Bo Bichette is staying put in New York, and that leaves the Blue Jays back at the drawing board.
On Thursday, reports began to point toward Bichette sticking with the New York Mets for the second year of his $126 million contract, and that’s exactly what happened. He has opted into his deal for 2027, locking in another $42 million and pushing any bigger decision down the road to next offseason.
For Toronto, that means the reunion chatter is over before it really had a chance to build. It also strips one of the market’s better bats away from a free-agent pool that was already expected to be light on impact offense. In other words, the Blue Jays now have more teams chasing the same small group of hitters they were already hoping to target.
Bichette’s choice wasn’t exactly a shock. His first season in Queens was uneven, and the 96 wRC+ he posted helps explain why staying on his current deal made more sense than testing the waters.
Still, he did give himself a little more breathing room with a strong finish, hitting .289 (114-for-394) over his last 99 games. That late surge is part of why his name had started to come up more often in Blue Jays discussions in recent weeks.
Even so, Toronto’s bigger issue remains the same: this lineup needs more pop, not just another familiar name. The Blue Jays finished last in home runs with 152 and last in runs scored with 648, so the priority has to be power.
That’s why Seiya Suzuki stands out as such a clean fit. He brings strong outfield defense and the kind of steady slugging that would play anywhere, and he’d fit neatly in this roster. Teruaki Sato, coming off a triple-crown winning season in 2026, looks like another appealing option, especially with fellow countryman Kazuma Okamoto already in Canada.
But Toronto won’t be alone in those pursuits. Every contender will be in on Suzuki and Sato, along with Randy Arozarena, because those are the big bats likely to be available. Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Ian Happ can help deepen an order, but they’re not enough on their own to fix what went wrong for the Blue Jays in 2026.
If Toronto wants to turn this offense around, it’s going to take more than one move. It’ll take a winter of them.
In Other News...
Former Blue Jay Just Turned Up Pressure On Toronto's Offseason Plan
The Blue Jays offseason wish list has already been a topic of plenty of debate, and a recent conversation between former Toronto outfielder Kevin Pillar and ex-Rogers Centre staple Ricky Romero only added to it. On their podcast, the two former Blue Jays talked through potential free-agent fits for the club and landed on Luis Arraez as a particularly intriguing option, the kind of contact-first hitter who could bring a different look to a lineup that could use more certainty at the plate.
Arraez is coming off a season split between the Giants and Phillies, and his appeal is obvious because of how consistently he puts the bat on the ball and the batting titles he has piled up. The bigger question for Toronto is where he would fit defensively, with possible alignments around the diamond part of the discussion, along with what sort of contract it would take to get him into the mix. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jays Roster Move Leaves One September Call-Up In Limbo
Rudy Martin Jr.s brief September run with the Blue Jays has already taken another turn. After clearing waivers, he was outrighted to Triple-A Buffalo and removed from the 40-man roster, a procedural move that trims the clubs depth chart while sending him back out of the big-league picture for now.
Martin got into two major league games for Toronto this month, a small but notable stop for a player who has spent most of his career bouncing through the minors and independent ball. Because he has been outrighted before, the next step is not entirely straightforward, and the clubs roster flexibility is part of the broader story as September gives way to whatever comes next. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jays Look Poised To Strike Before Baseball Freezes
With a labor stoppage looming on Dec. 2, the free-agent market suddenly has a clock attached to it, and the Blue Jays look like one of the clubs most likely to move before everything gets stuck in neutral. Toronto has obvious roster needs and the payroll room to chase them, which makes this a natural fit for a team that has spent the winter weighing how aggressive to be while the rest of the market tries to guess how long the freeze might last.
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 🡒]