{"id":649273,"date":"2026-03-28T21:11:17","date_gmt":"2026-03-28T21:11:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/649273\/"},"modified":"2026-03-28T21:11:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T21:11:17","slug":"blue-jays-offseason-moves-that-already-look-smart-and-dumb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/649273\/","title":{"rendered":"Blue Jays Offseason Moves That Already Look Smart, and Dumb"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6c\">After making a phenomenal run in the 2025 World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, it wasn&#8217;t a major surprise to see the Toronto Blue Jays navigate an aggressive offseason. Notable transactions were made, and fans will soon learn just how valuable those moves were.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6f\">However, not every transaction is going to pay off, even if they were projected to. When looking at the Blue Jays&#8217; spring training performances and considering what&#8217;s to come, it&#8217;s become clear who these players are and what their paths with the franchise could look like this year.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6i\">Although Toronto is not considered to have any major busts this year, a few signings raised some eyebrows, and the doubt still looms. On the other side, one free agent signing should pay off quite well for the ballclub.<\/p>\n<p>Which Signing Was the Smartest Move?<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/01kmv1xc0emqym13e6k7.jpg\" alt=\"Toronto Blue Jays Dylan Cease pitching\" title=\"Toronto Blue Jays Dylan Cease pitching\" width=\"7362\" height=\"4141\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"6v\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Dylan Cease | Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6z\">Signing starter <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/bluejays\/onsi\/news\/mlb-insider-s-bold-prediction-for-dylan-cease-could-raise-blue-jays-ceiling\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Dylan Cease<\/a> was met with a variety of opinions from fans. Not only was he an expensive player to acquire, but when compared to other arms in free agency, his stat sheet wasn&#8217;t as glamorous. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"72\">During his 2025 campaign with the San Diego Padres, he registered a 4.55 ERA and 215 strikeouts across 168.0 innings pitched through 32 starts. More noteworthy, his year-to-year consistency raises red flags.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"75\">But now playing in a new environment with fresh faces, Cease could very well thrive on the mound. Of course, this is said with caution, primarily due to his inconsistency, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/bluejays\/onsi\/news\/in-his-own-words-blue-jays-ernie-clement-using-game-7-heartbreak-to-fuel-2026\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">expectations are high for him<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>Which Move Will They Regret?<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/01kmv1zaanqdc9f9vngv.jpg\" alt=\"New York Mets Bo Bichette bending down to to catch a baseball\" title=\"New York Mets Bo Bichette bending down to to catch a baseball\" width=\"5654\" height=\"3180\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"7i\"\/><\/p>\n<p>New York Mets third baseman Bo Bichette  | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7m\">The name that tends to come to mind is Bo Bichette. The 28-year-old infielder previously spent seven years with Toronto before signing with the New York Mets for the 2026 season. While with the Blue Jays, he slashed .294\/.\/337\/.469 with an .806 OPS and 111 homers through 748 games.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7p\">During spring training with the Mets, Bichette slashed .333\/.413\/.513 with a .926 OPS and one home run through 16 games. He&#8217;s on a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/bluejays\/onsi\/news\/blue-jays-george-springer-ernie-clement-mic-d-up-at-nhl-game-awed-by-young-star\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">positive trajectory<\/a> as he approaches his first regular season in New York.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-12\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7s\">Allowing Bichette to walk off could end up becoming a major flop for the ballclub, perhaps sooner rather than later. He was a homegrown infielder who spent his entire career in the Major Leagues in Toronto, so watching him walk out the door was incredibly frustrating for many involved. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-13\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7v\">With such prominent and consistent offensive production, the Blue Jays could find themselves deeply regretting letting their star go during the offseason.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After making a phenomenal run in the 2025 World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, it wasn&#8217;t a&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":649274,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2378],"tags":[5,377,2554,4,282,70,2553],"class_list":{"0":"post-649273","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-toronto-blue-jays","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-blue-jays","10":"tag-bluejays","11":"tag-mlb","12":"tag-toronto","13":"tag-toronto-blue-jays","14":"tag-torontobluejays"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116308862576972004","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/649273","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=649273"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/649273\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/649274"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=649273"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=649273"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=649273"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}