Can Blue Jays get back to the World Series? Targets, trade chips after Toronto's title chase falls just short
After coming up empty in the World Series, the Blue Jays have shown they have the talent to keep pushing
Coming off a disappointing 88-loss campaign in 2024 that imperiled jobs up and down the organization, the Toronto Blue Jays in 2025 came up big. They added 20 wins to their 2024 tally, won the crown in an American League East division that yielded three playoff teams, won their first pennant since 1993, and pushed the juggernaut Dodgers to the brink in the World Series.
That sets the scene for the current offseason and the Jays' aim to go on another deep October (and November) postseason run. The good news from the Toronto standpoint is that ownership has shown an increasing willingness to invest in the on-field product, and that figures to continue. Via Cot's Contracts, here's how the Blue Jays' Opening Day, active-roster payrolls have tracked in recent years:
| Year | Opening Day payroll | MLB rank |
|---|---|---|
2019 | $114.5 million | 21 |
2020 | $51.5 million* | 20 |
2021 | $135.2 million | 13 |
2022 | $171.0 million | 11 |
2023 | $209.9 million | 7 |
2024 | $225.4 million | 6 |
2025 | $241.8 million | 5 |
*Payrolls prorated to 60-game regular season because of COVID pandemic
That's exactly what a team needs from ownership and, to make a broader point of which too many owners are willfully ignorant, Jays owners saw this not as a sacrifice to make but rather a way to grow their larger business. That's why the commitment figures to persist.
That brings us to on-field matters going into 2026. What do the Blue Jays need this offseason? Who might they target to fill those needs? Who might they move? Let's dive into that now in our offseason preview for the reigning AL champs.
Needs
For 2026, there's a lot of stability in the lineup outside of one glaring exception: shortstop. There's really only one correct way for Toronto to fill this gap, which we'll note below. Otherwise, everyone of note is back on offense, and the Jays will no doubt be hoping for a healthy and more customary season from Anthony Santander, who was a major disappointment in 2025. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. remains the face of the franchise and a lineup linchpin. All that's missing is, yes, a bedrock shortstop.
On the rotation front, the Jays received some recent good news with veteran right-hander, former Cy Young winner, and deadline addition Shane Bieber exercising his $16 million player option for 2026, which means he'll be back in Toronto. The Jays are poised to lose Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt from the rotation, but there's still a solid foundation in place. In addition to Bieber, Kevin Gausman, José Berríos, and young playoff sensation Trey Yesavage will all be back in the fold for next season. There's Eric Lauer too, but given their possible need for more left-handed relief help and Lauer's success as an occasional bullpenner, they might want him in a swing-man role moving forward. If that's indeed the case, then general manager Ross Atkins may want to make a play for a needle-moving starting pitcher.
Possible targets
Insofar as the shortstop situation is concerned, there's really only one answer for Toronto.
Bo Bichette is a Jays lifer and across his career one of the best-hitting shortstops in all of baseball. This past season also marked an impressive bounce-back campaign coming off a 2024 season in which nagging injuries sapped his production. Now take a look at his offensive body of work in the majors over his entire career:
- 2019-23: 126 OPS+
- 2024: 70 OPS+
- 2025: 129 OPS+
We'll leave you to determine which is the aberrant outlier. Bichette doesn't turn 28 years of age until early March, which means he likely has years of high-level production ahead of him. Yes, a move off of shortstop is in his future at some point, but for now Bichette's bat is more than enough to make up for any defensive back-sliding at the position. He's also a highly popular figure among Jays' paying customers and letting him walk at this organizational high point would not be well received. It'll come at a cost to retain Bichette's services on the open market, but that price is very much worth paying.
The free agent market isn't particularly strong on middle-infield options, so if the Jays squander the chance to re-up with Bichette, then they may be best served by moving Andrés Giménez to short and trading for a second baseman. On that front, Brendan Donovan of the Cardinals is probably the strongest option. He's a defensive plus at the position and he also boasts the ability to play third, first, left field, and even fill in at short in a pinch. Donovan bats lefty and has a 117 OPS+ across parts of four MLB seasons. He looked primed to reach a higher tier offensively in 2025, his first All-Star campaign, but a toe injury that cascaded throughout his lower half and compromised his swing got in the way. Donovan's going into his age-29 season and has two full years of team control remaining. It's not certain the Cardinals are willing to trade him, but given the rebuild underway they're likely persuadable.
The Jays have roughly $190 million in salary committed for 2026 and that's not counting arbitration raises for, most notably, Daulton Varsho and Ernie Clement. If Bichette is indeed brought back, that ups that figure by probably quite a bit. Would that take them out of the running for the most coveted free-agent starters like Framber Valdez and Ranger Suárez? Possibly. Maybe Shota Imanaga is a more budget-friendly route to bolstering the Toronto rotation. There are concerns about his decline in fastball velocity and strikeout numbers in the second half, but the larger body of work suggests he's still a quality mid-rotation sort.
It's not certain that the best pitcher in baseball will be traded out of Detroit going into his walk year of 2026, but it's possible. If he is shopped, then the Jays should at least get on the horn for exploratory discussions. Suffice it to say, the cost in trade would be high but worth for a Jays team that should be in championship mode.
Possible trade chips
Among prospects, Yesavage, whose rookie status is still intact, probably has the most appeal to other organizations, but it's hard to imagine the Jays would part with him unless it's part of a Skubal blockbuster. Otherwise, the Jays can build a compelling trade package around one of their two highly regarded shortstop prospects, JoJo Parker and Arjun Nimmala, or the ready-for-the-majors lefty Ricky Tiedemann. Other names include lefty Johnny King, right-hander Gage Stanifer, and outfielder Yohendrick Panango. In a hypothetical deal for Donovan, the Cardinals would likely be looking to build package around young arms with swing-and-miss potential. Of course, re-signing Bichette and then landing a free-agent starter wouldn't require parting with any prospects.
