With general managers from all 30 clubs gathering in Las Vegas this week, we’ve officially arrived at the seed-planting stage of the 2025-26 off-season, the time when front office executives and player agents begin laying the foundation for what’s to unfold in the weeks/months ahead.

Very little action typically happens during this part of the off-season calendar. If you think of this like a movie, the annual GM meetings usually mirror the events that help build towards the ultimate climax of the story. It’s an opportunity for each team to check the pulse of the free-agent and trade markets.

For the Toronto Blue Jays, who expect to be one of the industry’s most aggressive markets coming off their first World Series appearance in 32 years, it’ll probably remain business as usual for Ross Atkins and his staff.

Over the last several off-seasons, the Blue Jays’ brass has left few stones unturned in their search for roster improvements, both in free agency and via trade. They haven’t been afraid to swim in the deep end of both of those markets, and chances are, it’ll be more of the same this winter.

Retaining franchise cornerstone Bo Bichette is undoubtedly this organization’s top priority. But, as they await his potential franchise-altering decision, they’ll have opportunities to reach their hand into other cookie jars. Pitching upgrades will be needed, even after Shane Bieber surprisingly exercised his $16-million player option last week. So, you’ll hear this organization linked to several of the marquee free-agent starters available — Dylan Cease, Framber Valdez and Ranger Suárez, to name a few.

Chances are, Toronto’s front office will also have interest in Kyle Tucker, the top position player on the free-agent market, either as a backup option to Bichette or as an all-in blockbuster move to pair those two with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. And they’ll surely have their eyes on the international market, too.

Free agency isn’t always where the most upside lies, though. Just look at the franchise’s additions from last off-season. Both Myles Straw (1.8 fWAR) and Andrés Giménez (1.0) — a pair of former Cleveland Guardians acquired in separate trades — outperformed Anthony Santander (-0.9) in 2025, who received the largest financial commitment of their free-agent signings.

Granted, the Blue Jays’ signings of Jeff Hoffman and Max Scherzer worked out much more favourably, as both played key roles during the club’s deepest playoff run in three-plus decades. The point remains, however, that some of the organization’s best work came via trade last winter.

While the prospect pool is admittedly weaker post-trade deadline, the cupboards aren’t completely bare and still feature enough talent for this team to broker an impact trade or two this off-season to help fuel next season’s World Series aspirations. And they could be flush with potential targets, particularly on the starting pitching front.

The 2025 Milwaukee Brewers were one of the best surprises from this past season, along with the Blue Jays, winning more games (97) than any other team during the regular season. So, they’d obviously prefer to avoid trading Peralta — the ace of their staff — after triggering his club-friendly $8 million option for next season. But he remains on track to hit free agency next winter.

Considering the organization’s history with marquee pitchers in this situation (Josh Hader, Corbin Burnes, Devin Williams), and that both sides appear to be at a standstill in contract negotiations, the door to trading Peralta remains wide open. As long as it does, it’ll be an opportunity for Toronto to put the 29-year-old starter — who won’t turn 30 until next June — next to Trey Yesavage as the team’s rotation core moving forward.

This past season’s trade deadline sent a clear message to the rest of the sport: the Minnesota Twins are open for business. As such, they’ll surely continue fielding offers on their top two starters, Ryan (two additional arbitration years before hitting free agency) and López (signed through 2027 at $21.75 million per season).

López probably features a bit more upside between the pair, but he’s also coming off an injury-plagued campaign that limited him to just 14 starts. Ryan has been exceptional these past two seasons, sporting a 3.50 ERA and 3.61 FIP while nearly eclipsing a 28-per-cent strikeout rate and walking just five per cent of his batters faced, totalling a combined 6.3 fWAR.

Acquiring either hurler will likely cost a premium as Minnesota aims to stock its pipeline further. However, they’d each present a significant rotation upgrade for Toronto — whether as short or long-term solutions.

Will the Cleveland Guardians actually pull the trigger on a Steven Kwan trade this winter? Maybe. If they do, the Blue Jays should definitely be among the teams involved.

Kwan’s high on-base, contact-oriented approach is a perfect fit for Toronto’s offensive identity. He’d be an ideal table setter in front of Guerrero and Bichette (if he returns). The price tag will be high, but considering the 28-year-old is only two arbitration years away from free agency, Cleveland’s best chance to receive a lucrative return is now.

Even at 36, Gray still possesses plenty of mid-rotation upside at this stage of his career, coming off his second straight season of serving as a three-win pitcher per fWAR. There are underlying concerns — like his average four-seamer velocity plummeting to a career-low in ’25 (91.7 m.p.h.), or his career-worst 9.8 per cent barrel rate against and a strikeout rate that fell nearly four per cent — heading into next season.

Still, the makings for a strong season are there between Gray’s high swing-and-miss sweeper and durability (531 innings pitched since 2023, 11th-most in the majors). Since he’s willing to waive his no-trade clause to help facilitate a deal, all that’s left to determine is how much of his $35 million salary and 2027 mutual option — which carries a $5 million buyout — St. Louis is comfortable retaining.

For a rebuilding franchise such as the Nationals, now led by new president of baseball operations Paul Toboni, they should look to build around someone like Gore as the foundation of their pitching staff. If they’re poised to make a splash, though, trading the 26-year-old starter would do just that.

Gore, who features two additional seasons of arbitration eligibility before entering free agency, would check many boxes for the Blue Jays’ brass — age (check), strikeouts (check) and durability (check). Minimizing walks and hard contact have been issues at times for the young lefty. But any time you have a chance to acquire a stallion like this, who could form a one-two punch with Yesavage for the next decade, you don’t pass it up.

The Miami Marlins are another team to watch this winter regarding starting pitching upgrades. They had ample opportunities to trade one or both of Alcantara and Cabrera over the summer, but ultimately did neither in hopes of receiving improved offers during the off-season.

Well, that time is now upon us.

Alcantara’s first season post-Tommy John surgery didn’t go well, as evidenced by his 5.36 ERA and 4.28 FIP in 31 starts. But the 30-year-old, whose contract runs through next season and includes a $21-million option in 2027 ($2 million buyout), improved throughout the second half and should hit the ground running next spring after enjoying a regular off-season.

Cabrera, who’s three years younger and will hit free agency after 2028, is coming off a career year that saw him log the most starts (26) and innings pitched (137.2) of his five big-league seasons. He also posted career-bests in ERA (3.53), FIP (3.83), walk rate (8.3 per cent) and fWAR (2.0) — all byproducts of the healthiest season of his Marlins tenure.