Fateful winter will test Blue Jays’ ability to make M.O. of getting top talent a reality

SAN ANTONIO — The modus operandi and philosophies of every major-league front office are a little bit different, driven by their own unique circumstances, finances and, of course, personnel. Take the Los Angeles Dodgers, for instance, who leverage their market and wealth in everything they do, or the Tampa Bay Rays, who regularly and ruthlessly regenerate their roster to counter the limitations on their resources. 

They, like other teams, have a clearly established way guiding their approach year-in, year-out, their decisions usually understandable within the consistency of their approach.

Given that, the Toronto Blue Jays make for a fascinating case study as they head into their 10^th year under general manager Ross Atkins. They’ve been many things during the second-longest run for any GM in franchise history and how they define their identity really matters as they try to reshape a competitive cycle facing a pivotal inflection point in the next year.

Atkins’ description of the club’s M.O.?

"Our motive has been to acquire the best possible talent and make sure that it's complementary of the group that is here and that's across the entire organization and to do so in a way that's driven by our process and our values, which is to be open-minded, to be respectful of the game and be respectful of the fans and the players,” he replied.

That’s a mission-statement mouthful, so let’s simplify it for these TLDR times: Get the best players who fit the roster, system-wide. 

Either way, if that’s the Blue Jays’ guiding premise, then their actions this off-season need to match the intent, yet Tuesday, as the GM Meetings began at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa, there was much intrigue around their plans. 

One agent said the Blue Jays were meeting with representatives for several top-tier free agents.

Another said they’d clearly targeted impact talent in their early meetings.

And, perhaps most interestingly, a rival executive insisted that they were planning to spend big. 

Now, all of that is nothing more than three initial reads of the Blue Jays’ opening posture, chucked into the gossip cycle. Clubs gather background on every free agent to try and gauge the market, especially early and especially teams with as many needs to fill as they have. Notably, president and CEO Mark Shapiro said last month that he didn’t expect the 2025 payroll to grow or decrease in a big way, which seemed to fence off what’s within their reach this winter, given existing commitments. 

Ultimately, though, if the Blue Jays are truly a team motivated “to acquire the best possible talent,” it will be clear by their actions. 

Step one is locking up Vladimir Guerrero Jr., whose pending free agency next fall is at the forefront of expiring contracts threatening to force the Blue Jays into a rebuild.

Atkins did the usual duck and dodge about where things stand between the sides – “anything even subtle … just doesn't help Vladdy, doesn't help us,” he said – but he did offer far more effusive praise for the all-star first baseman than Shapiro did last month. 

“Love the player,” said Atkins. “I'm really excited about the year he had, especially the finish to it, the leader that he is and (he) continues to evolve into a better and better one. I'm excited about the potential of him playing some third base and we'll work through that with him and depending upon our off-season, what that shape ultimately looks like. But I'm just so happy for him he's in the position he's in.”

If that’s the case, sorting out an extension shouldn’t be complicated, since Guerrero wants to remain in Toronto. Perhaps both sides want to wait for Juan Soto to sign to help frame the contract value, but any team intent on getting the best talent wouldn’t let its best player leave, especially when Bo Bichette, Chris Bassitt and Chad Green, among others, are also eligible for free agency next fall.

It's hard to envision how the Blue Jays can remain competitive in 2026 and beyond without Guerrero, even if Atkins argued that “nothing's binary, nothing's black and white to us.”

“We don't make things that absolute in our decision-making other than following our values and our philosophies,” he continued. “So there are a lot of ways to make our team better. Vladdy could certainly be one of them. He already has been.”

Beyond locking up Guerrero, the Blue Jays need to upgrade their offence and notable is the way Atkins described better right-left balance in the batting order and improved base-running as “opportunities to improve the run-scoring environment.”

Atkins suggested corner outfield was the logical place for such an add and outside of Soto, the switch-hitting Anthony Santander, who has some ties to Atkins and Shapiro from Cleveland, fits the first part of that description to a tee. He’d also provide Guerrero with the protection he’s lacked since Teoscar Hernández was traded, but his market is expected to be fierce. 

The Blue Jays also need to remake their bullpen and deepen their rotation, and one possibility is that they pursue a higher-end starter and use Yariel Rodriguez out of the bullpen. Intriguing options exist in the international market with Japanese sensation Roki Sasaki and veteran Tomoyuki Sugano, and an off-the-radar possibility is Rodriguez’s former Chunichi teammate, Cuban closer Raidel Martinez, if he’s able to hit the market.

In general, the trade market may be more open to the Blue Jays than a year ago as last summer’s trade deadline sell-off made the farm system deeper. 

“We feel like we're positioned well to acquire players,” Atkins said.

Not just any players, though, but the best possible talent, the Blue Jays’ M.O. in the GM’s own words, a mission statement this front office must make into a reality.