The Toronto Blue Jays find themselves again in the mix for one of the offseason’s top free agents. Last winter, the hype was related to two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani – who the Jays did not sign – and now the club has become involved early with star outfielder Juan Soto, who many predict will earn more than $500 million, depending on the length of the deal he signs.

The skeptical Blue Jays fan will see the title of this article and say, ‘Don’t you mean when instead of if?’.

It’s a fair criticism, as the Jays fanbase is quite frosty given the club’s lack of success in the postseason since the current front office group came in and the fallout from the Ohtani saga last winter. To miss out on such an impactful player like Ohtani when the club was in the mix until the end is a tough blow and to have it done twice in two years if Soto signs elsewhere would be the icing on the worst birthday cake; so much so that some fans are already resorting to that being the case.

Considering numerous clubs have met with the Dominican product and his services are in high demand, the chance that Soto signs elsewhere is a possibility – he is one of the highest profile free agents outside of Ohtani to hit the open market in recent years given his age, performance, and playoff experience. Unlike Ohtani, who is a unicorn in his own right, the Jays do have options available should Soto decide to sign elsewhere – although they are not to the same level as the 26-year-old – but the players available could make a sizeable impact on a Toronto roster that needs to patch up some different holes across the lineup and pitching staff.

If Soto decides to not sign with Toronto, here are the different pivot options the Jays could pursue to improve the roster.

Don’t get me wrong – Juan Soto is the power bat to pursue this winter. If he signs elsewhere though, there are a handful of other position players that could help the Blue Jays in the near future and beyond.

If the Jays are focused mostly on power, then top-tier players like Anthony Santander, Teoscar Hernández, and Pete Alonso would fit the bill. Santander and Hernández make more sense than Alonso for the Blue Jays considering the Jays need a corner outfielder over a first baseman – at least for the time being – although fitment issues still exist considering the former Orioles outfielder plays the same spot as George Springer and Hernández boasts a ton of experience in right field as well, although he spent a lot of time last season in left field for the Dodgers. Fans would love to link up with the former Blue Jays slugger but the bigger picture is what these three can do in the batter’s box, and that is hit the long ball.

Hernández has 29+ home runs in each of his past four seasons and took home the Home Run Derby belt last summer, Santander belted 44 home runs last season and swings from both sides of the plate, and Alonso has 34 or more home runs in each season since his 2019 debut outside of the condensed COVID season, which includes a league-leading 53 homers in his rookie campaign.

All three are attached to a qualifying offer so the Jays will lose a draft pick for any of their services but if the Jays want an impact bat with a track record to prove it, these three stand out amongst the rest. They all have their respective warts – namely in the strikeout category or potential defensive liabilities – but those are the drawbacks that mostly come with power-first type players.

If the Jays want to sacrifice some power but find a player that fits more of a need on the squad, then Alex Bregman makes sense for the Blue Jays as well.

Bregman will likely command the highest salary commitment of the bunch to go along with the years but the Jays have a hole at the hot corner and the former Astros third baseman has been one of the best in the league over the years – ranking fifth in the Major Leagues since 2019 in terms of fWAR (22.1).

The Blue Jays have been used to consistency at third base with Josh Donaldson and Matt Chapman being the staple names on the left side of the diamond throughout the past decade (sprinkle Guerrero Jr. in there as well if you want for the first couple of seasons) and bringing in Bregman makes sense to provide that consistency. The drawback will be some diminished power compared to the bats above – Bregman sits around the mid-20s mark in terms of home runs – but he consistently posts a solid OPS+ that would slot in well around Guerrero Jr. and Bichette for this season while still hitting the odd home run or two.

This offseason is considered a bit more potent then other recent free agent classes. There are quite a few names within the top-50 free agent group who have a track record to back up their play and while they won’t command the salary or attention compared to the upper-tier group mentioned above, there are some players that could make an impact but come with the inherent risk that comes with being further down on the list. Not reclamation projects but just with some additional cons compared to some of the flashier names.

Tyler O’Neill is one player who fits this category, as the slugger found his bat in Boston to the tune of 31 home runs and a .511 SLG with a .847 OPS. The B.C. product isn’t attached to a qualifying offer and won’t command the same money as someone like Santander or Hernández but the reason why is his consistency and injury history, with numerous IL stints over the years keeping him on the sidelines. When healthy, he can be a big-league contributor – the risk is that he injures himself and the Blue Jays are in a hole with his bat on the sidelines. His best season came back in 2021 when he posted a 6.1 bWAR with 34 long balls and it took him three years to get back into that groove, so there is no guarantee he finds that same swing in a Toronto uniform as well.

Another is Jurickson Profar, who produced a 3.7 bWAR this past season with the San Diego Padres to the tune of a 134 OPS+. Historically, Profar has sat more towards the middle of the road in terms of OPS+ and power, hitting the double-digit mark a handful of times throughout his career when it comes to the home run, but he could be a diamond in the rough type of find if his 2024 form remains intact this season.

These are just two examples amongst the numerous others but the theory remains – if the Jays want power in their lineup and aren’t willing to pony up the funds for a top-tier name like Santander, Alonso, or Hernández – there are options available. They just come with an increased risk of either falling back to the norm and being more of an anchor than a benefit or sitting on the sidelines due to injury. Terms and salary commitment will be the biggest factor(s) here.

Surprisingly, the notes out of the Blue Jays camp at the GM meetings early this offseason were that the Blue Jays appear interested in adding a top-end rotation arm, with Max Fried seeming like the name the club keeps circling back to. Others like Corbin Burnes and Blake Snell also fit in this category alongside Fried and while the Jays have been known to kick the tires on numerous players during the offseason, it still seemed a bit out of the norm for the club to be looking at adding a starter versus bullpen arms or a power bat.

Another is Roki Sasaki, the Japanese sensation who is slated to be posted this winter and will be part of the amateur international free agent class due to his age. If Sasaki is posted before December 2nd, he would be subject to the 2024 signing deadline due to the 45-day window for negotiations. He will likely be posted following December 15th to be available to more teams through the 2025 international signing period and the subsequent bonus pools that come with it. The Blue Jays will have just over $6 million to play with although that will take a hit with how the organization decides to spread the money amongst other international free agents.

Signing a high profile starter could be the pivot if the Jays miss out on Soto, diverting the funds for the outfielder to a top arm like Fried to help cement a rotation that would arguably be one of the best in the American League. Someone like Fried, Burnes, Snell, or Sasaki would join a core of Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt, and José Berríos and would provide additional stability to the group considering Bassitt and Gausman are free agent eligible over the next two years while Berríos has a player option after the 2026 campaign as well (assuming all sign at minimum a five-year deal or in Sasaki’s case, has six years of contract control). It’s not the most important area that likely needs to be insured but for an organization that has struggled to develop starting pitchers, it wouldn’t be outside the norm to add a top tier arm to the rotation via free agency.

While adding an impact starter sounds fine and dandy, the Blue Jays bullpen needs some attention, especially since the club let Jordan Romano head to free agency last week and gave Génesis Cabrera his walking papers a few weeks back as well.

The club is currently running with Chad Green and Erik Swanson in the bullpen amongst a horde of pitchers the club picked up at some point in 2024, which doesn’t scream a ton of confidence after the group proved to be one of the worst in the league last year in terms of ERA. It was only two years ago that one of the Jays’ strong points was their relief corps but now, it’s a blemish that needs fixing in a big way.

Missing on Soto would arguably free up the funds needed to sign a high-profile arm like Tanner Scott, Jeff Hoffman, or Carlos Estévez and likely have some funds left over for a few other arms that fit in the $3-6 million AAV that won’t blow you away name wise but should provide more stability over some of the other arms currently on the depth charts.

The Jays need both quantity and quality this winter for the bullpen and the funds from missing on Soto would go a long way although it would go against the norm of the Jays front office to commit money to a relief pitcher – not having done so since B.J. Ryan years back (and that turned out swell). There are numerous arms out there that can help the Jays (Clay Holmes, Kenley Jansen, Chris Martin, and Dylan Floro are just the tip of the iceberg) and the Jays will need to keep some funds on the backburner to improve the bullpen or risk a similar implosion in 2025.