Offseason Roster Thread 2025-26

[BTS]

18 minutes ago, max silver said:

And 11.2% k rate last season. Arenado is a slap hitter now and may have well been swinging a pool noodle as his quality of contact is in the crapper in recent seasons. I think he's a prime candidate for the old man swing out of your shoes to trade some extra strikeouts for extra thump kind of approach at this point of his career.

Kind of weird he’s not doing it already. He’s always been an extreme pull hitter. Might as well just grip and rip it and try to pull 30 dongs 

[Stangstag]

2 hours ago, Sasky05 said:

Orioles just signed Helsley. One less potential target for the good guys.

Inb4 “failed physical”

[max silver]

1 hour ago, glory said:

Yeah, if I recall Shi thought the Jays had like $15-20M to spend last winter, and then they went out and got Santander, Scherzer, Gimenez, Hoffman, and Garcia. I don't think him or BNS are that plugged in. 

I don't know if the Jays are going to end up with one of Bo or Tucker, but I feel like they will add someone for the offense even if it's their annual "let's save the Guardians some money" trade and Kwan is playing LF. Status quo with the offense would be a mistake, IMO. 

Kwan is a nice player but I just don't think he represents enough of an upgrade over a Nathan Lukes/Davis Schneider platoon to justify the acquisition cost. If you knew you were acquiring the 130 wRC+ guy as he was in 2 of his 4 seasons then he's an awesome fit, but if you are acquiring the dude who was a 99 wRC+ bat in 2 of his 4 seasons he loses an awful lot of shine.

[max silver]

1 hour ago, glory said:

Yeah, if I recall Shi thought the Jays had like $15-20M to spend last winter, and then they went out and got Santander, Scherzer, Gimenez, Hoffman, and Garcia. I don't think him or BNS are that plugged in. 

I don't know if the Jays are going to end up with one of Bo or Tucker, but I feel like they will add someone for the offense even if it's their annual "let's save the Guardians some money" trade and Kwan is playing LF. Status quo with the offense would be a mistake, IMO. 

That was just absurd, as the team was one of the contenders for Soto and had a lot of other holes to fill. On top of that the team was a reported finalist in the Alonso sweepstakes as well so I think there was even more money available than what was spent.

[Brownie19]

6 hours ago, max silver said:

And 11.2% k rate last season. Arenado is a slap hitter now and may have well been swinging a pool noodle as his quality of contact is in the crapper in recent seasons. I think he's a prime candidate for the old man swing out of your shoes to trade some extra strikeouts for extra thump kind of approach at this point of his career.

I think that's the only reason I'm not keen on Arenado as they really only have room to add 1 new starter. I'd rather a more impactful bat - even if I think we could squeeze another 2-3 WAR season out of him.

[mphenhef]

On 11/28/2025 at 9:01 PM, Stangstag said:

Yea, kinda surprising because i feel like he really doesn’t fit the roster at this point. Maybe more wishful thinking on his part.

Maybe he will be a debut sometime mid season guy.  They are bound to need to fill a rotation spot at some point.

[mphenhef]

14 hours ago, max silver said:

That's just Shi's opinion and Shi doesn't seem particularly plugged in with the Blue Jays front office most of the time. I think the chances the team doesn't add another legitimate bat are very slim at best so fingers crossed Shi is just stating yet another incorrect guesswork type of opinion like past offseasons.

I don’t think it is guesswork on his part.  I would be more inclined to believe the Jays have a narrative they want out there and use the company guys to put it out there.  

[Spanky__99]

18 hours ago, BTS said:

Kind of weird he’s not doing it already. He’s always been an extreme pull hitter. Might as well just grip and rip it and try to pull 30 dongs 

Yeah, go the A swing approach like George and swing for damage. That's Popkins philosophy, do damage baby!

[Spanky__99]

16 hours ago, max silver said:

Kwan is a nice player but I just don't think he represents enough of an upgrade over a Nathan Lukes/Davis Schneider platoon to justify the acquisition cost. If you knew you were acquiring the 130 wRC+ guy as he was in 2 of his 4 seasons then he's an awesome fit, but if you are acquiring the dude who was a 99 wRC+ bat in 2 of his 4 seasons he loses an awful lot of shine.

Agreed, yuck, no thanks.

[Spanky__99]

4 hours ago, mphenhef said:

Maybe he will be a debut sometime mid season guy.  They are bound to need to fill a rotation spot at some point.

Yeah, these vets could come in with an agreement like that, Kershaw did it with the Dodgers a few times, it's certainly possible.

[Jonn]

19 hours ago, glory said:

Yeah, if I recall Shi thought the Jays had like $15-20M to spend last winter, and then they went out and got Santander, Scherzer, Gimenez, Hoffman, and Garcia. I don't think him or BNS are that plugged in. 

I don't know if the Jays are going to end up with one of Bo or Tucker, but I feel like they will add someone for the offense even if it's their annual "let's save the Guardians some money" trade and Kwan is playing LF. Status quo with the offense would be a mistake, IMO. 

Yup I agree a lot of the people who cover this team have been the same people for a long time that are stuck in the old style of thinking. And I don't know if they do that to temper expectations of the fan base or they actually don't understand the scope of the market they work for. Rogers a massive billion dollar company that could easily eat the tax fees without much impact. The front office is probably more pushed back by the lost of draft picks or things that could impact the on field product opposed to the potential tax bills. 

Rogers clearly see's the Blue Jays from the perspective of an investment and they know putting more money in means more money coming out. They own everything when it comes to the team and had a massive payout on that 2025 team. I bet they are all saying imagine we could fill that stadium every night from Game 1 in 2026. Really jump ticket sales, merchandise sales, and people forget this will be the teams 50's Anniversary so they are going to want to pump out and sell a lot of stuff related to that. Specials jerseys, hats, ect. It's a big year and they want to make sure the on field product delivers because the excitement is something you want to take full advantage of.

[Jimcanuck]

With the current payroll level, Bo or Tucker or Belly is quite unlikely.

Ha-Seong Kim, Bassitt (swingman role), and Fairbanks are more realistic, and all are great fits.

[Spanky__99]

14 minutes ago, Jonn said:

Yup I agree a lot of the people who cover this team have been the same people for a long time that are stuck in the old style of thinking. And I don't know if they do that to temper expectations of the fan base or they actually don't understand the scope of the market they work for. Rogers a massive billion dollar company that could easily eat the tax fees without much impact. The front office is probably more pushed back by the lost of draft picks or things that could impact the on field product opposed to the potential tax bills. 

Rogers clearly see's the Blue Jays from the perspective of an investment and they know putting more money in means more money coming out. They own everything when it comes to the team and had a massive payout on that 2025 team. I bet they are all saying imagine we could fill that stadium every night from Game 1 in 2026. Really jump ticket sales, merchandise sales, and people forget this will be the teams 50's Anniversary so they are going to want to pump out and sell a lot of stuff related to that. Specials jerseys, hats, ect. It's a big year and they want to make sure the on field product delivers because the excitement is something you want to take full advantage of.

Cool beans man...

 

 

[jaysblue]

1 hour ago, Jimcanuck said:

With the current payroll level, Bo or Tucker or Belly is quite unlikely.

Ha-Seong Kim, Bassitt (swingman role), and Fairbanks are more realistic, and all are great fits.

I think the Jays will still target one of Bo or Tucker or Belly or even Bregman, though only just one of those guys. They can't sign both Bo and Tucker, don't see it. 

Kim wouldn't be a bad fallback option if the Jays fail to resign Bo or an infielder like Bregman. I'm all for bringing Bassitt if he's willing to fill that kind of role, where he makes 20 or so starts during the regular season and the rest he's utilized out of the pen, especially come Postseason time. Depends on his price. If he remains unsigned through mid-to-end January, his price likely will fall. Soroka also could be a solid option. 

As for the pen, we'll see what happens. If they don't target someone like Diaz, Suarez or Williams, could see them going after guys like Hunter Harvey, Fairbanks or Phillips. 

 

[jaysblue]

The SP market next season will be lead by Tarik Skubal. Geez I wonder how much he will get...you'll probably have all the high payroll teams bidding for his services. 

Some other notable FA arms:

- Luzardo

- Peralta

- Bubic

- Gray

- Rogers

- Ray

- Woodruff

- Sale

- Gausman

- Bieber

- Flaherty

- Rasmussen

- Pivetta (opt-out)

Don't think the Jays need to go all nuts on Imai this offseason. Still a lot of arms available next offseason and you figure that the Jays could still possible resign either Bieber or Gausman at the end of next season if they want. 

[Jimcanuck]

35 minutes ago, jaysblue said:

I think the Jays will still target one of Bo or Tucker or Belly or even Bregman, though only just one of those guys. They can't sign both Bo and Tucker, don't see it. 

Kim wouldn't be a bad fallback option if the Jays fail to resign Bo or an infielder like Bregman. I'm all for bringing Bassitt if he's willing to fill that kind of role, where he makes 20 or so starts during the regular season and the rest he's utilized out of the pen, especially come Postseason time. Depends on his price. If he remains unsigned through mid-to-end January, his price likely will fall. Soroka also could be a solid option. 

As for the pen, we'll see what happens. If they don't target someone like Diaz, Suarez or Williams, could see them going after guys like Hunter Harvey, Fairbanks or Phillips. 

 

Thing is, unless you are the Dodgers, a team only pays market rate for a high priced free agent if they have a clear hole on the roster.  Jays had a rotation hole, and signed Cease.  They don't really have a hole at 2B or in the OF that would merit a Bo or a Tucker, unless they plan to trade a cost controlled player and replace with a high priced free agent.  Unlikely.

For example, I don't see the Jays starting with Leo Jimenez as backup infielder - hence Ha-Seong Kim.  SP depth - Bassitt.  Closer by committee - Hoffman, Fairbanks, Yimi.

[Spanky__99]

3 hours ago, Jimcanuck said:

With the current payroll level, Bo or Tucker or Belly is quite unlikely.

Ha-Seong Kim, Bassitt (swingman role), and Fairbanks are more realistic, and all are great fits.

Yeah, okay Shi. 🙄

[max silver]

1 hour ago, Jimcanuck said:

Thing is, unless you are the Dodgers, a team only pays market rate for a high priced free agent if they have a clear hole on the roster.  Jays had a rotation hole, and signed Cease.  They don't really have a hole at 2B or in the OF that would merit a Bo or a Tucker, unless they plan to trade a cost controlled player and replace with a high priced free agent.  Unlikely.

For example, I don't see the Jays starting with Leo Jimenez as backup infielder - hence Ha-Seong Kim.  SP depth - Bassitt.  Closer by committee - Hoffman, Fairbanks, Yimi.

I don't agree with this in the slightest. The Blue Jays have a giant Bo Bichette sized hole in their lineup right now and that easily warrants a Bo/Tucker acquisition if they want to replicate the lineup depth they enjoyed during the 2025 season. You could say that maybe Santander will bounce back at least somewhat but maybe this is cancelled out by a touch of Springer regression, and Barger is still a little bit of an unknown etc. This team is in the middle of a competitive window and I don't think it's time for them to rest on their laurels and not maximize the strength of the team as I believe the team is very well positioned to land top free agent targets given the extended playoff run. 

[John_Havok]

1 hour ago, jaysblue said:

The SP market next season will be lead by Tarik Skubal. Geez I wonder how much he will get...you'll probably have all the high payroll teams bidding for his services. 

Some other notable FA arms:

- Luzardo

- Peralta

- Bubic

- Gray

- Rogers

- Ray

- Woodruff

- Sale

- Gausman

- Bieber

- Flaherty

- Rasmussen

- Pivetta (opt-out)

Don't think the Jays need to go all nuts on Imai this offseason. Still a lot of arms available next offseason and you figure that the Jays could still possible resign either Bieber or Gausman at the end of next season if they want. 

with the uncertainty over a labour stoppage though, there's a case to be made for getting something done first. 

[Omar]

4 hours ago, Jimcanuck said:

With the current payroll level, Bo or Tucker or Belly is quite unlikely.

Ha-Seong Kim, Bassitt (swingman role), and Fairbanks are more realistic, and all are great fits.

It is quite likely.  The Jays are trying to win a World Series title Jim.  Didn't you get the memo?

[BatFlip]

54 minutes ago, Omar said:

It is quite likely.  The Jays are trying to win a World Series title Jim.  Didn't you get the memo?

[jaysblue]

1 hour ago, John_Havok said:

with the uncertainty over a labour stoppage though, there's a case to be made for getting something done first. 

Yes very true. 

[Jimcanuck]

Well we will see.  Will try not to say i told you so.

[Jonn]

Tons of money coming off the books next year. 2027 Season potentially in flux. Time to get a little crazy.

[Spanky__99]

2 hours ago, Jimcanuck said:

Well we will see.  Will try not to say i told you so.

[glory]

The Jays just signed the best SP on the market who is also a Boras client before December. Ha-Seong Kim would probably be Plan Q for the Jays at this point. Boss Atkins is going big game hunting. 

[max silver]

2 hours ago, glory said:

The Jays just signed the best SP on the market who is also a Boras client before December. Ha-Seong Kim would probably be Plan Q for the Jays at this point. Boss Atkins is going big game hunting. 

I think the club is finally positioned to catch the big fish again on the position player side. The last time they attracted the top of the market was the George Springer acquisition I think the club is really well positioned to become a Dodgers of the North and bring aboard Kyle Tucker. 

[jmomcc]

11 hours ago, jaysblue said:

The SP market next season will be lead by Tarik Skubal. Geez I wonder how much he will get...you'll probably have all the high payroll teams bidding for his services. 

Some other notable FA arms:

- Luzardo

- Peralta

- Bubic

- Gray

- Rogers

- Ray

- Woodruff

- Sale

- Gausman

- Bieber

- Flaherty

- Rasmussen

- Pivetta (opt-out)

Don't think the Jays need to go all nuts on Imai this offseason. Still a lot of arms available next offseason and you figure that the Jays could still possible resign either Bieber or Gausman at the end of next season if they want. 

Luzardo is going to have an insane market if he has a full healthy year. He'll he 29 going into free agency as well. 

[jaysblue]

4 hours ago, jmomcc said:

Luzardo is going to have an insane market if he has a full healthy year. He'll he 29 going into free agency as well. 

Pretty much will be the Plan B for the teams who failed to sign Skubal. Luzardo is definitely in for a nice payday if he repeats his 2025 performance again.

Bubic could be an interesting arm as well. Posted 3.3 WAR in 20 starts last season with a 2.89 FIP. If he stays healthy, definitely could be a nice add. 

[Pendleton]

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/11/blue-jays-notes-helsley-berrios-management-extensions.html

 

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