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Blue Jays’ World Series appearance will help them in free agent pursuit this off-season
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Photo credit: © Denis Poroy-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
Oct 23, 2025, 11:00 EDTUpdated: Oct 23, 2025, 02:22 EDT
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The Toronto Blue Jays are set to play their first World Series game in 32 years on Friday.
That alone is a sentence I never thought I’d write when I started this job in 2021, or even after the team finished with a 74-88 record in 2024. It was a busy off-season to put this team in playoff contention once again, signing Jeff Hoffman, Max Scherzer, Anthony Santander, and others. They also made improvements with trades, acquiring Myles Straw and Andrés Giménez.
No matter what happens by the end of the World Series with the Los Angeles Dodgers, winning a pennant is something to hang your hat on. Not just that, but it’ll also help in the Blue Jays’ pursuit of free agents when free agency begins five days after the World Series wraps up.
It’s hard to look at a team set to play in the World Series and point to their holes, but you can do just that with the Blue Jays. Starting pitching is going to be an area of concern, as only Trey Yesavage, Kevin Gausman, and José Berríos are guaranteed to be under a contract. And Eric Lauer, if he returns to the rotation, but who knows what the plan is for the lefty.
Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt are set to become free agents, while Shane Bieber can opt in to the 2026 season for $16 million. That leaves two holes in the rotation with not much help in the upper-minors to fill them.
Thankfully, there are a whole bunch of interesting starting pitchers who could be available in free agency, like Michael King, Framber Valdez, Dylan Cease, Ranger Suárez, and others. Winning a pennant and potentially winning the World Series would make the Blue Jays an attractive destination for these pitchers.
The Jays will also have to do something about their infield. In the past, Bo Bichette has stated that he wants to win and play his career with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. The Jays will need to address his pending free agency, either by replacing him or seeking his replacement in free agency.
Thanks to the Jays’ versatility, they could slide Giménez to shortstop and play Ernie Clement at second base, letting them go big-game hunting for a third baseman. Munetaka Murakami has real power, but may profile better as a first baseman. Alternatively, Alex Bregman could be an interest to the Jays, as he is a strong defender with power. That said, ideally, the Jays find a way to re-sign Bichette.
Realistically, the Blue Jays have been a top destination ever since Hyun Jin Ryu inked a four-year deal with the Jays before the 2020 season. Since then, they’ve signed George Springer, Kevin Gausman, Anthony Santander, Max Scherzer, Chris Bassitt, and others. The fact that they’ve made it as far as they have will only help their attempts at big-game hunting this off-season.
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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