Asked about adding starting pitching, Ross Atkins says the free agent class looks “a little bit better” than usual & says the Blue Jays have already begun some trade talks about starting pitching.
Blue Jays: News and Notes from Ross Atkins’ press conference
Photo credit: © Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
Nov 6, 2025, 17:30 ESTUpdated: Nov 6, 2025, 17:14 EST
The 2025/26 off-season has officially begun.
On Thursday afternoon, Toronto Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins had his end-of-season press conference. There were a few interesting tidbits from that presser, including the fact that the Blue Jays have already engaged in trade talks for starting pitchers.
It appears there are two ace-calibre starting pitchers who could become available on the trade market, Tarik Skubal and Freddy Peralta. Ironically, both players pitched in the postseason, with the Detroit Tigers and Milwaukee Brewers, respectively.
Skubal, a left-handed pitcher, is about to win his second consecutive American League Cy Young award, as he finished the season with a 2.21 ERA and 2.45 FIP in 195.1 innings pitched, striking out 32.2% of batters while walking 4.4% of batters. Skubal will become a free agent after the 2026 season, and it seems like he and the Tigers are far apart in contract talks.
Peralta isn’t as good as Skubal, but the right-handed pitcher would be a big boost to the Blue Jays’ lineup. Last season with the Brewers, the 29-year-old finished with a 2.70 ERA and 3.64 FIP in 176.2 innings pitched, with a 28.2 K% and 9.1 BB%. Like Skubal, Peralta is entering the final year of his contract and makes just $8 million, far less than Skubal’s $22.5 million salary.
Of course, the Blue Jays brass could be looking at someone who isn’t even on the radar; they did just that when they acquired Louis Varland before the 2025 trade deadline. It’s going to be a fun off-season.
Bo Bichette
Shortly before Thursday’s press conference, the Blue Jays extended a qualifying offer to Bo Bichette, which he’ll surely turn down. Well, Atkins was asked about their cornerstone shortstop, with his answer boiling down to they have interest in him.
"We will be in his market." Ross Atkins on Bo Bichette.
Throughout his career, Bichette has stated that he wants to play with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. for his career and that he wants to win; the latter was nearly achieved at the beginning of this month.
Bichette is coming off one of his best seasons in the big leagues, as he slashed .311/.357/.483 with 18 home runs in 628 plate appearances for a career-high 134 wRC+. He also showed he was capable of playing second base during the World Series.
John Schneider
Early in the press conference, Atkins noted that the Blue Jays have exercised an option in manager John Schneider’s contract that’ll keep him on for the 2026 season.
Schneider was nominated for the American League Manager of the Year award, as the Jays went from a 74-88 record in 2024 to a 94-68 record in 2025. They finished with the best record in the AL and the third-best record in Major League Baseball, while also winning the American League pennant for the first time since 1993.
Over parts of four seasons at the helm of the Blue Jays, the life-long Blue Jay has a 303-257 record for a .541 win percentage. His 303 wins have him fourth all-time for Blue Jays’ managers, behind Boddy Cox’s 355, John Gibbons’ 793, and Cito Gaston’s 894 wins.
José Berríos
José Berríos missed the entirety of the Blue Jays’ postseason run as he was placed on the Injured List due to elbow inflammation. During Atkins’ press conference, he noted that the right-handed pitcher will have a normal off-season and will be ready by the beginning of Spring Training.
Ross Atkins says Jose Berrios “should have a completely normal off-season and be ready for spring training.” Berrios dealt with elbow inflammation at end of the season.
It was a rough season for the 31-year-old, as Berríos finished with a 4.17 ERA and 4.65 FIP in 166 innings pitched. For the first time since 2017, he missed a start, as he pitched a game out of the bullpen before landing on the Injured List.’
Berríos could be entering the last season of his contract, as he has an opt-out after the 2026 season. He’ll earn $19 million in 2025, with two more seasons on his contract if he doesn’t opt out.
Jeff Hoffman
Lastly, Atkins was asked about Jeff Hoffman and noted that “[Hoffman] isn’t married to the closer role, and he’s open to anything that makes the Blue Jays better.”
Ross Atkins, when asked if Jeff Hoffman would be the #BlueJays’ closer next season: “The great thing about Jeff is he’s not married to that … I think he would be open to anything that makes us better.”
Hoffman’s regular season wasn’t great, finishing with a 4.37 ERA and 4.90 FIP in 68 innings pitched, finishing with 33 saves in 40 opportunities. On the surface level, his 1.46 ERA and 2.73 FIP in 12.1 postseason innings were fantastic, especially since he finished with a 37.5 K% and an 8.3 BB%, but everyone will always remember the Miguel Rojas home run in the top of the ninth.
That said, acquiring a closer and pushing Hoffman to a setup role means that the Blue Jays’ bullpen is a strong point. We’ll see what happens here.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
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