It&#8217;s time to put the throttle down. 
The Toronto Blue Jays raised the ceiling of their offence by signing switch-hitter Anthony Santander to a five-year, $92.5-million contract earlier this week, finally acquiring a much-needed middle-of-the-order bat to pair with franchise cornerstone Vladimir Guerrero Jr. But those two still need more help. They need this team to add another impact hitter this off-season.
Landing Santander was a huge step in the right direction. However, there are opportunities to raise the lineup&#8217;s ceiling even further, especially with openings at DH, third base and left field. Most importantly, the franchise still appears to have money to spend &#8212; for the right scenario, at least.
Toronto&#8217;s 2025 Competitive Balance Tax (CBT) payroll sits at <a href="https://www.fangraphs.com/roster-resource/payroll/blue-jays" target="_blank" rel="noopener">approximately $263 million post-Santander signing, according to FanGraphs&#8217; Roster Resource.</a> But after accounting for the veteran slugger&#8217;s salary deferral, lowering his AAV from $18.5 million to roughly $14 million, the club&#8217;s CBT figure should drop below the second luxury tax threshold of $261 million, landing in the $258 million range.
Thus, general manager Ross Atkins can add around $23 million in additional salary to next season&#8217;s payroll before hitting the third luxury tax threshold ($281 million), where they&#8217;d be subject to a 42.5-per-cent tax surcharge &#8212; a 30-per-cent increase from the previous threshold &#8212; and would have their highest draft selection pushed back 10 places.
Nevertheless, Toronto&#8217;s front office will likely consider every potential scenario, and understandably so, given the number of marquee players still available in free agency. Not to mention, the possibilities that might exist on the trade front, too.
<h2>Free Agency</h2>
Pete Alonso 
It&#8217;s clear that Alonso&#8217;s market hasn&#8217;t developed as his agent, Scott Boras, imagined heading into this off-season, leaving the four-time All-Star unsigned in late January. His former club, the New York Mets, have reportedly moved on &#8212; for now, at least &#8212; creating the possibility that he could play elsewhere in 2025 &#8212; like in Toronto, perhaps.
The 30-year-old slugger would be an excellent addition to the Blue Jays lineup, particularly on a Marcus Semien-type prove-it deal, allowing the right-handed-hitting first baseman to re-enter the open market next winter. So far, there appears to be considerable interest from both sides in working towards an agreement.
Adding Santander and Alonso in the same off-season would add quite the firepower to Toronto&#8217;s offence ahead of the 2025 campaign, creating a three-headed monster with Guerrero &#8212; four if Bo Bichette stayed healthy and returned to his All-Star form. It&#8217;d be a major overhaul of the power-deficient lineups this team rolled out during the previous two seasons.
The fit would be creative, as Alonso and Guerrero would likely split reps between first base and DH, with the latter moving to third on days when Santander or George Springer require hitting-only days. But for the amount of offensive upside the longtime Met would bring, it&#8217;d help justify sacrificing some of the club&#8217;s run-prevention &#8212; plus the penalties for signing another qualified free agent.
Alex Bregman
Even with Ernie Clement and Addison Barger in the fold, the hot corner remains a huge question mark for the Blue Jays in 2025, leaving the door wide open as a potential destination for Bregman.
Unlike Alonso, though, reports suggest Bregman isn&#8217;t willing to consider a short-term deal this off-season. That likely reduces his chances of signing with Toronto as the front office would probably prefer to avoid a long-term agreement, with Santander already on the books for the next five seasons &#8212; unless he opts out after Year 3 &#8212; and the possibility of Guerrero joining him &#8212; with perhaps Bichette, as well &#8212; for the foreseeable future.
Still, given the franchise&#8217;s need at third base, the 30-year-old&#8217;s market is also worth monitoring throughout the weeks leading up to spring training.
Jurickson Profar
Of the notable free-agent hitters still available, Profar likely makes the most sense for the Blue Jays &#8212; both from a fit and acquisition cost standpoint. While he&#8217;s a poor defender in left field (-8 DRS, -6 OAA in 2024), his offensive profile as a high-contact, low-strikeout performer is a perfect match for this roster.
Granted, there are obvious concerns regarding the 31-year-old&#8217;s inconsistent track record, which, for whatever reason, has resulted in prolonged offensive woes with every team he&#8217;s played for &#8212; except the San Diego Padres. Still, it&#8217;s tough to ignore his resume as a four-win player per fWAR and a switch-hitter who earned a 139 wRC+ (100 league average) last season, resulting in his first career All-Star appearance and Silver Slugger Award.
It&#8217;s been fairly silent on Profar&#8217;s front this off-season, suggesting he&#8217;s holding out for the Padres to create the necessary financial space to bring him back. But up to this point, those efforts have been unsuccessful, questioning the legitimacy of a reunion coming to fruition.
If it doesn&#8217;t, the Blue Jays would surely love to welcome another switch-hitter to their lineup for next season, especially if he could be signed to a team-friendly, multi-year deal &#8212; perhaps something at three years between $10-$15 million per season.
Platoon Righty OF
For argument&#8217;s sake, let&#8217;s say the Blue Jays fail to land all three free agents listed above (yes, cue the endless bridesmaid jokes), there&#8217;d still be a few ways to improve the current outfield mix, albeit through a right-handed-hitting platoon bat.
With Nathan Lukes and Joey Loperfido expected to compete for jobs this spring, paired with Steward Berroa and Jonatan Clase &#8212; both switch-hitters &#8212; and prospect Alan Roden as triple-A depth, Toronto is fairly left-handed in the outfield. And that&#8217;s without including Daulton Varsho, who&#8217;ll likely begin next season on the IL.
So, if management isn&#8217;t able to procure an everyday left fielder, they could benefit from adding a righty thumper to the fold via free agency, such as former Blue Jay Randal Grichuk, Mark Canha or Manuel Margot &#8212; all of whom thrive against left-handed pitching.
This pathway would barely move the needle forward, if at all, for the club&#8217;s offence next season. However, it&#8217;d allow them to allocate their remaining resources to the pitching staff, likely increasing their odds of landing an impact starter like Jack Flaherty while fortifying the bullpen with one of the high-upside arms still on the board.
<h2>Trade</h2>
The Blue Jays could very well address their remaining needs in free agency, considering the ample amount of talent that remains available. At the same time, this organization has more infielders than spots available &#8212; both at the major league and triple-A levels &#8212; and trading from that depth might be the most sensible decision.
Barger, Leo Jiménez and Orelvis Martinez are all down to their final option years, while Davis Schneider and Will Wagner have all three minor-league options remaining. Josh Kasevich, who&#8217;s Rule 5-eligible next off-season, will also need playing time in Buffalo and isn&#8217;t too far away from knocking on the door of a big-league promotion. There simply isn&#8217;t enough room for everyone.
So, perhaps the Blue Jays can leverage a player or two from that group for an impact outfielder via trade. We already know of <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/following-major-bullpen-splash-blue-jays-could-address-outfield-via-trade-with-infield-surplus-post-jeff-hoffman-signing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">at least a few who&#8217;re likely available</a> &#8212; Cleveland&#8217;s Lane Thomas, Los Angeles&#8217; Taylor Ward and St. Louis&#8217; Lars Nootbaar, who&#8217;s headed to an arbitration hearing with the Cardinals. It&#8217;s also possible the Miami Marlins could be convinced to move Jesús Sánchez, a free agent after 2027.
Toronto could also test the waters in the Windy City, exploring the appetites regarding the Cubs&#8217; Seiya Suzuki and the White Sox&#8217;s Luis Robert Jr. But, it&#8217;s unclear if ownership would approve another salary-dump trade, their third of the off-season.

It's time to put the throttle down. 

The Toronto Blue Jays raised the ceiling of their offence by signing switch-hitter Anthony Santander to a five-year, $92.5-million contract earlier this week, finally acquiring a much-needed middle-of-the-order bat to pair with franchise cornerstone Vladimir Guerrero Jr. But those two still need more help. They need this team to add another impact hitter this off-season.

Landing Santander was a huge step in the right direction. However, there are opportunities to raise the lineup's ceiling even further, especially with openings at DH, third base and left field. Most importantly, the franchise still appears to have money to spend -- for the right scenario, at least.

Toronto's 2025 Competitive Balance Tax (CBT) payroll sits at <a href="https://www.fangraphs.com/roster-resource/payroll/blue-jays" target="_blank" rel="noopener">approximately $263 million post-Santander signing, according to FanGraphs' Roster Resource.</a> But after accounting for the veteran slugger's salary deferral, lowering his AAV from $18.5 million to roughly $14 million, the club's CBT figure should drop below the second luxury tax threshold of $261 million, landing in the $258 million range.

Thus, general manager Ross Atkins can add around $23 million in additional salary to next season's payroll before hitting the third luxury tax threshold ($281 million), where they'd be subject to a 42.5-per-cent tax surcharge -- a 30-per-cent increase from the previous threshold -- and would have their highest draft selection pushed back 10 places.

Nevertheless, Toronto's front office will likely consider every potential scenario, and understandably so, given the number of marquee players still available in free agency. Not to mention, the possibilities that might exist on the trade front, too.
<h2>Free Agency</h2>
Pete Alonso 

It's clear that Alonso's market hasn't developed as his agent, Scott Boras, imagined heading into this off-season, leaving the four-time All-Star unsigned in late January. His former club, the New York Mets, have reportedly moved on -- for now, at least -- creating the possibility that he could play elsewhere in 2025 -- like in Toronto, perhaps.

The 30-year-old slugger would be an excellent addition to the Blue Jays lineup, particularly on a Marcus Semien-type prove-it deal, allowing the right-handed-hitting first baseman to re-enter the open market next winter. So far, there appears to be considerable interest from both sides in working towards an agreement.

Adding Santander and Alonso in the same off-season would add quite the firepower to Toronto's offence ahead of the 2025 campaign, creating a three-headed monster with Guerrero -- four if Bo Bichette stayed healthy and returned to his All-Star form. It'd be a major overhaul of the power-deficient lineups this team rolled out during the previous two seasons.

The fit would be creative, as Alonso and Guerrero would likely split reps between first base and DH, with the latter moving to third on days when Santander or George Springer require hitting-only days. But for the amount of offensive upside the longtime Met would bring, it'd help justify sacrificing some of the club's run-prevention -- plus the penalties for signing another qualified free agent.

Alex Bregman

Even with Ernie Clement and Addison Barger in the fold, the hot corner remains a huge question mark for the Blue Jays in 2025, leaving the door wide open as a potential destination for Bregman.

Unlike Alonso, though, reports suggest Bregman isn't willing to consider a short-term deal this off-season. That likely reduces his chances of signing with Toronto as the front office would probably prefer to avoid a long-term agreement, with Santander already on the books for the next five seasons -- unless he opts out after Year 3 -- and the possibility of Guerrero joining him -- with perhaps Bichette, as well -- for the foreseeable future.

Still, given the franchise's need at third base, the 30-year-old's market is also worth monitoring throughout the weeks leading up to spring training.

Jurickson Profar

Of the notable free-agent hitters still available, Profar likely makes the most sense for the Blue Jays -- both from a fit and acquisition cost standpoint. While he's a poor defender in left field (-8 DRS, -6 OAA in 2024), his offensive profile as a high-contact, low-strikeout performer is a perfect match for this roster.

Granted, there are obvious concerns regarding the 31-year-old's inconsistent track record, which, for whatever reason, has resulted in prolonged offensive woes with every team he's played for -- except the San Diego Padres. Still, it's tough to ignore his resume as a four-win player per fWAR and a switch-hitter who earned a 139 wRC+ (100 league average) last season, resulting in his first career All-Star appearance and Silver Slugger Award.

It's been fairly silent on Profar's front this off-season, suggesting he's holding out for the Padres to create the necessary financial space to bring him back. But up to this point, those efforts have been unsuccessful, questioning the legitimacy of a reunion coming to fruition.

If it doesn't, the Blue Jays would surely love to welcome another switch-hitter to their lineup for next season, especially if he could be signed to a team-friendly, multi-year deal -- perhaps something at three years between $10-$15 million per season.

Platoon Righty OF

For argument's sake, let's say the Blue Jays fail to land all three free agents listed above (yes, cue the endless bridesmaid jokes), there'd still be a few ways to improve the current outfield mix, albeit through a right-handed-hitting platoon bat.

With Nathan Lukes and Joey Loperfido expected to compete for jobs this spring, paired with Steward Berroa and Jonatan Clase -- both switch-hitters -- and prospect Alan Roden as triple-A depth, Toronto is fairly left-handed in the outfield. And that's without including Daulton Varsho, who'll likely begin next season on the IL.

So, if management isn't able to procure an everyday left fielder, they could benefit from adding a righty thumper to the fold via free agency, such as former Blue Jay Randal Grichuk, Mark Canha or Manuel Margot -- all of whom thrive against left-handed pitching.

This pathway would barely move the needle forward, if at all, for the club's offence next season. However, it'd allow them to allocate their remaining resources to the pitching staff, likely increasing their odds of landing an impact starter like Jack Flaherty while fortifying the bullpen with one of the high-upside arms still on the board.
<h2>Trade</h2>
The Blue Jays could very well address their remaining needs in free agency, considering the ample amount of talent that remains available. At the same time, this organization has more infielders than spots available -- both at the major league and triple-A levels -- and trading from that depth might be the most sensible decision.

Barger, Leo Jiménez and Orelvis Martinez are all down to their final option years, while Davis Schneider and Will Wagner have all three minor-league options remaining. Josh Kasevich, who's Rule 5-eligible next off-season, will also need playing time in Buffalo and isn't too far away from knocking on the door of a big-league promotion. There simply isn't enough room for everyone.

So, perhaps the Blue Jays can leverage a player or two from that group for an impact outfielder via trade. We already know of <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/following-major-bullpen-splash-blue-jays-could-address-outfield-via-trade-with-infield-surplus-post-jeff-hoffman-signing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">at least a few who're likely available</a> -- Cleveland's Lane Thomas, Los Angeles' Taylor Ward and St. Louis' Lars Nootbaar, who's headed to an arbitration hearing with the Cardinals. It's also possible the Miami Marlins could be convinced to move Jesús Sánchez, a free agent after 2027.

Toronto could also test the waters in the Windy City, exploring the appetites regarding the Cubs' Seiya Suzuki and the White Sox's Luis Robert Jr. But, it's unclear if ownership would approve another salary-dump trade, their third of the off-season.

What comes next for Blue Jays’ lineup retool following Anthony Santander signing

Blue Jays series recap: Everything went wrong in the series against Astros

New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge (99) hits a double during the third inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field.

Recent articles from Thomas Hall

Breaking News