The month of January usually feels like a dead zone for baseball transactions, but with a good number of free agents still on the board, it could be an unusually active first month of the calendar for teams in the coming weeks.

The Blue Jays wasted little time in kicking off the new year with a surprise signing of Japanese slugger Kazuma Okamoto to a four-year, $60 million contract. While the Blue Jays have tapped into the overseas market before, Okamoto’s signing represents the first significant signing of a Japanese position player by the Blue Jays organization.

While most teams like the Blue Jays save their big moves for early in the offseason, some of the most significant free agent signings have been early in the calendar in recent years. For whatever reason, maybe the asking price comes down, or the market cools significantly enough for the Blue Jays to swoop in and land these free agents.

Under Blue Jays General Manager Ross Atkins, these are the five most significant free agent signings in January.

Seven and eight years ago in Blue Jays land seems like a lifetime ago because many of the current fixtures on the roster weren’t even in the organization, but 2018 and 2019 were a semi-dark time in franchise history as Toronto experienced its most recent rebuilding phase.

Rebuilding teams often wait until the eleventh hour to grab the leftovers at the proverbial free agent table, which often means veterans signing one-year deals. In 2018, veteran outfielder Curtis Granderson signed a one-year, $5 million contract with the Blue Jays, and in 2019, veteran infielder Freddy Galvis signed a one-year, $5 million contract with a club option.

Since the Blue Jays were in the midst of a rebuild, it was no shock when both players were traded at the 2018 and 2019 trade deadlines. Nothing of consequence came back in return, but both Granderson and Galvis enjoyed some success during their brief time with the Blue Jays.

This deal came very much out of left field when Brandon Belt, who had spent the previous 12 years with the San Francisco Giants. He signed with an American League team to finish out his career, on a one-year, $9.3 million contract with the Blue Jays, of all teams.

Belt was coming off two injury-shortened campaigns in 2021 and 2022, and the Blue Jays desperately needed some extra pop in their lineup, especially from the left side. Belt was solid for the Blue Jays in 2023, slugging 19 home runs in 103 games played, 69 of them at designated hitter.

In actuality, it wasn’t a lot of money for the 35-year-old veteran, but the Blue Jays were hoping he’d contribute for much more than just over two-thirds of the regular season played. There’s no such thing as a bad one-year deal, and there were far worse short-term deals handed out by this regime.

Heading into year two of this contract, the jury is still out on whether Jeff Hoffman’s three-year contract with the Blue Jays was worthwhile, but his 2025 campaign showed promise for the Blue Jays closer. He had a few rough patches during last season, but overall, he posted decent numbers during his first full season in a closer role.

Once again, the Blue Jays broke the bank by signing Hoffman to one of the richest deals for a reliever in franchise history, at $33 million total over three seasons. As someone who was drafted by the Blue Jays as a first-round draft pick in 2024, it was a cool full-circle moment to see him come back to the organization that originally selected him 11 years prior.

While most observers were concerned with whether the Blue Jays would put all their eggs in the Kyle Tucker or Bo Bichette basket, the Blue Jays shocked many by signing Okamoto to a four-year, $60 million contract. The six-time NPB All-Star and former Central League RBI and home run leader will make his highly anticipated North American League debut in late March.

The Blue Jays could have given similar terms and dollars to an infielder like Eugenio Suarez, but instead, they’re going off the board by bringing Okamoto into the fold. It’s a high-risk/high-reward play here with a four-year term attached to the deal and significant dollars.

However, these are big market moves that contenders like the Blue Jays can afford to make, which could end up being a big upside play for the Blue Jays over the four-year term. And if it doesn’t? Oh well, it’s only money.

Does everyone else remember where they were when they read the BK tweet that shocked the baseball world?

Even without knowing the terms, even without knowing the dollar figure, this was massive news not only in the baseball realm, but for professional sports in Canada, and even larger, for the Blue Jays franchise. It was the biggest free agent deal in Blue Jays history (at the time) — six years and $150 million for All-Star centre fielder George Springer.

It’s wild that 2026 is the final year of this contract because as short as just a few years ago, it looked like Springer might not even finish out the rest of the deal as he was in danger of being cut or traded away in a bad contract swap meet. And to think, where would the 2025 Blue Jays have been without Springer all season long, but especially in the playoffs?

Hyun-Jin Ryu was the first massive free agent contract of the Atkins regime, but the Springer deal signalled a complete about-face for the Blue Jays franchise. They were suddenly a big player for the biggest names in free agency, even outbidding the likes of the New York Mets for a player of Springer’s ilk.

Last season alone, Springer elevated himself to Blue Jays legendary status, while also finishing seventh in AL MVP voting. It only took five years into the six-year deal for Springer to make good on the contract, but better late than never in that regard.

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