Baseball is all about taking big swings. Not all of them land, but we rarely remember the whiffs. We remember the towering moonshots into the fifth deck. That’s my justification for taking some wild hacks here at the plate, at least.

It feels like 2025 could be the end of an era for the Toronto Blue Jays. Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. might play for division rivals next year, the front office might be gutted, and this team might be staring down the barrel of a rebuild.

In the meantime, a lot is riding on this season for the Blue Jays, and the stakes are quite high for several of these players to have a good year and for the team to perform well collectively. A 74-win season and last place in the American League East was no fun for anyone last year and a repeat of that is calling for change.

Predictions aren’t forecasts, but it’s always fun to at least place a moral bet before the season begins. Before the Blue Jays open their season on Thursday against the Baltimore Orioles, these are some bold predictions for the Blue Jays’ 2025 season.

Not the hottest of takes for the former two-time American League hits leader, but 2024 was the season to forget for Bo Bichette. With his injury-riddled campaign in the rear-view mirror, he came out guns blazing in spring training, slashing .373/.411/.667 with four home runs.

It’s never a bad idea to bank on a player in a contract season, and Bichette has a lot to prove this year, whether that be for the Blue Jays or one of his future employers. It’s easy to look at last year as an anomaly compared to his impressive career numbers.

The Blue Jays’ shortstop hasn’t been himself since August 2023, so a healthy Bichette solves a lot of problems for this team. And maybe don’t count him as good as gone in free agency, either. A solid season may kindle some contract extension talks between both parties.

Please don’t take this as Vladdy slander, but Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has yet to post consecutive 5+ fWAR seasons in his career. His “good” seasons were bookended by his otherworldly campaigns in 2021 and 2024, but we have yet to see some semblance of consistency from the 26-year-old.

Let’s also not forget that Guerrero wasn’t impressive wire-to-wire last season. He didn’t turn it on until late June 2024, when he flipped into video game mode. The question is, can he produce on that level for a sustained period for more than a single season?

The first baseman still needs to prove he deserves a $600 million contract, even though he wants to be paid like one of the best hitters in baseball. Call it a hunch, but I don’t think he will duplicate his 5.4 fWAR season from last year, instead, it’s more like a 3-4 win season in 2025.

That’s still a good season, but it’s not great.

Not to be a Debbie Downer, but we’ve all seen this coming for George Springer. It was always going to end like this, but most hoped his decline wouldn’t be so steep. And the Blue Jays still have two full seasons and $50 million remaining on his contract.

Last year, his bat speed, exit velocity and hard hit rate all declined, and while he’s still a plus baserunner and can field well, that’s a lot of dough to pay for a league average bat. With so many younger, versatile outfielders in the organization, it only feels like a matter of time before Springer gets pushed out.

Hopefully, John Schneider sets Springer up for success by leaving him further down in the order and not shoehorning Springer into the leadoff spot again. That experiment seems to have played itself out, and the veteran outfielder might find success in a less premium spot in the batting order.

The fact the Blue Jays added Alan Roden to the Opening Day roster may have already tipped the team’s hand as to where they see this thing playing out. The organization won’t outright say it, but I’m sure they’d love for Roden to hit the ground running, put up some good numbers, and force the team’s hand into playing Roden over Springer in the outfield.

On merit alone, Addison Barger should have been on the Opening Day roster for the Blue Jays, but because they needed more flexibility in centre field, the 25-year-old will start the season in triple-A Buffalo.

No offense to Ernie Clement, who filled in at the hot corner for the Blue Jays last season, but this is one spot on the diamond where Toronto can vastly improve. Barger shouldn’t have to do much to take the job from Clement and run with it.

We’ve seen why the Blue Jays are so impressed with Barger’s tools, his bat speed and arm strength among them, and having a power lefty bat who could hit in the top two-thirds of the order gives the Blue Jays a much more balanced lineup. The one caveat is his defence, where he lacks in that department compared to Clement or Wagner, but the power is unmatched.

It’s fair to say the Blue Jays didn’t give Barger much rope in his first few tours with the Blue Jays last year, and when he returns to the big leagues, it should be for good. This organization is overdue for a drafting and development position player success story, so why not Barger?

The 2025 Blue Jays are not without their warts, but they did a lot this past offseason to address their glaring issues on the roster. With a weakened Yankees team, it feels like any of the five clubs in the American League East have the potential to win the division this year.

I won’t make the case for Toronto winning the division, but I think they’ll win enough games in 2025 to make the playoffs and squeeze into the third Wild Card spot in the American League. On paper, there’s enough talent on this team to return to October, and compared to other years, they have the depth to weather the storm. The Jays also have a recent history of dipping into their farm system for talent at the deadline when the postseason is within reach, so there’s room for improvement as well.

Given the uncertainty with many of their core players like Bichette and Guerrero, this could be the last kick at the can for a while for this franchise, so the Blue Jays need to make the most of this opportunity.