Like it or not, the Blue Jays are trying to win next year. Mark Shapiro made that clear earlier this week when he met with the media for a post-deadline chat.

“We believe there’s enough talent in place to build a contending championship caliber team next year.” the team president told the media.

But how, possibly, can a team currently on pace for 75 wins— without massive payroll flexibility or a respectable farm system — become a playoff contender (let alone championship candidate) in one offseason? I certainly have my doubts on how realistic it is, but there are three key paths to the Blue Jays getting much better in 2025:

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is doing everything the Jays could realistically want from him and I kinda think we know what Daulton Varsho is at this point. But there are many spots for potential rebound in 2024. The names that pop to mind are Bo Bichette, George Springer, Kevin Gausman, Erik Swanson, and Jordan Romano.

The most important will be Bichette. Toronto’s shortstop was a pinnacle of consistency for the first four seasons of his MLB career, hitting around .300, playing nearly every day, and always bringing four to five WAR across a full season. But this year he’s been one of the worst hitters in baseball when healthy and is set to miss basically half the season with injuries, too. The discrepancy between Bichette’s 2023 and 2024 production probably cost the Jays around five wins. They need those back.

On top of arguably being Toronto’s most valuable player, Bichette’s 2025 rebound is also essential because the Jays don’t have anybody to backfill behind him. If Springer slumps, they’ve got other outfielders. If Swanson struggles, there are other relievers who can step up.

But replacing Bichette this year has been the now-traded IKF, Leo Jimenez, and Ernie Clement. While Clement has proven he’s a solid MLB bench option, it’s pretty clear Jimenez nor hecan be everyday options at shortstop.

While the Jays do have Josh Kasevich and Orelvis Martinez in the upper minors, the former hasn’t flashed much of a bat and the latter is probably more of a 2B/3B. If the Jays are going to win in 2025, Bichette has to be the starting shortstop — and a good one at that.

The Jays don’t have a great farm system, but they do have a handful of guys who could, in theory, make a positive impact on the 2025 squad. While I like guys like Adam Macko, Joey Loperfido, Orelvis Martinez, and Alan Roden, the two prospects who I think have the biggest upside next year are Jonathan Claseand Jake Bloss.

I think most Jays fans are familiar with Bloss by now and his 1.64 ERA in 13 minor-league starts for the Astros pre-deadline. He seems like an obvious pick to backfill the rotation and push Bowden Francis for the spot opened up by Alek Manoah’s injury.

But with Clase, the Jays have something different. At his floor, he’s probably a speedy fourth outfielder at the MLB level with some pop — I’m thinking Delino DeShields Jr. or similar. But, with the numbers he’s posted in the upper-minors this year, maybe there’s a starter in there.

The Jays are likely to have at least one outfield spot open next year (two if Springer slides to a fulltime DH) so guys like Clase, Roden, and Loperfido will be set to compete for jobs next spring. I’d expect Toronto to add one outfielder in the winter and then let the kids jockey for the other spot.

This is obviously the most important element for change in the 2025 Jays. Even if a combination of prospect promotions and rebound candidates make Toronto 10 wins better next year, they’re still not really a playoff contender without outside adds.

They need new faces. Guys who can turn this bullpen from awful to solid, probably a depth rotation option, and anybody to bring some offensive life to the lineup alongside Guerrero.

Whoever Toronto’s GM is come the offseason will have some serious work to do and some big moves to make. The Jays can’t add a few utility infielders and a 40-year-old DH again this winter. We don’t know what the free agent crop looks like yet, but I would be shocked if we don’t see the Blue Jays attached to 3B Alex Bregman at some point this offseason. He fills the third-base hole perfectly and he’ll be one of the best offensive bats on the market.

Beyond Bregman, a starter like Andrew Heaney (a guy Toronto’s liked in the past) makes a lot of sense for the SP4/5 role and relievers like Chris Martin, AJ Minter, or a reunion with Yimi Garcia could fit.