Kyle Tucker is a Los Angeles Dodger, and Bo Bichette is a New York Met. None of these outcomes was ideal for the Toronto Blue Jays, who were heavily involved with both free agents since the beginning of this offseason. Much like the Final Rose episodes of The Bachelor, the Blue Jays were eliminated just before the grand proposal once again.

This is hardly Toronto’s first elimination experience; they’ve been here in this position for three years in a row when it comes to superstar free agents like Shohei Ohtani and Roki Sasaki.

But the Blue Jays’ offseason can’t be written off as a failure because the team didn’t settle for being a bridesmaid the entirety of this offseason.

Early in the offseason, the discussion around the Blue Jays was how the team had the potential to sign both superstar hitters Kyle Tucker and Bo Bichette after an unbelievable World Series run in 2025. With more than enough budget, at least in theory, Toronto didn’t shy away from its efforts to recruit both hitters.

However, things took a fascinating turn when Tucker signed a four-year, $240 million contract with the Dodgers, and Bichette inked a three-year, $126 million deal with the Mets (including opt-outs after year one and two of the contract). The top-free-agent market this offseason craved for the type of deal that would reward them with a higher average annual value (AAV) on a shorter-term deal, indicating a clear departure from the previous free-agent signing dynamics.

In contrast, the Blue Jays prioritized long-term deals for the big bats and even offered Tucker a 10-year, $350 million contract. Unfortunately for Toronto, the superstars were more willing to bet on themselves and preferred to accept a more expensive contract up front.

Tucker was always Toronto’s preference out of the position player market, but the right fielder clearly wanted to take the short-term, money-rich deal with a squad that boasts superstar talent up and down the roster. With an offence featuring Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Teoscar Hernández, Max Muncy, Shohei Ohtani, Will Smith and more, Tucker wouldn’t have to shoulder any burden for pushing the team to the playoffs.

Unlike the Blue Jays, the Dodgers have also built a robust scouting and development system that consistently produces unlikely stars from pitching to hitting for more than a decade. Toronto is working to enhance its development, but as it stands, the team’s farm system ranking isn’t close to catching up to the Dodgers. That missing piece might have hurt the team’s bid for some of the top free agents, like Tucker.

The rumblings around Bichette began to slow when the Blue Jays opted to sign Kazuma Okamoto on a four-year deal. As Toronto’s focus shifted following the Tucker signing, the Mets needed to pivot and sign their superstar. Bichette was the next best option for New York to save its face and reinforce its lineup in a post-Pete Alonso era, and overpaid on a short-term deal to get it done.

The reason why the Blue Jays couldn’t get the job done in Game 7 of the World Series last year could be boiled down into one big issue: pitching, pitching and pitching.

At one point, Kevin Gausman and Trey Yesavage were the only legitimate starters in the rotation while Chris Bassitt and Max Scherzer sat out due to their injuries. Toronto’s bullpen situation wasn’t clean either, as a few of its pitchers struggled to execute in big moments. Scherzer returned to help the Jays later in the run, and Bassitt turned into a bullpen weapon, but the team couldn’t rely on Berrios, who was on the sidelines with injuries.

What set the Blue Jays and Dodgers apart was pitching depth in the end. Los Angeles had more than two solid starters (think Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell, Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto) it could rely on throughout the playoffs, which was something Toronto couldn’t quite fix when the two teams faced each other off for the trophy across the full seven games.

Understanding their shortcomings, the Blue Jays were aggressive from the jump when the offseason started. The team signed Dylan Cease and Cody Ponce to replenish its rotation depth and brought in Tyler Rogers as a setup reliever who could prevent long balls.

The Blue Jays’ front office emphasized that pitching was its focus and stuck to their words when they didn’t hesitate to extend contracts to top pitchers in the market. Their efforts in bringing top free-agent hitters might have fallen short, but their aggression in other parts of the market certainly paid off so far.

While the free-agent hitting market might remain thin after Tucker and Bichette came off the market, Toronto can still leverage the trade market to adjust its roster ahead of spring training.

Currently, George Springer, Daulton Varsho, Joey Loperfido, Nathan Lukes, Anthony Santander, Davis Schneider, Jonatan Clase, Addison Barger, and Myles Straw are all listed under the team’s outfield depth options chart. The team would have to trade at least one of these players away to free up the spot for someone like Tucker, just to make the lineup work from a bench perspective.

With the offseason not over, the Blue Jays could also entertain the idea of bringing another star through a trade or look at adding Cody Bellinger, the last remaining high-upside left-handed bat. From the trade front, someone like Brendan Donovan or Steven Kwan can easily add more pop to the Jays’ lineup.

There is also a likelihood that the team doesn’t make any other additions or trades until the trade deadline in July. Provided that most of the position player core can continue to make good, consistent contact while staying healthy, waiting until the trade deadline could be more rational if the team can’t find good trades that could boost the offence further.

Regardless of how the rest of the offseason unfolds, the Blue Jays’ winter moves still make them one of the biggest winners. There is still a path for Toronto to prove everyone wrong again this year by getting back to the World Series. The Blue Jays believe that they have what it takes, even after missing out on some of the top free agents, because that’s what they did last season.

Winning the World Series this year without Tucker or Bichette on its roster would be the loudest statement.

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