The off-season has officially started, and the Blue Jays are already staring at a few early decisions.
Five days after the World Series, the calendar has flipped to the point where contract options and qualifying offers are on the table. Toronto almost certainly won’t hand out a qualifying offer, since none of its departing free agents really looks like a $20 million player.
The bigger immediate call is Myles Straw’s option. Toronto can keep him for 2027 at $8 million, or walk away and pay a $1.75 million buyout.
Cleveland is covering that buyout as part of the trade that sent him to the Jays. Straw has given Toronto two useful seasons as a fourth outfielder, and he’s made it clear he’d like to stay.
His defensive numbers were solid rather than spectacular this year, but the speed is still there at 31, and he may have another year or two of real value left in the field and on the bases. Even so, $8 million is a lot for that role, especially with the Jays working under a tight luxury-tax picture in the old CBA.
The expectation is that they’ll decline the option, then see whether they can bring him back on a cheaper deal.
Free agency opens at 5:00 p.m. Eastern, so players who became free agents on Thursday are no longer tied to their old clubs.
In theory, that means the market can finally breathe. In practice, there’s already the looming possibility of a lockout on December 1, which could keep things pretty quiet this month.
Still, there’s no harm in daydreaming about names like Tarik Skubal in a different shade of blue.
Toronto also came up empty in the Gold Glove voting last night, even though the club had multiple strong candidates. By Fangraphs’ numbers, the Jays finished with the second-best team defense in baseball and the best in the American League.
Andres Gimenez probably had the best shot. Bobby Witt Jr. could have been argued as well, but the winner, Taylor Walls, looks like a quirk of Defensive Runs Saved, the metric used on the ballot. MLB’s more advanced Outs Above Average, which is built on StatCast data, sees Walls as merely mediocre.
At first base, Christian Walker beating Vlad is easier to understand, though Vlad still deserved to be in the conversation despite a rough offensive season.
Behind the plate, Alejandro Kirk and Brandon Valenzuela were the top defensive catching duo in baseball, but because they split time almost evenly, the award went to Detroit’s Dillon Dingler, who caught nearly 400 more innings while performing at a similarly high level.
Nathan Lukes also had a case in right field against Boston’s Wilyer Abreu, though moving around the diamond likely hurt him after he logged innings in center and left as well.
For a Jays season where so much seemed to go sideways, even the consolation prizes slipped away. And there may be more of that to come on the 12th, when Dylan Cease’s strong season is expected to finish second to Cam Schlittler in the Cy Young voting.
In Other News...
Kevin Gausman Just Revived A Blue Jays Question Fans Werent Expecting
Kevin Gausman has been away from the Blue Jays since the trade deadline, when he was dealt to the Cubs and went on to help Chicago reach the postseason. Still, a Halloween photo was enough to get Toronto fans talking again, because the former Blue Jays pitcher showed up wearing a Maple Leafs jersey and reminded everyone just how easy it is to connect him back to this market.
The timing only added to the chatter. Gausman is now a free agent, and he recently listed his Toronto home for sale, which makes any talk of a return feel more complicated than a costume choice on a holiday night. Even so, once a player like Gausman pops back into the Toronto conversation, it is hard for fans not to wonder whether there is still another chapter left to write. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jays Offseason Debate Just Got A Compelling New Offensive Option
The Blue Jays offseason search for offense has taken on a familiar shape, with a former Toronto outfielder weighing in on a free agent who would fit the club in a very different way than the power bats often linked to this market. Luis Arraez is the kind of hitter who changes the tone of a lineup with contact, discipline and the ability to keep innings alive, and his recent All-Star season split between the Giants and Phillies only adds to the appeal for a team looking to sharpen its attack.
Kevin Pillar has made it clear he believes Toronto should be in on Arraez, and the case is easy to understand from the Blue Jays side. While the front office is also being tied to other free agents with more pop, Arraez would offer a complementary skill set and some defensive flexibility, giving Toronto a different kind of offensive option as it tries to round out the roster for next season. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jays May Have Found Their Best Rotation Upgrade This Winter
Michael King is suddenly one of the more intriguing arms on the market after opting out of his contract with the Padres, and the timing lines up with a Blue Jays offseason that could use more help in the rotation. Toronto has been linked to the idea of adding starting pitching, and Kings appeal is easy to see: he just put together a strong season as a starter, working 185 innings with a 3.21 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP.
For the Blue Jays, the fit is about more than just numbers. King has shown he can handle a workload and provide steady production, two traits that matter for a club looking to stabilize its staff, but there is still no official sign that Toronto has made a move. The market will help determine how realistic he is as a target, and the kind of contract it takes to land him could end up telling the story of how aggressive the Blue Jays plan to be this winter. [Read more 🡒]