The Blue Jays recently made a major move to improve their lineup. By using a classic Dodgers tactic, they may still have room to make more moves if they want to.
The Toronto Blue Jays are running out of time to boost the lineup around Vladimir Guerrero Jr., but the star infielder is removing all excuses for Ross Atkins.
Vlad Guerrero Jr. had just led all of baseball with a 48-homer season. Alek Manoah was on the rise. Fan favourite Teoscar Hernandez was hitting bombs (the Jays had four players with 29 homers or more) and a young Bo Bichette was mirroring the development of his Jays sidekick, Guerrero.
Like several Toronto Blue Jays fans, Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun has seen enough. After another narrow miss in free agency (Roki Sasaki), Simmons has call
He may have been Plan C or D, but the Toronto Blue Jays finally landed a big-ticket free agent earlier this week when they signed slugger Anthony Santander to a five-year contract worth $92.5 million.
The Toronto Blue Jays pursued a marquee free agent, were among the finalists, then didn't get him. This time it was Japanese righty Roki Sasaki, who went to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Something similar happened with Corbin Burnes,
The Toronto Blue Jays finally made a splash with the Anthony Santander signing, but Ross Atkins cannot forget the offseason's ultimate goal.
The Toronto Blue Jays have been through it all this winter. On the heels of a disappointing 2024 season, Ross Atkins and the Jays front office set off to try and make a better product to remain competitive in 2025 and struggled mightily out of the gate.
The best way for Toronto to help close that gap is to convince Guerrero Jr. that he can compete in Toronto long-term. And the best way to do that is to continue adding talent this offseason, wherever the team can find it.
Roki Sasaki's introductory press conference with the Dodgers saw him make a comment that was likely aimed directly at the Toronto Blue Jays' front office.
As full details emerge, one major takeaway remains: the Toronto Blue Jays perfectly executed the Anthony Santander deal. Adding the switch-hitting outfielder to the middle of Toronto’s batting order came at the cost of five guaranteed seasons.