The Blue Jays can manage the midseason trade market significantly if the contract between Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Beaubichette remains unresolved.
Last year, the New York Yankees made a bold move to acquire Fan Soto, moving forward all the way to the World Series. Soto left as a free agent this year, but the Yankees are still expected to make enough noise in the American League East.
The Baltimore Orioles finished second in the division in just three games for the Yankees. Their young roster gathered to surprise some of the strong season.
The Boston Red Sox finished third in the Orioles’ 10 games. They made some major upgrades this offseason, including a trade with frontline starter Garrett Crochet and signing a third baseman Alex Bregman.
Many people believe that these three teams are still creams of the crops in that department. This is more attention than any other major league baseball division.
This is what makes the Toronto Blue Jays the most interesting team in baseball when they began spring training for the 2025 campaign.
Toronto finished 20 games from the start of last year in the final spot in the American League East. The Blue Jays were in 14 games under .500 and were fifth in Tampa’s six games. To say the performance was overwhelming is an understatement.
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The Blue Jays were in a mix of many top free agents this winter, but were short for everyone. They managed to sign outfielder Anthony Santander later in the game, but fans feel that not landing at least one top piece is a big mistake for the organization.
He is expected to reach unlimited free agency following the 2025 season and is expected to entertain large offers. When you hit the market before you turn 27, you open the door for long-term contracts that reach over $400 million.
The disagreement between Toronto and Guerrero to extend before camp opened quickly put his name at the top of the league-wide trade rumours. Losing anything on him is devastating if the Blue Jays can’t keep him beyond this season.
But Guerrero isn’t the only contractual issue the Blue Jays are staring at as new seasons begin.
Shortstop Bo Bichette, who has seen a promising career that has been stagnant, is also likely to enter the final year of his contract and hit the free agent market before his 28th birthday. Last season was his first season with his OPS+ below 120 as his OPS+ was limited to 81 games due to injuries.
If the Blue Jays have to make tough decisions on two young players who are considered the franchise’s face and the centerpiece of the competitive window, they will raise additional questions about the roster that are not getting younger around them.
Toronto’s starting spin suddenly very old. They added future Hall of Fame Max Scherzer on a one-year contract this winter. He turned 41 in late July and appeared in just 17 games over the past two seasons (both the Texas Rangers).
Scherzer has joined the rotation with Kevin Gausman (34), Chris Bassitt (36) and José Berríos (31) and has the Jays’ top four starters among the oldest starters in the game entering the season. Scherzer and Bassitt will also be free agents from the 2025 season onwards, but Gausman will remain two years left, while Berríos will be signed throughout the 2028 season.
If this season starts slowly for the Blue Jays and doesn’t seem to compete for the playoff berth, then there could be a fair amount of control over the trade market by the middle of the season. Destroying becomes important if their starting pitchers join Guerrero and Bichette as potential pieces of the market.
It looks like a difficult climb for Toronto, and the future of the franchise may depend on balance.
