There is still plenty of time for the Blue Jays to improve the offence that sputtered in 2024, leading to a disappointing record of just 74-88 and a last-place finish in the AL East. However, as the market starts to move and some of their direct competition within the division has improved their rosters, the pressure feels like it’s increasing by the day for Ross Atkins and the Blue Jays’ front office.

Just the other day I wrote an article about why Blue Jays fans shouldn’t lament losing out on Cody Bellinger, who was traded to the Yankees in a swap that saw the Bronx Bombers having to pay very little to acquire him. I argued that Bellinger was an imperfect fit for the Blue Jays, and I still believe that, but I will admit that as the market changes so does my perspective. Unfortunately, the market has continued to move over the past few days, with the Blue Jays still standing pat for the time being.

On Saturday the Yankees continued the re-shaping of their roster when they signed Paul Goldschmidt to a one-year, $12.5 million deal. Goldschmidt is a veteran that I thought the Blue Jays may end up pursuing for a variety of reasons, but he’ll now play in the same division, and with Bellinger on a division rival to boot. Later in the day, the Cleveland Guardians made another trade from their starting lineup, shipping Josh Naylor to the Arizona Diamondbacks for a pretty modest return. Like Goldschmidt, Naylor is also a first baseman and not a natural fit for the Blue Jays, but with a vacant DH spot in their lineup and Vladimir Guerrero Jr’s ability to play at third base as well, they could have made it work. Naylor is also a Canadian, so as an impending free agent it made sense that the Jays may have wanted to give him a taste of what it’s like playing in his home country.

Finally, to help offset the loss of their starting first baseman and not put too much pressure on Kyle Manzardo, the Guardians signed Carlos Santana, further depleting the 1B/DH market.

While I don’t think it’s worth panicking over when it comes to losing out on Goldschmidt, Naylor, or Santana on their own, I will admit that the worry starts to become about dwindling options on the free agent market, and/or impact players available via trade.

With those three and Christian Walker signed by the Houston Astros on Friday, the pool of available hitters is growing smaller. There are still impact hitters on the free agent market such as Anthony Santander, Teoscar Hernandez, Alex Bregman, Pete Alonso, and a few more, but there are also several teams still looking to upgrade their lineups as well, and the competition is going to be significant. I wouldn’t rule out any of their division rivals like the Red Sox, Orioles, or even the Yankees from continuing to shop this winter, and there will be plenty of others like the Dodgers, Mets, Giants, and more that could still spend money.

The risk that Atkins is running right now is very similar to what we saw a year ago when they threw all of their chips on the table in pursuit of Shohei Ohtani, only to be left with a pretty modest collection of players when they missed out on the big fish.

Last year it was a reunion with Kevin Kiermaier (.195/.236/.310 in 82 games as a Blue Jay in 2024), Justin Turner (.256/.350/.372 in 91 games), and Isiah Kiner-Falefa (.292/.338/.420 in 83 games), and it wasn’t anywhere near enough, especially with Bo Bichette battling injuries and having the worst season of his young career. Outside of Guerrero’s elite production after his slow start to the campaign, the offence was mostly a giant disappointment and an area of the roster that desperately needed to be addressed this winter. Yes, they traded for Andrés Giménez, which will improve the team in some ways, but they also moved Spencer Horwitz in the process, who was their second-best hitter in 2024. Simply put, the Blue Jays probably need to bring in at least two hitters and hope they get increased production from guys like Bichette, George Springer, Alejandro Kirk, and more.

We know that the Blue Jays have been linked to Santander, Hernandez, Bregman, and others, and there is still time for the front office to add an impact bat or two to the lineup. All is not lost just yet, but as we continue to see viable options fall off the board and the holes remaining on the roster, the pressure is starting to increase for Atkins and the front office, or at least it should be. It also doesn’t help that Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic has reported that their stance on trading Bo Bichette may have softened a bit, and neither does hearing Ben Nicholson-Smith and Arden Zwelling on “At the Letters” talking about how Giménez might be the big acquisition of the winter for this team.

After a year that almost everything went wrong for the Blue Jays in 2024, having a repeat of the same disappointing offseason just can’t happen. There is still time for Atkins to make moves but a repeat of last winter is not an option.