The Toronto Blue Jays have acknowledged their flaws from the past season and have given themselves a chance to contend once again this offseason. 

After placing last in the tough American League East in 2024, the Blue Jays desperately needed to put together a roster that could compete with titans in the division like the Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, and New York Yankees.
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As expected teams like the Red Sox and Yankees added this off-season, with the Yankees signing Max Friend and trading for Devin Williams while the Red Sox traded for Garrett Crochet and recently signed Alex Bregman.
The Blue Jays had to make their own standout moves to challenge the status quo. They did add a handful of free agents to complement and retool their roster this offseason but as Spring Training starts in less than a week, the team came in short of their expectations. 
<h2>Grade: B</h2>
Overall, Toronto did a fine job tweaking its roster by pivoting well in a steep competition. The Blue Jays&#8217; first big move was trading Spencer Horwitz for Andrés Giménez and Nick Sandlin. Unfortunately, they missed out on the two biggest free agents &#8211;  Rōki Sasaki and Juan Soto &#8211; but were able to add the power-hitting Anthony Santander. 
Where the team really stood out was by improving their bullpen, re-signing Yimi García, and bringing back former Blue Jay Jeff Hoffman to bring in a closer. They also acquired Nick Sandlin in the trade that brought Giménez to the Jays.
To help complement its starting rotation, the team also succeeded in convincing Max Scherzer to sign north of the border for one year. It will push Yariel Rodríguez to the bullpen in a long-man role.
All these names will contribute to boosting the team’s performance and the hope is to re-energize the lethargic offence while offering more solid pitching throughout the season from top to bottom. 
However, if there is a missing piece to this equation, it’s the clear absence of an extension with young star players like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette. In a sense, Bichette’s extension talk wasn’t a priority for the Blue Jays given the shortstop’s recent injury and underperformance. In other words, Bichette’s extension could have changed the tone around the franchise but wasn’t going to move the needle per se. 
Where the team ultimately failed was signing an extension with 25-year-old Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Although the young Dominican first baseman had his highs and lows and was unpredictable at times, his talent is undeniable. Last season, he had one of his best seasons in the big leagues with a slash line of .323/.396/.544 with 32 home runs. He is projected to have a slash line of .294/.373/.517 in the upcoming season, indicating that his performance in 2024 wasn&#8217;t a fluke. 
Talent like Guerrero Jr. doesn’t come by often and the Blue Jays missed their chance of locking up to a long-term deal, at least for now. Most teams with younger players of this calibre have already handed out extensions. 
The Kansas City Royals happily signed Bobby Witt Jr. to a long-term extension while the Atlanta Braves extended Michael Harris II, Ronald Acuña Jr., Spencer Strider, and Austin Riley.
Without extending their star players in Guerrero Jr. and Bichette, the Blue Jays run the risk of losing their two franchise players after the 2025 season. If they are unable to extend them once they reach the open market, they’ll have to replace the two plays differently &#8211; no easy task.
Ultimately, the failure to extend Guerrero Jr. has brought down the Blue Jays’ offseason grade. It’ hard to call it a success for a team that desperately needed long-term solutions and stability.
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The Toronto Blue Jays have acknowledged their flaws from the past season and have given themselves a chance to contend once again this offseason. 



After placing last in the tough American League East in 2024, the Blue Jays desperately needed to put together a roster that could compete with titans in the division like the Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, and New York Yankees.
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&nbsp;

As expected teams like the Red Sox and Yankees added this off-season, with the Yankees signing Max Friend and trading for Devin Williams while the Red Sox traded for Garrett Crochet and recently signed Alex Bregman.

The Blue Jays had to make their own standout moves to challenge the status quo. They did add a handful of free agents to complement and retool their roster this offseason but as Spring Training starts in less than a week, the team came in short of their expectations. 
<h2>Grade: B</h2>
Overall, Toronto did a fine job tweaking its roster by pivoting well in a steep competition. The Blue Jays' first big move was trading Spencer Horwitz for Andrés Giménez and Nick Sandlin. Unfortunately, they missed out on the two biggest free agents -  Rōki Sasaki and Juan Soto - but were able to add the power-hitting Anthony Santander. 

Where the team really stood out was by improving their bullpen, re-signing Yimi García, and bringing back former Blue Jay Jeff Hoffman to bring in a closer. They also acquired Nick Sandlin in the trade that brought Giménez to the Jays.

To help complement its starting rotation, the team also succeeded in convincing Max Scherzer to sign north of the border for one year. It will push Yariel Rodríguez to the bullpen in a long-man role.

All these names will contribute to boosting the team’s performance and the hope is to re-energize the lethargic offence while offering more solid pitching throughout the season from top to bottom. 

However, if there is a missing piece to this equation, it’s the clear absence of an extension with young star players like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette. In a sense, Bichette’s extension talk wasn’t a priority for the Blue Jays given the shortstop’s recent injury and underperformance. In other words, Bichette’s extension could have changed the tone around the franchise but wasn’t going to move the needle per se. 

Where the team ultimately failed was signing an extension with 25-year-old Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Although the young Dominican first baseman had his highs and lows and was unpredictable at times, his talent is undeniable. Last season, he had one of his best seasons in the big leagues with a slash line of .323/.396/.544 with 32 home runs. He is projected to have a slash line of .294/.373/.517 in the upcoming season, indicating that his performance in 2024 wasn't a fluke. 

Talent like Guerrero Jr. doesn’t come by often and the Blue Jays missed their chance of locking up to a long-term deal, at least for now. Most teams with younger players of this calibre have already handed out extensions. 

The Kansas City Royals happily signed Bobby Witt Jr. to a long-term extension while the Atlanta Braves extended Michael Harris II, Ronald Acuña Jr., Spencer Strider, and Austin Riley.

Without extending their star players in Guerrero Jr. and Bichette, the Blue Jays run the risk of losing their two franchise players after the 2025 season. If they are unable to extend them once they reach the open market, they’ll have to replace the two plays differently - no easy task.

Ultimately, the failure to extend Guerrero Jr. has brought down the Blue Jays’ offseason grade. It’ hard to call it a success for a team that desperately needed long-term solutions and stability.

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Grading the Blue Jays off-season after failing to extend Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

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