How Would You Spend Rogers’ Money? Play the Blue Jays Free Agent Spending Game

[Jim Scott]

Shall we play a game?

On Thursday, MLB Trade Rumors published their annual list of the top 50 free agents, which includes estimates of the contracts it will take to sign each player. So, it is once again time to invite you to put on your GM hat and play the shopping game!

Here are the rules: Let's say the Jays have $50 million to spend on free agents. Assume, for the purposes of the game, that every FA on the MLBTR list can be had for their projected average annual value (AAV). You can also ignore contract length and any other factors (opt-outs, no-trade clauses, etc.). 

Now that Shane Bieber has opted in for 2026, the Jays are arguably not desperate at any position. But adding a frontline starter would push Eric Lauer back to a #6 role (the first time the Jays have had the luxury of such a solid #6 in some years!). Another top-of-the-bullpen arm (or even two) could give Toronto multiple late-inning options. That being said, internal options exist at most positions, and trades are entirely possible, so it does not follow that the Jays have to fill all of their needs on the free agent market.

So, with your $50 million, you could sign one top-end free agent (Kyle Tucker is projected to earn $36 million) plus some supplementary pieces, or two $25 million players, or, say, a $24 million, an $18 million, and an $8 million player. It's entirely up to you, except that you cannot exceed $50 million in total spending.

Here are the projected AAVs for some of the top players:

• Kyle Tucker - $36 million
• Bo Bichette - $26 million
• Dylan Cease - $27 million
• Munetaka Murakami - $23 million
• Alex Bregman - $27 million
• Framber Valdez - $30 million
• Tatsuya Imai - $25 million
• Cody Bellinger - $28 million
• Kyle Schwarber - $27 million
• Ranger Suárez - $23 million
• Pete Alonso - $28 million
• Josh Naylor  - $18 million
• Edwin Díaz - $21 million
• Michael King - $20 million
• Zac Gallen - $20 million

Other players of note include: Devin Williams ($17M), Brandon Woodruff ($22M), Trent Grisham ($17M), Kazuma Okamoto ($16M), Eugenio Suárez ($16M), Robert Suarez ($16M), Shota Imanaga ($15M), Chris Bassitt ($19M), Merrill Kelly ($18M), Brad Keller ($12M), Lucas Giolito ($16M), Raisel Iglesias ($13M), Luis Arraez ($12M), Zack Littell ($12M), Ryan Helsley ($12M), Justin Verlander ($22M), and Cody Ponce ($11M).

Just for fun, let’s assume that the players who did not make the MLBTR top 50 (including Walker Buehler, Patrick Corbin, Zach Eflin, Paul Goldschmidt, Kenley Jansen and Steven Matz) could be had for $8 million each.

So, what would you do? It is actually difficult to find a position at which the Jays need an upgrade, but Tucker in right field (moving Barger to third, and Springer to primary DH) would make an already strong offense even more formidable. If Bichette returns (perhaps playing second base full-time), his bat would look very good in front of the home run hitters in the middle of the lineup (remember, Anthony Santander should be back and healthy in 2026). Or – rather than splurging on a single uberstar – would you rather gamble on multiple upside plays at much lower prices?  Some years back, Ross Atkins spoke about adding to this team "with talent that is condensed in one player and super high impact.” Should that still be the plan?

Please post your thoughts in the comments section below.

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[jaysblue]

Take every free agent to Vegas for a weekend 😂

[Spanky__99]

Sign Bichette and Suarez; Give Bo 2 more years and Suarez 1 more year than projected to lower their AAV, dump Straw's 7.5M on someone and sign a high leverage arm. Winner winner, Chicken Dinner!

[Joltin Joe]

Dylan Cease and Jansen probably. Cease make great 4th starter. Jansen was good in the pen. I still have 15 million left. Maybe add infield utility player. IKF leaves?

[Nexii]

I'd spend it all on pitching. Suarez and Cease for an even 50m.

We had average at best pitching this year. It seemed better than it was thanks to elite defense.

We gain the most WAR this way imo.

[Stangstag]

2 hours ago, Spanky__99 said:

Sign Bichette and Suarez; Give Bo 2 more years and Suarez 1 more year than projected to lower their AAV, dump Straw's 7.5M on someone and sign a high leverage arm. Winner winner, Chicken Dinner!

Yeah those are the 2 guys on this list that jump out to me the most. Value-wise they seem a bit underrated?

[Jonn]

-Re-sign Bichette

-Sign Edwin Diaz to be the Closer

-Sign either Cease or Amai to round out the rotation

-Sign Kyle Schwarber to DH and hit Second in the Lineup

-Send Santander with money to another ball club

[jmomcc]

Playing strictly by the rules, i'm a million out. Bichette and Imai are 51. 

I think Suarez represents great value at 23, but i'm kind of looking for upside. I'm looking for someone who could be top at some point, or someone to round out the bottom. Not the middle. 

So, i'll go Bo and Ponce for 37 million and save the rest. If i can get refsnyder for like 3 million, i'd take him as well.

[Spanky__99]

1 hour ago, Jonn said:

-Re-sign Bichette

-Sign Edwin Diaz to be the Closer

-Sign either Cease or Amai to round out the rotation

-Sign Kyle Schwarber to DH and hit Second in the Lineup

-Send Santander with money to another ball club

Yeah that seems to be about 50M right there... 🤔

[Jonn]

8 minutes ago, Spanky__99 said:

Yeah that seems to be about 50M right there... 🤔

Rogers is charging 110 dollars for Canada/US phone plans trust me they can afford it lol.

[Stangstag]

2 hours ago, Jonn said:

Rogers is charging 110 dollars for Canada/US phone plans trust me they can afford it lol.

Damn, why not just sign Tucker and Bregman too!

And 2 DHs with Springer and Schwarber is a great idea

[SeranthonySantander]

2 hours ago, Jonn said:

Rogers is charging 110 dollars for Canada/US phone plans trust me they can afford it lol.

I got 2 plans with 250gb shared data for $37.50 each - $75 a month at Telus.  No US option though I guess that’s where the price difference is.

Why would anybody pay $110?

[Jim Scott]

4 hours ago, jmomcc said:

Playing strictly by the rules, i'm a million out. Bichette and Imai are 51. 

I think Suarez represents great value at 23, but i'm kind of looking for upside. I'm looking for someone who could be top at some point, or someone to round out the bottom. Not the middle. 

So, i'll go Bo and Ponce for 37 million and save the rest. If i can get refsnyder for like 3 million, i'd take him as well.

Would you still sign Bo if he made it a condition that the Jays guarantee him the SS gig for the next 5 years?  Because he destroys a lot of his value playing short.  IMO, a 2B Bo + SS Gimenez tandem is far better for the team

[SeranthonySantander]

14 minutes ago, Jim Scott said:

Would you still sign Bo if he made it a condition that the Jays guarantee him the SS gig for the next 5 years?  Because he destroys a lot of his value playing short.  IMO, a 2B Bo + SS Gimenez tandem is far better for the team

If he gets the dollar amount he wants it probably doesn’t matter to him anyway.  This is his one big contract.  I don’t see him going somewhere else just to play SS it Roger’s matches that offer for 2B.

[jmomcc]

19 minutes ago, Jim Scott said:

Would you still sign Bo if he made it a condition that the Jays guarantee him the SS gig for the next 5 years?  Because he destroys a lot of his value playing short.  IMO, a 2B Bo + SS Gimenez tandem is far better for the team

If he insisted on that, no honestly. 

[Jonn]

2 hours ago, Stangstag said:

Damn, why not just sign Tucker and Bregman too!

And 2 DHs with Springer and Schwarber is a great idea

Schwarber is not going to happen. But those other ones could very well happen. Schwarber is just a pipe dream of mine always wanting him on this team. It’s not the most practical fit in terms of flexibility but you’re not going to see someone who hits Homeruns and gets on base at the level he does. He’s also an 80 grade teammate.  He’s also in better shape now then he has ever been his career. Terrible defender but in the right set up could get a handful of games in LF and 1B.

Once again absolutely dread the Santander contract that will prevent this reality. But people seem to forget that contract has a lot of deferred money. So he doesn’t have to be kept around as an anchor if and when he sucks again next Season.

[Jonn]

6 hours ago, Spanky__99 said:

Yeah that seems to be about 50M right there... 🤔

I wasn’t playing the same game. I was winning a World Series with Rogers money.

Rotation: 

Gausman

Cease or Amai

Bieber

Yesavage

Berrios

Bullpen:

Diaz

Hoffman

Garcia

Fluharty

Fisher

Little

Lauer

Lineup:

LF Springer

DH Schwarber

1B Vlad Jr

2B Bichette

RF Barger

C Kirk

CF Varsho

3B Clement

SS Giminez

 

 

[Spanky__99]

12 minutes ago, Jonn said:

I wasn’t playing the same game. I was winning a World Series with Rogers money.

Rotation: 

Gausman

Cease or Amai

Bieber

Yesavage

Berrios

Bullpen:

Diaz

Hoffman

Garcia

Fluharty

Fisher

Little

Lauer

Lineup:

LF Springer

DH Schwarber

1B Vlad Jr

2B Bichette

RF Barger

C Kirk

CF Varsho

3B Clement

SS Giminez

 

 

 

[Eat My Shatkins]

Yeah, I agree with Jonn.

I don't like the rules of this game based on the limited budget. They have something brewing with this team, and should continue to increase payroll to try and get over the top.

Our pitching was so MID last season, rotation and bullpen. It was OK, but not great. Just steady eddy I guess. They still won 94 games despite a slow start and being in the toughest division in MLB.

I think this team as it stands right now is good enough to push for a 5th playoff appearance in 7 years, The whole position player roster is returning except for Bo, and the entire bullpen except for Dominguez. Plus, they've already upgraded the rotation from what it was last season just by having Bieber and Yesavage for the whole year if they stay healthy. If they just stood pat they're very competitive most likely. But they should go for broke.

1. They should be matching the best offer Bo sees and bring him back, preferably as the 2B. If he gets his big pay day I doubt he'd have an issue with that.

2. Stack the rotation. One more quality starter like Cease or Suarez would be huge, but if they could land two of them they'd be ridiculously deep, much deeper than the 94 win team in 2025.

3. Pay up for a high end closer. I don't like dumping huge money into the pen, too much volatility.  But it's worth the risk if it can be afforded by Rogers, which after the latest run I'm sure they can manage it.

 

So you'd basically have last years position player roster, with a stacked and much improved rotation, and the same pen but now a potentially better closer option and also a full year of Varland as well as Yimi if he's healthy again.

 

Likely see a 95-100 win season.

[Spanky__99]

56 minutes ago, Jonn said:

Once again absolutely dread the Santander contract that will prevent this reality. But people seem to forget that contract has a lot of deferred money. So he doesn’t have to be kept around as an anchor if and when he sucks again next Season.

This is hardly a foregone conclusion.

[Spanky__99]

Okay, but you guys are talking about the Jays going over the third luxury tax threshold, until I see it, I'll believe it. Going from a 259M team last season to a 280M+ payroll is a good thing, realistically speaking we have around 50M to spend logically.

 

[L54]

Bo and Imai 

Dont care that I went over by 1M it’s 2%

Not married to Bo. If someone makes a ridiculous offer I’m 100% fine taking the comp pick and pivoting 

[SeranthonySantander]

I chose not to ask for certain players, I just asked google to make me a roster based on 2 requests and they said it’s not possible.  Bo, 1 good pitcher, 1 good reliever then.  I like Fairbanks even though a lot don’t.  

 

Achieving a season where every hitter on the team finishes with an On-Base Plus Slugging (OPS) above .800 and every pitcher finishes with an Earned Run Average (ERA) below 4.00 is 

virtually impossibleunder normal Major League Baseball (MLB) conditions. 

[Jimcanuck]

Based on a $50M budget, Bregman ($27M) and Suarez ($23M).

I don't think Bo will age well at all.

An IF of Vlad, Clement, Gimenez, and Bregman is elite defensively.  Suarez is a groundball pitcher.

 

[Eat My Shatkins]

10 minutes ago, Spanky__99 said:

Okay, but you guys are talking about the Jays going over the third luxury tax threshold, until I see it, I'll believe it. Going from a 259M team last season to a 280M+ payroll is a good thing, realistically speaking we have around 50M to spend logically.

 

Agreed, I don't see it happening either. But like I said, the team is really good right now as is. If they spend $50 million more it will be really good. If I have to pick, I go with Bo and a good starter. Cease, Imai, Suarez would be my picks in that order.

[Jim Scott]

4 hours ago, jmomcc said:

If he insisted on that, no honestly. 

I agree.  Not only does it make his price harder to defend, but it puts his leadership / dedication to the team in serious question.

[Jonn]

1 hour ago, Spanky__99 said:

 

I will take my 2026 ring thank you.

[max silver]

5 hours ago, Jim Scott said:

Would you still sign Bo if he made it a condition that the Jays guarantee him the SS gig for the next 5 years?  Because he destroys a lot of his value playing short.  IMO, a 2B Bo + SS Gimenez tandem is far better for the team

I think there is very little chance that Bo would make those types of demands. People are quick to forget that it was Bo that suggested he could play second base in the world series and he's been perfectly willing to move off of short stop to improve the team if he were asked to do so.

[Mike LeSage]

I'd re-sign Bo (on the condition that he's our new 2B) and then I confused Cease with Clase and thought you were suggesting a new kind of moneyball that included wire fraud and money laundering - which, if Rogers was into, could inflate the budget. 

Give me Bo at $26 and bank the rest. 

[glory]

16 hours ago, L54 said:

Bo and Imai 

Dont care that I went over by 1M it’s 2%

Not married to Bo. If someone makes a ridiculous offer I’m 100% fine taking the comp pick and pivoting 

Yeah I'm in the same boat. I'm conflicted on Bo because I don't think his batting profile is going to age well (high BABIP, low walk rates) and he was slower than Vlad in sprint speed prior to his injury (and he's had a bunch of lower body injuries recently). With that said, the Jays need a short-term impact bat to take advantage of this competitive cycle, and Bo might be the most realistic one they can get. I wouldn't be terribly upset if another team overpaid him and the Jays moved on to someone else, but could certainly understand bringing him back at a reasonable price point.

I'd go with Imai + Bo as well. Or Imai + sign/trade for Bo's replacement, whichever one is the more reasonable path (ex. if Bo wants $250M then maybe look towards a trade or another avenue in free agency). After Bieber picked up his option, I think Imai is even more appealing since the Jays can take a bit of a risk now on upside with some certainty added to the rotation.