With the offseason opening up and a potential lockout looming on December 1, the Blue Jays are staring at a compressed winter and a long list of calls to make. The calendar is crowded, the margin for error is thin, and Toronto has plenty to sort out before the game’s rules potentially freeze in place.
The first real checkpoint arrives on November 2, when free agency opens at 5 p.m. ET and the contract-option and qualifying-offer decisions come due at the same time.
Until then, eligible players can only negotiate and re-sign with their former club, though trades remain fair game. Toronto has eight free agents on the board, including George Springer, Max Scherzer and Shane Bieber.
Springer’s six-year, $150 million contract is over, and the 37-year-old finished the year hitting .249/.321/.405 with 15 home runs and 54 RBIs in 126 games. He has not said whether he will play in 2027, but his emotional season-ending send-off sure looked like one.
Scherzer’s second year in Toronto was interrupted by several trips to the injured list, and the future Hall of Famer wrapped it up with a 5.74 ERA. He has also not decided what comes next.
Bieber is the most interesting name in the group. The 31-year-old right-hander posted a 4.37 ERA in 11 starts after injuries wiped out the first half of his season and ended it early. He has said he wants to return, but after a career-low 18.2 percent strikeout rate, the number will matter.
Toronto’s other free agents include Patrick Corbin, Yimi García, Paul Sewald, Jameson Taillon and Luis Urías.
Corbin joined the Blue Jays on April 3 after Cody Ponce’s season-ending knee injury, signing a one-year, $1 million deal. He gave Toronto a stabilizing stretch early, carrying a 3.60 ERA through the end of May, but his season finished with a 5.51 ERA in 19 games, 15 of them starts, before a season-ending injury.
García never got into a game for the Blue Jays in 2026. While rehabbing from elbow surgery, he had thoracic outlet surgery in August, closing the book on his two-year, $15 million contract in frustrating fashion.
Sewald arrived on August 12 when Toronto claimed him off waivers from the Arizona Diamondbacks. In September, the veteran right-hander allowed one earned run over 8.2 innings. He ended the year with 24 saves, all with Arizona, and a 4.73 ERA.
Taillon, acquired after being designated for assignment by the Chicago Cubs, made only three appearances while working through multiple arm issues. The Canadian right-hander finished at 5.65 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP.
Urías gave the Blue Jays a short burst after they picked him up from the Diamondbacks, batting .250 with three home runs and an .803 OPS in 26 games. A calf injury limited him, and he is now playing Winter Ball in Mexico to rebuild his value.
Also on November 2, José Berríos can opt out of the final two years and $48 million on his contract, but after Tommy John surgery on May 20, that does not look like a serious threat to the Blue Jays. He could be back late in 2027.
Myles Straw’s $8 million club option is another decision, though a steep one for a fourth outfielder despite his defense, his right-handed bat and his .241 average in 330 plate appearances. Toronto could also consider a $23.15 million qualifying offer for Bieber, but injuries make that an unlikely move.
Springer and Scherzer are not realistic qualifying-offer candidates either.
From November 9 to 12, front offices will meet in Las Vegas for the general manager meetings, and with the CBA expiring only weeks later, trade chatter and free-agent talks should pick up quickly.
The qualifying-offer acceptance deadline lands on November 12 at 4 p.m. ET. The Blue Jays are not expected to hand out a QO, though they could pursue players who receive one from their former teams.
Then comes November 17, when Toronto has to decide which eligible prospects belong on the 40-man roster to stay safe from the December 9 Rule 5 Draft. With a possible lockout ahead, the Blue Jays could choose to leave some players exposed if they think the draft may never happen.
Right-hander Nolan Perry, who put up a 2.50 ERA and a 36 percent strikeout rate over 82.2 innings, and Buffalo Bisons MVP Josh Kasevich, who hit .282/.364/.363, look like locks. First baseman Peyton Williams and right-handers Gage Stanifer and Daniel Guerra are also in the mix.
The next big deadline is November 20, when teams must decide on players under club control. Toronto has eight arbitration-eligible players, with a projected total cost of about $27.3 million if everyone is tendered. Those players are Ernie Clement, José Soriano, Josh Smith, Bowden Francis, Spencer Arrighetti, Louis Varland, Nathan Lukes and Davis Schneider.
Soriano, Varland and Lukes are expected to be tendered. Francis and Arrighetti also appear likely to stick around as pitching depth.
The tougher calls may come with Clement, Smith and Schneider. Clement’s bat slipped, and the Blue Jays have already made it clear he will need to earn an everyday role again.
Smith hit .184/.276/.408 with a 90 wRC+ in 35 games for Toronto. Schneider is the cheapest of the three and still has one minor league option left, but strikeouts and swing-and-miss have remained issues in the majors.
Finally, December 1 brings the expiration of the MLB and MLBPA collective bargaining agreement. If there is no new deal, a lockout would halt transactions involving players on 40-man rosters and bring the rest of Toronto’s offseason to a stop.
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The scramble could create a short window where clubs are forced to act faster than planned, and Toronto is being mentioned among the teams best positioned to take advantage. In the broader picture, the Blue Jays are linked to several of the top names still out there, with one projection connecting them to Seiya Suzuki, a reminder that the market may not wait for the usual long negotiations to play out. [Read more 🡒]