredible adds.
Bolster the Rotation
According to fWAR, the Blue Jays had the 23rd-most valuable starting rotation in the league this season, and this simply isn’t good enough for a team that wants to be competing at or near the top of MLB. The Jays are losing Bassitt (11-9, 3.96 ERA, 170.1 IP) to free agency and he would be a welcome returnee if possible.
As of right now, the Blue Jays’ rotation (in no particular order) is composed of Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage, Bieber, José Berríos, and Bowden Francis (if healthy). Francis posted a 6.05 ERA across 14 starts this season before being put on the shelf for the remainder of the season, but if he can resume his 3.30 ERA form from 2024, then he can absolutely secure himself a fifth spot in this rotation. Alternatively, Eric Lauer could also fight for a back-end rotation spot.
Potential Free Agents: Framber Valdez (L), Ranger Suárez (L), Dylan Cease (R), Tatsuya Imai (R), Chris Bassitt (R)
The free agent market for starting pitchers is quite deep this year, with bona fide MLB talent like LHP Framber Valdez, RHP Dylan Cease, LHP Ranger Suárez, and many others alongside NPB superstar RHP Tatsuya Imai on the market.
Toronto’s rotation is serviceable as of this point, but a solid number-one or two addition to the top of the rotation to strengthen the Jays’ starting depth and lessen the workload required of their relievers. The Jays are one of the potential landing spots for both Suárez and Valdez this offseason, and they could be perfect fits for Toronto’s roster.
The Blue Jays lost out on winning the AL Team Gold Glove Award for the third consecutive season as the Texas Rangers took home the award, but the Jays have had one of, if not the best, infield defenses in baseball and could be perfect fits for pitchers like Suárez and Valdez who rely on high groundball rates to get outs. Expect the Jays to be big players this offseason on names like these.
Trade Targets: Sandy Alcántara (R), Kodai Senga (R), MacKenzie Gore (L)
It feels like Sandy Alcántara has been on the trading block for a long time now, and he was one of the most baffling arms to not be traded at this year’s deadline. The Marlins may have finished with a much better record than they were expected to, but Sandy still has incredible trade value that the Marlins could move on from in order to just shake things up.
Toronto could offer some big-league-calibre depth options to keep Miami in the hunt at the MLB level, or the Marlins could decide that they’re not ready to compete just yet and sell him for prospects. He has two years left including a 2027 club option worth $21 million, so he’d take up some payroll space, though.
Kodai Senga was referred to by ESPN’s Jeff Passan as “extremely available” and his unique ‘ghost-fork’ pitch could benefit Toronto’s staff that already boasts strong splitters (Yesavage, Gausman, Hoffman, etc.) so the fit could definitely work. The Mets are always likely to spend in free agency under Steve Cohen, so they could easily fill his rotation spot with a new arm.
Adding MacKenzie Gore to this conversation is more of a longshot, as he’s one of the strongest young pitchers in the league. By the end of June, Gore led MLB in strikeout rate with a 11.73 K/9 and he earned his first All-Star nod this season. It’s 50/50 whether the Nationals will actually consider trading Gore, as he’s one of the staples of their return for Juan Soto when they traded him to the Padres in 2022.
The Jays could use a fireballing lefty in their rotation and Gore could satisfy that perfectly. The ball would be in Washington’s court, though, as it’d be up to them whether to move on from him or not. If presented with the opportunity, it’s clear the Jays or any contending team would pounce at the chance to take him on.
Add Veteran Bullpen Help
Toronto’s bullpen was one of the league’s most interesting last season, and went through stretches of time where it was completely unreliable or absolutely unhittable. In 2026 and beyond, the Jays are going to look to establish a bullpen that can reliably lock down a lead when given one and this needs to be done with a veteran arm(s).
Names like Mason Fluharty, Braydon Fisher, and Louis Varland played a huge role in Toronto’s success this season, but their inexperience might leave a little to be desired about their performance in high-leverage situations. Varland set a single-season record with 15 games pitched in this year’s postseason and Fluharty and Fisher both got huge outs in October for the Jays as well, but they might need some more help.
Especially with Seranthony Domínguez headed to free agency (21.0 IP, 3.00 ERA) and Jeff Hoffman’s rocky position as the Jays’ closer in 2025, there are some names that could truly help this team bolster the back end of their pen.
Potential Free Agents: Edwin Díaz (R), Ryan Helsley (R)
All of these names have plenty of experience locking down saves and/or serving as All-Star-calibre setup guys and they could all help Toronto bring a little more intimidation out of their bullpen. Edwin Díaz just won NL Reliever of the Year, his third time winning the award (2x NL, 1x AL) and his electric fastball-slider combination could be a real change of pace from the rest of the Jays’ relievers. He’s likely the most sought-after reliever on the market.
Ryan Helsley had a strange 2025 season, having a strong first half of the season and being traded from the Cardinals to the Mets where he posted a 7.20 ERA over 20 games with them (-0.2 fWAR). He’s a flamethrower who can easily hit 100MPH on any given day, but he might be a bit more unproven compared to his contemporaries listed above. He could be a dark horse candidate for Toronto to pick up for their bullpen and would fetch a lower price tag than a name like Edwin Díaz.
Toronto could also look to trade for a bullpen arm if they find some other pitchers that fit their trade board better than those on the free agent market.
Trade Targets: Jose A. Ferrer (L), Ronny Henriquez (R), Garrett Cleavinger (L)
If the Blue Jays choose to trade for a reliever instead of opting to sign one in free agency, they’ll likely look to add another left-hander to their staff. Garrett Cleavinger of the Tampa Bay Rays looks like a prime candidate to bolster Toronto’s southpaws in their pen alongside Fluharty and Brendon Little.
Jose A. Ferrer is less proven at the MLB level than some of these other players, but he boasted a 97.7 MPH sinker and a ridiculous 4.9% walk rate this season – so essentially Little if he was able to to strike out and walk less hitters. A valuable player on a Nationals team that likely isn’t going anywhere next season.
Ronny Henriquez got his first full big-league season under his belt in 2025 and he’s been a very dependable reliever for the Marlins. Considering that the Marlins finished just under .500 (79-83) they may see next season as a potential window of contention and not listen to offers on young arms like Henriquez. But if they do, you best believe the Jays will be calling.
Closing Thoughts
To sum it all up, this is going to be a very big and important offseason for the Toronto Blue Jays. They’ve earned themselves what seemed like an improbable contention window to compete for the World Series, and they have some moves to make to give themselves an even better chance at getting back there over the next few seasons.
Whether this is in the form of bringing back parts of the 2025 team to reunite and run it back again or by adding new pieces from free agency or via trade, this team is going to be one of the league’s toughest going forward.
Plus, the Jays have some very talented prospects on the rise (3 in Just Baseball’s Top 100 Prospects List!) that could play a massive role in either the acquisition of new players or being called up to help the big-league team sooner rather than later. Toronto had a special 2025 season and will look to improve upon it in any way possible this offseason. They were one win away from the ultimate goal and fell short, so the hunger to get back is stronger than ever.
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Ethan has been writing for Just Baseball since 2024 and is fascinated by how sabermetric statistics can assist our understanding of outcomes and probability in baseball.…