Leo Morgenstern

Major League Baseball introduced a brand-new award last night and bestowed the inaugural prize on Toronto Blue Jays superstar Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Vladdy is MLB's very first Entertainer of the Year. It's a well-deserved honour for one of the most delightful personalities in the sport, both on the field and off. Guerrero was not present at the awards show on Thursday, so his godfather, Hall of Famer Pedro Martínez, accepted on his behalf. In other Blue Jays awards news, Guerrero was also named to the All-MLB First Team, winning over Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz. In even more of a surprise, Bo Bichette earned Second Team honours, beating out shortstops like Geraldo Perdomo, Trea Turner, Francisco Lindor, and Jeremy Peña. Featured image courtesy of Nick Turchiaro, Imagn Images. View full rumor

Speaking to DiamondCentric's John Bonnes at the GM Meetings on Wednesday, Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said the Jays "definitely, definitely have interest" in extending Daulton Varsho, who is entering his final season of arbitration eligibility. "The interest is definitely there," said Atkins. "I can't say enough about Daulton, the player, the person, the teammate. He checks all the boxes we're looking for." The GM did not want to speak about any potential negotiations, but from his tone, it certainly seems like an extension for Varsho will be one of the team's priorities this winter. Varsho, widely considered one of the best defensive outfielders in the league, is coming off an injury-shortened but highly promising 2025 campaign. Tapping into his power like never before, he hit 20 home runs in 71 contests, with a career-best .833 OPS, .341 xwOBA, and 123 wRC+. He finished with 2.2 fWAR and 2.8 bWAR in less than half a season of games. Featured image courtesy of Kiyoshi Mio, Imagn Images. View full rumor

The AL Silver Slugger Award winners were announced on Friday, with George Springer taking home the prize at DH. This is his third career Silver Slugger, after previously winning in 2017 and '19 with the Astros. Springer led the AL's primary designated hitters in home runs (32), runs scored (106), stolen bases (18), and FanGraphs WAR (5.2). His victory over fellow finalists Yandy Díaz and Brent Rooker comes as little surprise. Springer was also a finalist for a Silver Slugger as an outfielder but lost to Aaron Judge, Riley Greene, and Byron Buxton. Toronto's other two finalists, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette, came up short as well, with Nick Kurtz claiming the honors at first base and Bobby Witt Jr. winning at shortstop. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays lost the Silver Slugger Team of the Year Award to the Yankees, who won for the second year in a row. Featured image courtesy of John E. Sokolowski, Imagn Images. View full rumor

To no one's surprise, the Blue Jays have extended the $22.025 million qualifying offer to All-Star shortstop Bo Bichette. Bichette technically has until November 18 to decide whether or not to accept the offer, but it's all but a guarantee that he will reject it and seek a long-term contract in free agency. Once he rejects the offer, any team that signs Bichette – except for the Blue Jays – will have to forfeit a draft pick (and possibly also international bonus pool space). That could give Toronto a leg up on the competition for his services. Featured image courtesy of John E. Sokolowski, Imagn Images. View full rumor

Don Mattingly is leaving the Blue Jays. As first reported by the New York Post's Jon Heyman, Mattingly, who served as Toronto's bench coach for the past three seasons, is stepping down from his role. However, he is not yet retiring and would consider taking on a role with a new team. To that point, Phillies insider Jim Salisbury reports that Philadelphia has had internal discussions about bringing Mattingly on as a bench coach. It's not yet clear if Mattingly would be willing to take on the same role with a new organization. Featured image courtesy of John E. Sokolowski, Imagn Images. View full rumor

Great point. Although different sources seem to have different ideas about the exact yearly breakdown of what Vladdy is earning. This Sportsnet article from April suggests he's only earning a $13M signing bonus and $17M salary (total $30M), which would actually be significantly less than he made in 2025 ($28.5M salary + $20M signing bonus). But RosterResource says he's making $40.2M in 2026. It's all complicated, but ultimately, I'm just glad we can come back to that idea that ownership won't be hand-wringing over dollars and cents for next year's payroll. Hopefully, there's quite a bit of money freed up from last year, but even if there isn't, the FO should be aggressive.

The Blue Jays ran a record-high payroll in 2025. According to Cot’s Contracts, their final commitment came in just over $254 million, and just under $279 million for luxury tax purposes. Only four teams, the Dodgers, Mets, Yankees, and Phillies, spent more. Toronto’s payroll estimates from RosterResource were a little higher ($258 million and $283 million, respectively), but the overarching point remains: The Blue Jays spent more money on player salaries in 2025 than ever before. And it worked. That record-high payroll carried the Jays to their most successful season in more than thirty years. Now, just days after that magical season came to a disappointing close, it's already time to talk about what the payroll will look like in 2026. The Blue Jays have a good deal of money coming off the books this winter, with Chris Bassitt ($22M), Bo Bichette ($17.6M), Max Scherzer ($15.5M), Seranthony Domínguez, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and Ty France (about $4M combined) hitting free agency. Shane Bieber (about $3M) will presumably join them. (Scratch that!) Others like Chad Green ($10.5M), Erik Swanson ($3M), and Spencer Turnbull ($1M), who Toronto cut earlier in the season, have also collected their final paychecks from the Blue Jays organization. Several players still under contract are due raises in 2026, which will cancel out some of the savings from those expiring contracts. The biggest raise (almost $12 million) is for Vladimir Guerrero Jr., whose 14-year, $500 million extension officially kicks in next year. Andrés Giménez ($5M raise), Jeff Hoffman ($5M), Alejandro Kirk ($4.1M), Anthony Santander ($3M), and Myles Straw ($1M) will also earn pay bumps, as will arbitration candidates Eric Lauer (estimated $2.6M raise), Ernie Clement ($2.33M), Daulton Varsho ($1.5M) Nick Sandlin ($370K), and Tyler Heineman ($219K). So, RosterResource currently estimates a $219 million payroll for the Blue Jays in 2026 – $39 million below their final figure from 2025. However, keep in mind, that $219 million figure uses the estimated arbitration salaries from MLB Trade Rumors and presumes the Jays will tender contracts to both Sandlin and Ryan Burr, which is no guarantee. My guess is they’ll keep Sandlin and non-tender Burr, so I’ll go with that for the sake of this article. Subtracting Burr would bring the RosterResource estimate down by about one million. But that total doesn’t line up with my own calculations, which I came to using the individual numbers from RosterResource. The sum of all of Toronto’s guaranteed contracts on RosterResource is about $201.9 million. Add another $21.4 million for arbitration salaries, and you get $223.3 million. Combine that with RosterResource’s estimated $12.5 million for pre-arb salaries, and the total is just under $236 million. The difference between $236 and $218 million is a lot more than just chump change; that's a mid-rotation starter right there. As for the luxury tax, the Blue Jays either finished just above or just below the third tier of penalties in 2025, depending on whose estimate you look at. Next year, the third threshold climbs to $284 million. If RosterResource is correct, the Blue Jays have more than $50 million of room before they hit that point. Though in truth, I think they have a bit less to play with than RosterResource suggests. Thankfully, the exact numbers probably don't matter all that much. The Blue Jays proved in 2025 that they have the resources to be one of the top spenders in the sport, and that was before they made it to the World Series. Rogers earned a ton of extra revenue this October – almost half the country tuned in to Game 7 at one point or another – and they should have every incentive to pour that money back into the team. (It's almost as if spending money on talented players is good for business. Who could have guessed?) So, Ross Atkins and his front office really should have all the flexibility they need this winter as they work to re-sign Bichette, replenish the rotation, and upgrade the bullpen in an effort to build an even stronger contender in 2026. It might take another record-high payroll, but that shouldn't be a problem – ownership can and should make it happen. View full article

In pleasantly surprising news, the New York Post's Jon Heyman reports that Shane Bieber has exercised his player option with the Blue Jays for the 2026 campaign. The right-hander will collect a $16 million salary instead of a $4 million buyout. Because of that buyout, Bieber would have only had to earn $12 million on the open market to match his guarantee from the Blue Jays. Thus, many thought it was a foregone conclusion that he would opt out and return to free agency. Instead, the 2020 AL Cy Young winner will return for at least one more year (and one more shot at a title) with Toronto. Featured image courtesy of Kiyoshi Mio, Imagn Images. View full rumor

The Baseball Writers Association of America announced the finalists for its big four end-of-season awards today: MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, and Manager of the Year. While no Blue Jays players will be taking home any of the BBWAA hardware, skipper John Schneider is in the running for the AL's highest managerial honour. His fellow finalists are Stephen Vogt of the Guardians and Dan Wilson of the Mariners. As a reminder, the finalists for the BBWAA awards are not nominees. The winners are decided upon immediately following the regular season, and the three finalists in each category are simply the three highest vote-getters. The 2025 Managers of the Year will be announced on November 11 on MLB Network. Featured image courtesy of John E. Sokolowski, Imagn Images. View full rumor

The primary incentive is extending them beyond their arbitration years. The Red Sox and O's now have three more years of club control over Anthony and Basallo than they otherwise would have. The Jays could do the same with Ernie, but he'll be entering his age-33 season by the time he reaches free agency, and as much as I love him, I'm doubtful they want to commit guaranteed money to a utility player in his mid-thirties so far in advance. The arbitration system also undervalues players who provide more of their value on defense. And raises are always based on a player's arb number from the previous season. So if a guy isn't a star in his first arb year (like Ernie), he's probably never going to make a ton in arbitration. Even if he doubles his arb salary in 2027, that's still only $9 million. Whereas someone like Roman Anthony could be earning upwards of $20 million by his third arb year.

I just don't think the Jays have much incentive to do that. The arb system tends to undervalue players like Clement, so the Jays can just keep bringing him back on below-market-value contracts for the next three seasons without having to lock themselves into a longer commitment.

Agreed on Bichette. Keeping him and Vladdy together as the long-term faces of the franchise is worth a premium price. Putting the 2026 rotation together is a much harder question

Last month, MLB Trade Rumors published their annual arbitration salary projections. These projections are highly accurate and, therefore, a fantastic tool for fans, media members, and even front office executives, as we all try to guess which arbitration-eligible players will be tendered contracts in the coming weeks and try to calculate how much payroll each team has to work with this winter. According to the estimates from RosterResource (which use MLBTR’s arbitration projections), the Blue Jays have about $48.4 million of luxury tax payroll and $39 million of actual payroll coming off the books at the end of the season. However, both of those numbers presume they will tender a contract to all of their eligible candidates. I know you probably want to keep wallowing in the World Series defeat, but the MLB offseason waits for no one. Free agents can start signing with new teams as of 5:00 pm on Thursday. That's also the deadline for teams and players to decide on contract options and for teams to extend qualifying offers. The non-tender deadline is a couple of weeks later, on November 21. So, with an exciting offseason about to begin, let’s take a closer look at Toronto’s seven arbitration-eligible players and try to guess how GM Ross Atkins will handle each case. Non-Tender Dillon Tate – Arb 2 Projected Salary: $1.7 million Dillon Tate signed a split contract with the Blue Jays last offseason, which meant the team had to pay him a prorated portion of his $1.4 million salary for the time he spent in the majors. Considering he only threw 6.1 innings for the big league club, collecting a fraction of that $1.4 million, there’s no chance the Jays are going to guarantee him seven figures for 2026. Tate pitched well at Triple-A Buffalo (2.06 ERA, 3.90 FIP in 39.1 IP), and the Blue Jays might be happy to have him back in the organization next year. Still, a non-tender is coming his way first. Ryan Burr – Arb 1 Projected Salary: $800,000 Ryan Burr missed the first three months of 2025 with a shoulder injury. He returned to throw just two innings before surgery ended his season. The right-hander was a solid pickup for the Jays in 2024, tossing 32.2 low-leverage innings with a 4.13 ERA and a 3.56 xERA. There’s definitely upside here. At the same time, we’re talking about a pitcher in his early thirties with a 4.02 ERA and 0.3 FanGraphs WAR in 102 career games. Burr might be hard-pressed to land a guaranteed contract for 2026 even if he weren’t coming off a season lost to shoulder surgery. Like Tate, I could see the Blue Jays bringing Burr back into the fold, but it won’t be through arbitration. On the Fence Nick Sandlin – Arb 3 Projected Salary: $2.0 million Andrés Giménez was the reason the Blue Jays sent Spencer Horwitz and Nick Mitchell to the Guardians last winter, but Nick Sandlin was more than a throw-in. Through four seasons with Cleveland, he pitched to a 3.27 ERA and 3.72 xERA in 209 appearances, striking 226 of the 806 batters he faced (27.7%). Sandlin has always led his slider (which turned into more of a sweeper this year), but he upped his splitter usage in 2024 to great success. Unfortunately, a lat strain and an elbow injury limited the righty to 16.1 innings this past year, so we didn’t get to see what the Jays could get out of his arm in a full season. It’s hard to predict whether or not they’ll tender him a contract this offseason because it depends on how healthy his elbow is. This is Sandlin’s third year of arb eligibility, but he’s a Super 2 player, so if the Jays tender him a contract for 2026, he will remain under team control through 2027. That could be what ultimately convinces the team to keep him around despite potential injury concerns. It also helps that he still has all his option years remaining; if he struggles next year, the Jays could send him down to Triple-A without taking him off the 40-man roster. Keep Eric Lauer – Arb 3 Projected Salary: $4.4 million The Blue Jays had a lot of heroes this season, but Eric Lauer might have been the very first. With Max Scherzer on the IL and Bowden Francis soon to join him, the back end of the rotation was a mess early in the year. Then came Lauer. While he wasn’t even on the roster until April 30, Lauer was one of Toronto’s most important pitchers from May onward. Whether he was starting, piggybacking, or pitching in relief, the lefty was up for the task, pitching to a 3.77 ERA in 15 starts and a 1.76 ERA in 13 bullpen appearances. Overall, his 3.18 ERA was the lowest of anyone who started a game for the Blue Jays in 2025 (excluding openers). The team went 12-3 in his starts and 22-6 in all his regular season appearances. For all that, the Blue Jays paid Lauer just under $1.8 million. While he’s sure to earn a raise in 2026, his projected $4.4 million salary is still a great deal for a lefty swingman who can toss 100-plus innings and keep his team in ballgames. Note: Some players who return to MLB from foreign leagues can negotiate clauses in their contracts that allow them to bypass the arbitration system and return to free agency when their guaranteed contract expires. Lauer doesn’t appear to be one of those players. That’s not entirely surprising. After all, it’s not like he had much bargaining power when he signed a minor league contract with Toronto last December. He hadn’t pitched in the majors since his ill-fated 2023, and he wasn’t especially successful in his short stint in the KBO either. So, the Jays will be rewarded for taking a chance on Lauer with an extra year of team control. Tyler Heineman – Arb 1 Projected Salary: $1 million Tyler Heineman is a little late to the arbitration party, finally reaching his first arb year after his age-34 campaign. His projected $1 million salary wouldn’t be a huge raise over the league minimum figure he took home in 2025. Still, earning his first seven-figure deal would be a major accomplishment for Heineman, who played in parts of 13 minor league seasons and six MLB seasons with 10 different organizations to reach this point. The Blue Jays have no reason to hesitate to tender Heineman a contract after the season he gave them in 2025. He might not (read: will not) reproduce his 120 wRC+, but he’ll give his pitchers Alejandro Kirk-level defense whenever Kirk himself needs a day off. Ernie Clement – Arb 2 Projected Salary: $4.3 million Ernie Clement was one of the game’s best utility players in 2025, hitting just well enough to let his glove do the talking wherever he played on the infield dirt. As I noted in my article about the Jays’ breakout players of the year, this may have felt like a breakout season for Clement, but in truth, he just expanded upon his 2024. In 185 games from 2024-25, he has compiled eye-popping defensive metrics at second base, third base, and shortstop with offensive numbers right around league average. Tendering him a contract is a no-brainer for Atkins and Co. I considered putting Clement in the “Extend” category of this piece after the season he just had. However, he’ll turn 30 in March, and as a Super 2 player, he’s under team control through the 2028 campaign. As much as the fan in me would love to see him rewarded with an extension (especially after his postseason performance), I don’t think it’s in the cards. Extend Daulton Varsho – Arb 3 Projected Salary: $9.7 million MLBTR’s model is only projecting a modest salary bump for Varsho, who earned $8.2 million in 2025. That is presumably because of all the time he missed with injuries; rehab from shoulder surgery kept him out for the first month of the season, and a hamstring strain cost him another two months mid-year. Yet, in the 71 games he was able to play, Varsho looked better than ever. Stat Career Average, 2020-24 Previous Career High 2025 wRC+ 96 106 (2022) 123 xwOBA .293 .323 (2021) .341 The center fielder combined his typically top-notch defense (9 OAA, 6 FRV, 10 DRS) with truly terrifying power. Only seven hitters who took as many as 50 plate appearances in 2025 had a higher isolated power than Varsho, and that list is a who’s who of the game’s best sluggers: Aaron Judge, .357 Cal Raleigh, .342 Shohei Ohtani, .340 Nick Kurtz, .329 Kyle Schwarber, .323 Giancarlo Stanton, .321 Daulton Varsho, .310 I don’t need to waste any words explaining why the Blue Jays should tender Varsho a contract. It’s obvious. So obvious, in fact, that Atkins needs to think beyond retaining Varsho for 2026. The Gold Glover is set to reach free agency after next season, and the Jays don’t have an obvious internal replacement. Extending Varsho won’t be at the top of the to-do list this winter. Re-signing Bo Bichette and adding some pitching should come first. But I’ll be surprised if Opening Day rolls around and Varsho is only under contract for one more year. View full article

The Blue Jays put up one heck of a fight, but in the end, it wasn't enough. With Toronto up 4-3 in the top of the ninth, Jeff Hoffman allowed a game-tying home run to Dodgers nine-hole hitter Miguel Rojas. It was hard to watch. Two innings later, Shane Bieber gave up a home run to Will Smith. It was even harder to watch. Then, in the bottom of the 11th, in front of 40,000 anxious fans at the Rogers Centre, Alejandro Kirk grounded into a double play. Toronto's magical run was over. The Dodgers had won their second straight World Series title, and all the Blue Jays could do was stare in disbelief. This was still a special season for the Blue Jays. A heartbreaking World Series loss doesn't change that. But fans can celebrate all that this team accomplished in due time. For now, no one will blame you for wallowing in defeat. Featured image courtesy of Nick Turchiaro, Imagn Images. View full rumor

The Blue Jays have announced their lineup for Game 7 of the World Series against the Dodgers. Fans will be pleased to see George Springer and Alejandro Kirk included. Springer looked to be playing through pain in Game 6, while Kirk exited in the bottom of the ninth after being hit by a pitch on the hand. It's a slightly different batting order than the Jays have used in any other game this season, with Addison Barger moving up to the five-hole and Daulton Varsho dropping down to seventh: Barger's move up the order is well deserved. He has been red-hot in the World Series, with 10 hits in 21 at-bats, including two doubles and a home run. The lefty slugger leads Toronto's offense in hits, wRC+, and Win Probability Added over the last week. Manager John Schneider is surely looking for any and all advantages he can give his team against Dodgers starter Shohei Ohtani. Max Scherzer will toe the bump for the Blue Jays in what's sure to go down as one of the most iconic starting pitching matchups in World Series history. Featured image courtesy of John E. Sokolowski, Imagn Images. View full rumor