If the Jays Can Sign Bichette, What Should They Prioritize Next?

[Sam Charles]

With Bo Bichette declining Toronto's one-year qualifying offer, the team can now begin to negotiate with his camp, alongside several other interested teams across Major League Baseball. Both Bichette and the organization have repeatedly signaled interest in a new deal, and the front office says retaining him is its top priority this winter. At the same time, Ross Atkins and Co. are juggling their other priorities in order to field a team that can, at the least, match what this past year’s squad managed to do.

In the last couple of weeks, we’ve heard reports that the Blue Jays remain the favourites to sign Bichette. Those reports are tempered a bit by news that teams such as the Yankees, Red Sox and Dodgers are also competing for his services. Y, if the Jays can sign Bichette, where should they turn their attention next?

Kyle Tucker has been linked to the Jays and other squads so far, and the media has been highlighting Toronto's interest in several pitchers. Remember that the Jays will be without Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt unless they choose to re-sign one or both of them. If not, they need to fill those voids and probably get a handful of new arms for the bullpen.

So, what positions should the team prioritize after Bichette?

The starting rotation buoyed the team through the season. They bent, but they didn’t break. The same could be said about the bullpen. A team that is going to contend needs depth in both the rotation and the bullpen. Typically, starting pitchers and big bats fetch the biggest paycheques.

In 2025, Toronto’s lineup was Jekyll and Hyde all season. They would score at will or not score at all; sometimes in the same series.

A team with a competent pitching staff doesn’t have to be perfect if the offense can consistently produce.

What the Jays need is a lineup that opponents will fear.

What does that look like? A leadoff man who eats pitches and gets on base. A number three hitter that also eats pitches and can advance the leadoff man. And in order for the first three batters to be successful, the clean hitter needs to be feared due to his ability to avoid chasing and knock baserunners home.

A batting order is just like a house of cards. Each batter has two roles: get on base and set up someone else. Sometimes their prowess means the batter before them gets more hittable pitches.

Despite their success last season, the Jays had some gaps in their lineup. There were spots where opponents could get a little breather. Think Anthony Santander, Andrés Giménez, and the outfielders outside the regulars.

Having a healthy Bichette would help, but the Jays are going to need at least another bat; the likes of Tucker would definitely give other teams' pitchers a reason to stress.

MLB ranked this year’s crop of free agents, and their list broke the group down into five tiers. The top tier includes Bichette, Tucker, Cody Bellinger, Pete Alonso, Alex Bregman, Dylan Cease, Tatsuya Imai, Michael King, Kyle Schwarber, Ranger Suárez and Framber Valdez.

There has been some talk naming Bellinger and Valdez among the players the Jays have been wooing. With Santander and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. locked in, Alonso, who was in talks with the Jays last year, is most likely off the table. You can probably remove Schwarber from that list too.

If the Jays sign Bichette, the only reason to go after Bregman is if they plan to trade Clement. That would be an interesting consideration, as Clement’s value probably won’t get any higher, but the financial cost of adding Bregman would be significant. In theory, even the biggest payroll can only cover two of that tier of players at the most.

In the second tier, it's Edwin Díaz, Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Munetaka Murakami, Kazuma Okamoto, Jorge Polanco, J.T. Realmuto, Eugenio Suárez and Robert Suarez. The Jays have been linked to at least Díaz and Murkami so far.

Bassitt, Luke Weaver and Justin Verlander are among the players highlighted in the third tier.

The Jays’ front office is no doubt poring over the analytics to determine where there are gaps and, more importantly, where there is value.

If you take a limited view of the World Series, the Jays lost because their bullpen couldn’t hold the lead in Game 7. The other side of that coin is that the Jays didn’t score enough runs, so the bullpen had to be perfect (and wasn't).

2025’s lineup produced for the most part, but I'm not sure you can count on Springer’s consistency or Varsho’s power next season. For that matter, Nathan Lukes and Myles Straw would have to have big seasons, along with Ernie Clement and Addison Barger continuing to produce the way they did this past year, for a no-move winter to be feasible.

Many of the little moves in the winter leading up to last season worked out. The big swing and miss was Santander. Injury or not, he had a disappointing season and still has four years left on his deal.

Bichette’s camp might be waiting to see where the first big free agent goes and for how much before making their decision. That puts the Jays in an unenviable position. They’ll need to act fast, whether or not they are able to sign him.

Once they do, they need to secure a big bat in the outfield. It might necessitate a trade that could bring in some bullpen help.

When the batting order is a little more settled, then it will be time to go down the list of available starting pitchers.

The Jays need to sign at least one starter this winter. Bringing back Bassitt would be a fallback. He was tremendous out of the 'pen in the playoffs, but he won’t want that role during the regular season. Neither will José Berríos, who will most likely have rehabilitated from his late-season injury by then.

So, in the coming weeks, the Jays’ list of priorities is: Bichette, another bat and a bunch of arms (in that order).

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