They announced that Bo Bichette has received a qualifying offer, easily the most notable piece of news. Due to the season being over, they had to activate Angel Bastardo, Bowden Francis, Yimi García, and Nick Sandlin from the 60-day Injured List, re-adding them to the 40-man roster. The Jays also added Brandon Valenzuela to the 40-man roster, while Ryan Burr and Dillon Tate elected free agency. Robinson Piña was also designated for assignment and outrighted to Triple-A. That’s a lot to take in.
Starting with Bichette, the infielder was always going to receive a qualifying offer, given what he’s done throughout his career. Last season, the 27-year-old slashed .311/.357/.483 with 18 home runs in 628 plate appearances for a 134 wRC+. He’ll surely decline his qualifying offer to become a free agent. If he signs elsewhere, the Blue Jays will receive a draft pick after the fourth round.
Adding Valenzuela to the 40-man roster is likely because his contract was coming to an end. The 25-year-old was acquired from the San Diego Padres before the 2025 trade deadline, and he hit a career-high 15 home runs last season. There’s a chance he’s the Blue Jays’ backup catcher of the future. Burr had an unfortunate 2025 season. The year before, the right-handed pitcher finished with a 4.13 ERA and 3.07 FIP in 32.2 innings pitched, striking out 33.6% of the batters he faced. Unfortunately, Burr pitched in just two games this season before a season-ending shoulder injury.
As for the players activated from the Injured List, Bastardo is the most interesting of the bunch. He was selected in the 2024 Rule 5 draft, but didn’t pitch for the Blue Jays in 2025. That means he’ll have to spend the entirety of the 2026 season on the Blue Jays’ 26-man roster, or he’ll have to be offered back to the Boston Red Sox. It’ll be nice to see what García and Sandlin have to offer after both spent a significant chunk of the 2025 season on the Injured List. Also, who knows what is next for Bowden Francis, as he had a rough season when healthy.
There’ll surely be more moves coming soon as the off-season is just getting started.
