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That’s the other big question: is Moreno actually going to be a 5–6 WAR catcher moving forward? Before this season, he hadn’t even cracked 3 WAR. For me, I need to see him come close to repeating that 2026 season before treating that level of production as his new baseline.

Yeah, I don’t think Varsho was great here or awful. I just think most of us expected more. He never really became that 4–5 WAR outfielder we thought he could be, outside of maybe 2025 if he had stayed healthy for 140–150 games. I think the bigger frustration is that, looking back, some people feel Moreno could have brought back a better outfielder. Either way, there’s no need for some posters to get worked up over it. It was a miss from the Jays’ perspective, but hardly some franchise-killing trade lol.

Yeah, the Varsho trade was a miss unfortunately. He never really lived up to the expectations most of us had for him. At this point, I think the evaluation mostly comes down to what Kirk and Moreno do from here. Since 2023, it’s actually been pretty close. Kirk has put up 11.8 fWAR and Moreno 13.0 fWAR. Moreno really closed the gap this past season with a 5.4-WAR year and a 141 wRC+, numbers Kirk has never reached in a single season. Defensively though, I’d still take Kirk. The other positive for Toronto is that Kirk is locked up on a very team-friendly 5-year/$58M extension, while Moreno is going to get increasingly expensive and is scheduled to reach free agency after 2028. So while the trade itself was a miss, the Kirk/Moreno comparison is probably a lot closer than people sometimes make it sound. If Kirk had turned into a pumpkin, the Varsho trade would look even worse. At least Toronto has been fortunate that Kirk developed into one of the better catchers in baseball. At the end of the day, what done is done. Every GM and team makes trades they regret down the road.

Wait so they're no longer going to be called the Arizona Diamondbacks? They're changing it to the Phoenix Diamondbacks?

Marte looks possible now haha. Skubal would be dreaming, but Jays have shown to go after the top free agent every offseason and are always right there. Vesia would be a really nice BP addition if they made only one key signing in the pen. Could fill out the rest of the pen with other arms they already have or MiLB deals. Duran likely gets non-tendered or Boston trades him for nothing. Would roll the dice on him since he could play CF and has some speed. As well, raises the floor in regards to the outfield and lineup in case of injuries.

I said Bateman would start the season in AAA as depth. He’d likely be the first OF called up when injuries happen anyway, and we all know they will. Also, can't rely count on Santander even coming out of ST healthy haha. So wouldn't even surprise me if Bateman did break camp with the team. Duran was bad last season, no question, but he put up 6.9 WAR in 2024 and 4.0 WAR in 2025. I’d be willing to gamble $10–12M on a bounce-back and see if he can get anywhere close to that 2025 level again. He’d also add some badly needed speed on the bases, which Atkins has already said is something they want to improve. As for the bullpen, I agree two big additions are probably unlikely. One significant arm feels much more realistic, with a second being a bonus. My thinking was simply that if you spend big on Skubal, you probably don’t need to sink more money into another mid-rotation starter, so some of those dollars could instead go toward strengthening the bullpen.

If I’m the Blue Jays, I’m going big after Skubal. He’s probably the best bet on the market to add 6+ WAR to the roster in one move. The AAV could easily approach $48–50M, so the question is how much term Toronto would be willing to give him, but you’re probably talking at least six or seven years. The Jays also have a pretty good recent track record of keeping pitchers healthy, so I’d be more comfortable spending huge money on an elite starter here than some organizations might be. My second major move would be trading for Marte. The Jays have been linked to him for a couple of years already, and if Arizona is genuinely willing to move him, I’d be aggressive. Ideally you’re dealing from young players close to the majors or a cheap MLB arm rather than gutting the farm. And Soriano could be an interesting trade chip. Teams reportedly liked him even after Toronto acquired him, and if the Jays add Skubal plus another depth starter, you could potentially move Soriano in a deal for another need. Arizona does seem to have a thing for low-K, durable innings-eater types too haha If those are the two major additions (Skubal + Marte), I probably go cheaper in the outfield. Lane Thomas around $5–6M to platoon with Lukes/Barger would make sense. Clement can also handle some OF in spots if you want to sit Barger against a tough lefty. For CF, I’d take a shot on Jarren Duran if he becomes available cheaply through a non-tender or trade. Put him in CF and see if you can get him back to being a 4–5 WAR player. I’d rather keep Bateman in AAA as depth than force him into an everyday role right away. Santander is probably difficult to move, and after everything that happened I suspect they just keep him around. Use him mainly at DH, let him play a corner when needed, and treat whatever production you get as a bonus rather than planning the lineup around him. Atkins usually adds to the bullpen, so I’d expect at least one significant move there. Vesia would make a lot of sense as the LHP if the price lands around 3–4 years at $12–14M AAV. I’d also be interested in Bryan Abreu around $10M as another high-K leverage arm on a one-year deal. If you land Skubal, I’m not sure there’s much need to spend heavily on another No. 3/4 starter. I could see them bringing Bieber or Scherzer back cheaply as depth/reclamation options. If they still want another durable arm, someone like Boyd or Sandoval on a one-year deal around $10–12M could make sense just to give you 25 starts and 130–140 innings at the back end.

I did mine: If I’m the Blue Jays, I’m going big after Skubal. He’s probably the best bet on the market to add 6+ WAR to the roster in one move. The AAV could easily approach $48–50M, so the question is how much term Toronto would be willing to give him, but you’re probably talking at least six or seven years. The Jays also have a pretty good recent track record of keeping pitchers healthy, so I’d be more comfortable spending huge money on an elite starter here than some organizations might be. My second major move would be trading for Marte. The Jays have been linked to him for a couple of years already, and if Arizona is genuinely willing to move him, I’d be aggressive. Ideally you’re dealing from young players close to the majors or a cheap MLB arm rather than gutting the farm. And Soriano could be an interesting trade chip. Teams reportedly liked him even after Toronto acquired him, and if the Jays add Skubal plus another depth starter, you could potentially move Soriano in a deal for another need. Arizona does seem to have a thing for low-K, durable innings-eater types too haha. If those are the two major additions (Skubal + Marte), I probably go cheaper in the outfield. Lane Thomas around $5–6M to platoon with Lukes/Barger would make sense. Clement can also handle some OF in spots if you want to sit Barger against a tough lefty. For CF, I’d take a shot on Jarren Duran if he becomes available cheaply through a non-tender or trade. Put him in CF and see if you can get him back to being a 4–5 WAR player. I’d rather keep Bateman in AAA as depth than force him into an everyday role right away. Santander is probably difficult to move, and after everything that happened I suspect they just keep him around. Use him mainly at DH, let him play a corner when needed, and treat whatever production you get as a bonus rather than planning the lineup around him. Atkins usually adds to the bullpen, so I’d expect at least one significant move there. Vesia would make a lot of sense as the LHP if the price lands around 3–4 years at $12–14M AAV. I’d also be interested in Bryan Abreu around $10M annually as another high-K leverage arm. If you land Skubal, I’m not sure there’s much need to spend heavily on another No. 3/4 starter. I could see them bringing Bieber or Scherzer back cheaply as depth/reclamation options. If they still want another durable arm, someone like Boyd or Sandoval on a one-year deal around $10–12M could make sense just to give you 25 starts and 130–140 innings at the back end. C: Alejandro Kirk ($11.13M) 1B: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. ($31.00M) 2B: Ketel Marte ($12.00M) 3B: Kazuma Okamoto ($16.00M) SS: Andres Gimenez ($23.00M) LF: Nathan Lukes ($2.90M) CF: Jarren Duran ($11.00M) RF: Addison Barger ($1.00M) DH: Anthony Santander ($6.50M) 4th OF: Lane Thomas ($6.00M) Utility: Josh H. Smith ($3.80M) Utility: Ernie Clement ($7.60M) Backup C: Brandon Valenzuela ($1.00M) POS: Add Dead Money Here ($0.00M) SP1: Dylan Cease ($21.00M) SP2: Tarik Skubal ($48.00M) SP3: Trey Yesavage ($1.00M) SP4: José Soriano ($6.60M) SP5: Cody Ponce ($11.00M) RP: Tyler Rogers ($12.00M) RP: Louis Varland ($3.00M) RP: Alex Vesia ($12.50M) RP: Bryan Abreu ($10.00M) RP: Mason Fluharty ($1.00M) RP: Bowden Francis ($1.00M) RP: Spencer Arrighetti ($1.50M) RP: Spencer Miles ($1.00M) POS: Add Dead Money Here ($0.00M)

Atkins does have a history of making multiple significant moves in the same offseason during contending windows. I agree with Stang, though - I’d still expect only one true blockbuster signing or trade for an elite player. The rest will probably be more B/B+ type additions that raise the floor, fill holes and deepen the roster. 2020–21: Signed Springer to the big deal, signed Semien and Ray to one-year deals, traded for Steven Matz, signed Kirby Yates. 2021–22: Signed Gausman to the big deal, traded for Matt Chapman, signed Kikuchi and Yimi Garcia, traded for Tapia 😳 2022–23: Signed Bassitt to a three-year deal, signed Kiermaier and Belt to one-year deals, traded for Varsho and Swanson, signed Chad Green. 2025–26: Signed Cease to the big deal, signed Okamoto, Rogers and Ponce, traded for Sanchez, and brought Scherzer back cheaply. So even if they only land one elite player this winter, history suggests Atkins probably won’t stop there. He usually follows the headline move with several other additions to round out the roster. If I recall correctly, the big target usually came early in each of those offseasons - Springer, Gausman and Cease were all signed pretty early. Atkins seems to like landing the big fish first and then building out the rest of the roster afterward. That’s probably what we see again this winter: one major FA signing - Skubal, Jazz, Lowe, Peralta, Suzuki, Sato, Arozarena, etc. - followed by a few mid-range 2–3 year deals and possibly room for one significant trade. Wouldn’t surprise me if that trade ended up being for someone like Marte from Arizona, especially if the Jays landed Skubal or another big arm early.

Duran would be a nice buy low.

Agreed. He would be my preference as well. Either way, both would be upgrades to this lineup and over Clement.

That would be ideal. Arizona has shown in the past they like bats with pop and low OBP skills haha. Santander if healthy would be a great fit in that lineup and ballpark. Arizona also wants to get rid of Marte after the incident last season, so they really don't have much leverage as before in regards to him.

Yeah his sporadic playing time once Kirk came back definitely didn't help. Would have been nice to see the Jays use more of Valenzuela, even if it meant DHing him when Kirk was catching or visa-versa. I think he could be a solid full-time catcher if given the opportunity.

Does it use Microsoft Outlook? Haha

If you can keep him healthy, he has the potential to be an elite reliever. Comes with a high K rate and posted a 1.7 fWAR season in 2024. Definitely the type of arm to roll the dice on for a couple of million + incentives.