The Blue Jays made a major splash during the Winter Meetings this past week, swinging a trade with the Guardians that sent slugger Spencer Horwitz (very briefly) to Cleveland in exchange for second baseman Andres Gimenez and right-hander Nick Sandlin. The club also reunited with right-hander Yimi Garcia on a two-year deal during the meetings to bolster their relief mix. Now that they’ve made those additions to the bullpen and infield Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet wrote about the club’s needs going forward into the rest of the offseason, noting that the club is interested in adding an impactful slugger to the middle of the lineup to pair with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. as well as a starting pitcher who could push Yariel Rodriguez into the bullpen for the club.
It’s hardly a surprise that the club is looking to upgrade the roster in these areas given the players they’ve been connected to this winter. In the aftermath of the club’s failed pursuit of Juan Soto, Toronto has been name-checked as a potential suitor for corner outfield sluggers like Teoscar Hernandez and Anthony Santander. Nicholson-Smith opines that the outfield appears to be the “most logical” place for the club to add impact now that the addition of Gimenez has helped to solidify the club’s infield mix, particularly given the fact that center fielder Daulton Varsho is expected to start the 2025 season on the injured list after undergoing surgery on his rotator cuff back in September.
With that said, Nicholson-Smith also suggests that the club could add a more defensively-limited player to their lineup as well after parting ways with a similarly limited player in Horwitz opened up additional DH reps. To that end, Nicholson-Smith reiterates the club’s interest in Hernandez while also floating two other names worth mentioning: free agent DH Joc Pederson and Guardians first baseman Josh Naylor. Nicholson-Smith lists Pederson alongside Hernandez and Corbin Burnes among free agents the Jays have spoken to this winter, and he reports that the club is “believed to have shown some interest” in Naylor during their negotiations with Cleveland surrounding the Gimenez trade.
It’s the first time that Toronto has been directly connected to Pederson this winter, though it was just one year ago that the club was reported to have “strong interest” in the slugger before he ultimately signed with the Diamondbacks later in the winter. The soon to be 33-year-old put up a strong season in Arizona in 2024, slashing .275/.393/.515 with a 151 wRC+ in 449 trips to the plate. While Pederson’s massive platoon splits make him a somewhat lackluster option against opposing southpaws, the club’s deep group of young right-handed hitters like Leo Jimenez and Davis Schneider could be a natural fit to step into the lineup for him against tough lefties.
Naylor, meanwhile, is more of a true everyday player who sports a less significant platoon split and more defensive value but a less potent bat overall. The 27-year-old has some experience in the outfield corners but has primarily been a first baseman for the Guardians in recent year. 2024 saw Naylor slash a solid .243/.320/.456 (118 wRC+) that was mostly in line with previous years, as he’s a 121 wRC+ hitter overall since becoming a full-time player in 2022. It’s unclear if the Jays have interest in Naylor even after completing the Gimenez deal, but he certainly makes sense as a trade candidate for the Guardians given the $12MM salary MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected for the slugger in his final trip through arbitration before he reaches free agency next winter. Cleveland has well-regarded youngster Kyle Manzardo available to step in as the regular first baseman should Naylor be dealt at some point this winter.
As for pitching, Nicholson-Smith suggests that while landing Burnes in free agency “doesn’t seem especially likely,” the club pursuing an impact starter can’t be ruled out with left-hander Sean Manaea’s name floated as one possible option. It’s unclear if the club is interested in Manaea specifically, but a pitcher of that caliber could solidify the club’s rotation alongside Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios, and Chris Bassitt while pushing Rodriguez to the bullpen after he posted a lackluster 90 ERA+ in 21 starts last year. Attractive as that may seem to Blue Jays fans, Nicholson-Smith cautions that it’s unclear whether the Jays would have the stomach to make an impact addition both to the rotation and the lineup this winter.
RosterResource puts the club’s luxury tax number at just over $228MM, meaning they have around $12MM remaining in the budget before they surpass the first luxury tax threshold. Even on impact addition seems certain to carry them past that mark, but a second one would run the risk of pushing them into the uncharted territory of surpassing the second threshold, which sits at $261MM in 2025. Given that, Nicholson-Smith suggests the club may have to choose between targeting an impact slugger and an impact starter before making a lower-level addition to address the other need. Jesse Winker and J.D. Martinez are among the veteran sluggers who may be available for relatively cheap in free agency, while back-end starting options who wouldn’t break the bank include players like Michael Lorenzen and Colin Rea.
This is the proper headline. We know everyone is interested in everyone.
That is just not true
How many times can an organization get spurned by so many big fish free agents.
They will continue to reject offers by the blue jays because Atkins and Shapiro continue to run this organization .the player on the team do not like these guys how are new players going to deal with them .
They’ve taken over the role that the San Francisco Giants used to inhabit.
Heard Michael Brantley and Shohei Ohtani signings are imminent. Flying to Toronto right now to check in on this story.
Anyone check the flight logs?
This joke is getting old….but still so good.
Loperfido is a lefty batter
loperfido is a lefty
Surprising the Mets weren’t in on Giminez. Between Mauricio, Acuna, and Baty there isn’t an obvious heir to McNeil at 2B.
They might believe that McNeil’s 870 OPS his last two months or so was the real thing, and / or that Mauricio is a fair bet to handle the position.
What would it take for the BlueJays to get Luis Robert jr?
What does Robert Jr, Varsho and Hernandez in the outfield sound like? Springer as DH?
Then the BlueJays need to get some pitching
Probably Bloss, Orelvis as headliners
Springer’s value is strictly in decent defense I think. (he has no actual value)
Yah, I think in the above scenario, Springer is in right and Teo would be the DH.
“Slugger” Spencer Horwitz?
I’m sure there is a large number of free agents clamoring to be in on the fun of a last place team. Why the Jays could even pass the Rays with signings mentioned in this article.
It’s time for the rebuild…but you just can’t trust Shapiro and Ross to oversee it.
No idea how a team that is confirmed as a top pursuer for two guys who sign $700 million contracts in back to back offseasons spends so little when those free agents go elsewhere.
Blue Jays never have Plan Bs, I guess.
Uhm. “spends so little”. Spends so little?
According to this article, they’re bumping up against that 1st tax threshold thinger. With one signing taking them over it and a 2nd possibly surpassing the 2nd threshold.
Who’s in charge there, anyways?
After spending 115 million so far this offseason, Atkins hasn’t improved the team not even marginally, they will fight with the Rays for fourth again.
Add to the fact that he’s completely botched the Vlad negotiations to a point where they can’t afford him anymore and it overall is a bleak outlook.
This window had so much promise but was butchered by poor team planning and awful drafting. Oh well, atleast Atkins can put those team gold gloves on his resume
Hope he requires a resume soon…
The good news is this is Shapiro’s last year. He’s the real GM. (Ross can’t go to the bathroom with-out Mark’s ok.)
I said from the second AA left, this team would be a disaster. AA was and is the best baseball exec. We had him and chased him away. Rogers deserves everything they get.
FA’s, trades, development, drafting…LOL. For 10 years, they’ve screwed everything up.
1 more year and we can get a new F.O.
Anything that happens until then is just marking time.
Were almost there.
So many dumb comments like this. Everyone loves to pretend that they knew in 2021 that this thing would fail when so many experts predicted the Jays to be a juggernaut for years. But no, you knew. I’m glad. Good for you. It’s strange that there are so many people who knew this wouldn’t work back in 2021, yet never made comments to that effect.
I agree that what Atkins has done has not worked and that a change is needed. But to pretend every move has been a poor one and that they never sign any free agent and Rogers is cheap is just so dishonest.
The reputation this guys have built around the league , no wonder no one wants to come here . They current players on the team do not trust these guys to help this team win why would new players be any different
I think the aftertaste of that wildcard game vs. the twins still floats around. The players wanna play…the data guys tell them when and how. Tough to accept from people that never played the level.
And that followed the previous bitter aftertaste leftover from the 2022 playoff loss that saw JP Crawford’s bloop parachute single into no man’s land where Springer Bichette smashed into each other and Jordan Romano looking slackjawed because the Mariners just tied it up. Was that all because Schneider took out Gausman too early ? Was that the narrative. Teo hit two bombs in that game. What a classic!
The Jays made the playoffs in 2020, just missed 2021, made the playoffs in 2022, made the playoffs in 2023. People here are acting like they have been a 100 loss team for a decade.
That they haven’t won a playoff game with this group is meaningless noise.
So many of you act like you know how Vladdy feels and exactly how all the other players on the team feel and how the rest of the league feels about the Jays. People here don’t know anything about that at all.
Have they failed to develop their farm system? Absolutely and now it is gonna cost them. To say they “never sign free agents” and “are cheap” is ridiculous. Springer? Gausmann? Bassett? Berrios extension? Yeah, all signs of a team that is “cheap”.
They spent 265mil on a team that failed. That is not being cheap, that is being incompetent at building a winning team.
Jays tried. They failed. Another group should get a shot now. People need to stop making stuff up.
Also signed Ryu.
who predicted them to be a juggernaut for years? that’s just garbage.
yes bichettes decline was not likely foretold, but this teams date was definitely decided in 2022 with a defense first philosophy shift. Keeping Jansen or Kirk over Moreno was dumb, even if it did bring in Varsho. but trading TH for a holds guy was insane. it was the commencement of their issues hitting wise. took away a big layer of protection in the lineup. then last year missing out on Ohtani…. fine, but pivoting to complete garbage fill ins was a slap in the face to fans.
ultimately this team has a FO that should have been fired at least two seasons ago, but because Shapiro is actually being in $$$$ the infield product can suck. it’s what you get with a corporate owner.
Who would you have signed in the offseason last year out of curiosity? There was nobody in the offseason to sign it was one of the worst off seasons in history outside of Ohtani, 1 huge name, and on one else. I agree the fan base should be upset as am i, however you got to be out of your mind to think that it was entirely their fault for not signing anyone when there was no one to sign
Whiteboy- Gimenez is a sneaky good acquisition. You want a guy like Burnes and you want to keep their current starters happy you get the best defensive guys. They now have that in cf and 2b which makes them appealing to every mlb pitcher.
the lousy GM shapiro and his carryon baggage atkins, deserve NO Credit whatsoever…the 2 Cleveland Clowns have to Go !!
When Shapiro and Atkins came in they talked at length about their plan to build a sustainable organization fed by a productive farm system. Simply hasn’t happened. other than Vlad and Bo, which has left them chasing free agents every season to tax threshold, and still not having success.
AA signed Vlad
That’s what I said last year everything you said is absolute 100 percent true . So why the hell is Rogers hanging onto those guys . One simple reason the fans keep supporting a really lousy organization .If the fans stop buying tickets and attending these games maybe Rogers will finally wake up .
When there pocket are affected they will finally see the light .
Forgetting about the on field performance for a sec, under Shapiro, Rogers has never spent more for players and facilities. jays have spent 500 mill on Rogers center and Dunedin renos in the last few years. Clearly Ed must really trust Shapiro
The problem is, they’ve followed the leafs model of selling seasons tickets to corporations and suits rather than to fans.
Regardless of how full the centre is, the seats have been paid for.
When Andres Gimenez counts as a “big splash” from MLBTR, the Blue Jays should adopt the name of jays in warmer, more arid southern climates: the Scrub Jays
Not trying to troll the writer or Toronto actually, just a bit lost on what the org is trying to do. At least this offseason’s move makes a bit more sense than last offseason’s moves.
I remember the first time he was introduced on McCown’s show. Even then he was talking grass on the field. Never happened.
As of now, his legacy is a cup holder on every seat, and p’ing off season ticket holders that lost their seats to the infield expansion.
Hardly anything to crow about.
That’s not true at all re:corporations
And that’s a pretty pessimistic view, there’s a lot new shared spaces, bars, decks and soon the lounges underneath. Regardless of what you think, they still ponied up 400 mil, how is that nothing.
I’ve been to some very good games back in the Exhibition Stadium days.
I guess I’m old school…rather see the effort put into players and player development….the “on-field” product.
This is their highest payroll of all time.
This is not a good team, but money is not the problem. It doesn’t make you old school, you’re just being unreasonable
ya and they’re still needing 2/3rds of a bullpen, LF, DH 3b and a high end starter away from competing.
The philosophy was right, more than enough money was applied to it, but the execution was a failure. They made huge investments in player development with the new complex and lots of high performance and advanced analytics people, and hiring more people all around, it’s just none of it resulted in actually developing players and they find themselves with the 27th ranked farm system.
The last paragraph should be a no-brainer. If they can only afford one higher priced player with the money left and their choice is between pitcher or hitter, the money has to go to a decent hitter and then fill the back of the rotation with whomever. If the only adds to the lineup are more low rent guys, there’s no point on spending a bunch of money on a pitcher.
The offense was awful last year and has yet to be improved in the offseason. No pitcher can help you win if your offense never shows up.
Canuckleball;
I watched Shapiro when he was in Cleveland. From a distance it sure seems that no one in the Baseball Ops area was allowed to know more about baseball than him. In time it came out quite simply that the history major, a son of a powerful players agent, knew a lot about glad-handling and was learning analytics on the run. Always good at selling himself to people, and spending money that wasn’t his.
He’s done in Toronto what he did in Cleveland baseball-wise: Get the franchise to a point where they could get in the playoffs and I think even the WS one year, but couldn’t adapt when other teams adapted to his. Hiring Terry Francona saved his bacon, Tito was the reason for the Cleveland franchise turned around. To his credit, Mr. Shapiro has done a bang-up job on the business of the park and surrounding area…..no small accomplishment.
I’ve written this for years here: The issue with the Jays is the manager and coaching staff. The successful teams make a good percentage of the players they have under contract (at all levels) better. The Jays don’t. Period. Yes, according to some Jays fans they traded “prospects ” for name players. But in reality, those were salary dumps. Few of the prospects the Jays traded amounted to much. So every offseason they do what they’re doing this offseason: Negotiating with name players and drive up the salary the teams that ultimately sign them pay. Explain: Why in heavens name would Shohei Ohtani or Juan Soto sign with Toronto to play for the Blue Jays? But it brings pub to the marketing people at businesses in the Toronto area that buy tickets. The business writes them off their taxes, and let employees go to games as a goodwill gesture. Nothing wrong with that.
Baseball tip: MLB is now a bullpen game. The bullpen is the most volatile component of a ML team. 80% of name bullpenners that are signed for good money after a fine season wind up not doing as well the next year…and oftentimes even worse the year after (which really hurts if they got a multi-year contract). The Jays have never had a good bullpen under Shapiro-Atkins, although they keep trying to buy one. In appears the Jays scouts either can’t recognize candidates that can be improved and/or the coaching staff doesn’t know how to work with relief pitchers.
Year round Jays fans come on here saying the need this pitcher or that position player. What they need is a baseball ORGANIZATION: A sharp PoBO, Manager, Scouts, Analysts, and coaching staff at all levels.
A lot more teams win the world series with below average hitting than with below average pitching. Pitching and defense and a very mediocre lineup can win a lot of games. It’s just that the Jays only had starting pitching and no bullpen, and in today’s game where starters go 6 innings that’s not viable.
Frankly this team isn’t one piece away from being a winner so it doesn’t really matter which direction they go with their one more good player. I just hope they can make the season entertainingly competitive to some degree and if not flip guys for prospects at the deadline.
What offensive players other than Blad or Bo are on this current roster
None the roster is horrible.
Jays need at least 3 bats now that they traded Horwitz
Yeah…they haven’t replaced Horwitz’ bat yet. Hopefully, they can find somebody soon.
It can be tough to identify sarcasm sometimes, but it kinda seems like you were mocking the loss of Horwitz. If not, my apologies.
If so, worth noting he produced a 125 OPS+ and was the Jays 2nd best hitter last year. It actually is a noteworthy loss.
Yes I know I watch the team. Either Atkins doesn’t or he is purposely putting the most unwatchable team possible.
Why didn’t they just secure naylor when talking w guardians ?? Smh
His glove probably wasn’t good enough, and his bat was probably too productive.
loperfido bats right?
Bats left, throws right….
The team that doesn’t extend their own players, has a poor farm system and appears to have been either dimwitted in the recent trade adding $69 million payroll after the current GMs contract expired as opposed to trading for Ortiz from Pittsburg.
Are we not tired of writers paid by the Blue Jays owners, giving us exciting moves the Jays might make but are not. If Rogers is so bent on not winning, at some point, paying fans will figure it out.
Watching the Blue Jays moves in the last few off seasons is like watching paint dry , Atkins and Shapiro are absolutely doing nothing .Look even Oakland has made2 big move getting two major league pitchers. The problem with Toronto fans is they do not get it , they go to games to be seen and party , what Shapiro and Atkins put on the field is secondary and Rogers does not care as long as pockets lined.
I applaud Vlad for declining the so called offer
The Blue Jays made at 340 million for his services , first of all what is taking these guys so long to figure out this guy is an all star player to build a team around ,when questioned Atkins said he is not quite a superstar but getting there. He will probably
Leave the team because he figures these twits are not build a competitive team around him , how many times have you heard player after player accusing Atkins and Shapiro not providing talent for this team to compete .
To the blue Jay fans if they lose Vlad they will lose Bo so then get ready for 5-10 years of no playoffs and last place finishes in division while they rebuild and high draft picks do not slwsys become major league ball players , most fail.
Joey Loperfido is a lefty.
Blue Jays offseason plans is moron Ross Atkins saying they’re interested in “everyone” but he’s actually sitting on the toilet playing with himself. Same goes for jackass Mark Shapiro, whos done nothing but oversee the destruction of the Cleveland Indians and now the Toronto Blue Jays on top of treating loyal fan bases like trash!
How many of you bozos need to mention Loperfido is a lefty?
Naylor is from Canada. He makes plenty of sense for the Jays.
Didn’t that Nicholson Smith guy used to write for this site? Pretty sure he did and he’s a Cubs fan of course.
Apparently Naylor didn’t make sense. They traded with guardians already and he wasn’t moved. I’ve been giving the jays benefit of the doubt for several years now due to difficulties of playing in Canada but they are their own demise at this point. Trades aren’t very good, FA signings are average, players are underperforming. They are going to sink to last place in AL East as early as next season and idk how they get out of it ??
The so called “unicorn budget” for Juan Soto was just that: imaginary.
Jay’s are never going to do anything
“Meanwhile” has to START the sentence. It’s not supposed to come in the middle, separated by commas.