The Toronto Blue Jays are entering this season with the most expectations the organization has had in a generation.
The Blue Jays were one of the most active teams in free agency and bolstered their pitching staff while find their third baseman for the next several years.
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Toronto signed starting pitchers Dylan Cease to a seven-year, $210 million contract and Cody Ponce to a three-year, $30 million deal; inked reliever Tyler Rogers for three years, $37 million and brought in Kazuma Okamoto to play third base on a four-year, $60 million contract.
The Blue Jays also acquired right-handed reliever Cliff Lee from the Detroit Tigers.
Even with the aforementioned additions, Toronto still missed out on several high-end players and had others leave the organization.
The Blue Jays’ top offseason target, Kyle Tucker, signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers (who beat the Jays in the World Series). Two-time All-Star shortstop Bo Bichette and high-leverage reliever Seranthony Dominguez also left the team in free agency.
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Bichette signed with the New York Mets and Dominguez joined the Chicago White Sox.
Even still, Toronto’s offseason was still elite according to one writer.
In a recent story for The Athletic from Jim Bowden, the Blue Jays received an “A” grade for their offseason.
Bowden had the following takeaways on Toronto’s offseason moves in his article:
The AL champions landed arguably the best starting pitcher on the open market in Dylan Cease, the only pitcher over the last five years with at least 30 starts, at least 200 innings and at least 200 strikeouts each season. I loved the gamble the Blue Jays took on Cody Ponce, who among free-agent pitchers has a chance to be this offseason’s best value signing. I also liked the pickup of Tyler Rogers, who gives their bullpen another reliever with a different look thanks to his submarine delivery.
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Bowden also mentioned some of the biggest questions for the Blue Jays following their offseason, which included how Okamoto will perform in the transition from Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball to Major League Baseball.
Bowden also floated out the question how Anthony Santander will bounce back after an injury-plagued season in 2025 and how much the team will miss Bo Bichette.
Overall, it seems the consensus was the offseason was still a successful one for Toronto, which Bowden had finishing first in the American League East in 2026.
The AL is wide open in ’26 and it seems like the Blue Jays will have an opportunity to earn its second-straight pennant.
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