This past week has not been a kind one to the Toronto Blue Jays. After seeing Kyle Tucker jump on the Los Angeles Dodgers wagon, fans had to endure Bo Bichette leaving for the Big Apple, a move that surely left some hearts broken back in Toronto. According to most, the Jays were active in the markets for both players, which makes their signings even more hurtful. Both Tucker and Bichette are fantastic players (especially at the plate) and would have undoubtedly made Toronto’s position player group one of the most feared units in the sport. However, their signings shouldn’t signal disaster for the Blue Jays. In fact, the position player group might still be one of the most productive in MLB next season, and the improvements to the starting rotation this winter should only add to the excitement for 2026. The Blue Jays are a very good ball club, even with no further additions. But with spring baseball approaching, it’s worth examining some options that are still in play for this front office.

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Framber Valdez

The Jays have already done some great work to bolster their starting rotation this winter. The signings of Dylan Cease and Cody Ponce were incredibly aggressive moves; they should help solidify the top of the rotation and add some much-needed depth. Toronto will also get a full season of Trey Yesavage at the major league level in 2026, giving them another impact arm that wasn’t available for most of last season. Considering all that, it may seem strange for the Jays to throw a hefty contract at another starting pitcher, especially one as polarizing as Valdez.

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It’s hard to ignore the success that Valdez has seen during his time in Houston. Over the past four seasons, Valdez has pitched to a 3.21 ERA and 3.29 FIP, and produced 16.5 fWAR. All those numbers rank in the top ten among starting pitchers in that time span (minimum 500 innings pitched). The results are there, but some concerns about his pitching profile, along with an incident involving his catcher last season, could lead to skepticism about committing to Valdez on a free agent contract.

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Valdez is a groundball pitcher. That trait of his is well known by now, and it’s a valid reason for certain teams to be more or less aggressive when pursuing him. Along with strong surface-level production, Valdez’s expected results were also quite impressive over the last four years. During that time, he ranked fifth in xFIP and ninth in SEIRA among starters (minimum 500 innings pitched), both metrics used to predict future ERA fluctuations. For me, the biggest concern with Valdez is his strikeout and walk rates. You can be an effective major league pitcher without posing gaudy strikeout numbers, but Valdez is also prone to walks, something that typically doesn’t complement a low K rate all too well. Valdez’s profile is very reliant on defense, particularly on the infield, which is why I think a fit in Toronto makes sense. With the departure of Bichette, the Jays projected duo up the middle of Andres Gimenez and Ernie Clement is one of the best in the league on the defensive side. They would complement a ground ball inducer like Valdez better than just about anybody.

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The strikeout and walk rates definitely concern me with how Valdez might age, but his groundball profile would fit the Jays perfectly, and he would certainly be a useful addition in the short term. A contract to Valdez would allocate a lot of money into the starting rotation. But with plenty of contracts expiring at season’s end, and the Jays in win-now mode, this might be their best option for going all-in next season.

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Cody Bellinger

Bellinger is someone who’s been linked to the Jays for several years now, and currently finds himself seeking a contract with some term after a very nice 2025 season in the Bronx. Personally, I’m not a huge fan of Bellinger’s fit in Toronto. Like Valdez, Bellinger’s profile is heavily reliant on his situation, which is why he found success last year with the Yankees. Bellinger hit 18 of his 29 home runs at Yankee Stadium in 2025, while his OPS and wRC+ dropped massively on the road. Overall, Bellinger’s an interesting player. He reinvented himself in Chicago and has rejuvenated his career by adopting a more contact-oriented approach. But the downside to Bellinger’s new hitting profile is his inconsistencies in the power department. He doesn’t provide much opposite field power, with almost all of his extra base hits coming to the pull side in 2025, which wasn’t a problem thanks to New York’s short porch in left field, but could cause some problems if he were to move to a ballpark less favorable to leftie hitters.

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If I’m the Yankees, I’m probably willing to give Bellinger whatever contract it takes for him to stick around, but for the Blue Jays, I’m just not sure it makes a ton of sense. The idea of Toronto adding another outfielder isn’t what turns me off from Bellinger. Although it would be crowded for 2026, George Springer and Daulton Varsho are currently both slated to hit free agency next winter, leaving some massive holes in the Jays lineup. Bellinger doesn’t give the certainty that Toronto should be looking for in a long-term free agent contract, especially after the deal they handed out to Anthony Santander a year ago.

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I understand that management might feel some pressure to hand out a sizable contract at this point in the winter, but unless they do some shuffling with the current roster, I don’t see how Bellinger would fit in with this group.

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Surprise Trade

The title of this section may seem a bit broad, but that’s only because speculation has been relatively quiet for the Blue Jays in the trade market. Luckily for us fans, trade rumors never stop during the MLB off-season, and now that the two major bats are officially off the free agent market, we can start to wonder how the Jays might insert themselves into these trade discussions.

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There doesn’t seem to be any massive names that are available at the moment, but that hasn’t stopped this Blue Jay regime from snooping out a deal in the past. Look no further than last off-season, when they acquired Andres Gimenez from the Guardians in a deal that nobody had on their radar. Teams like the Twins and Cardinals, who have been open about wanting to cut payroll and retool their rosters, are likely candidates to be part of an unexpected deal. Players like Matt Walner, Trevor Larnach, Brenden Donovan, and Lars Nootbar are just some who have been mentioned in trade rumors for several years now. I’m not trying to single out the Twins and Cardinals as the only viable trade options for the Jays, but they each feature a number of players with tools that should interest a contending team like Toronto.

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Staying Put

In my personal (and in no way professional) opinion, this is probably the most likely outcome for the Blue Jays.

Staying put from this point on isn’t a bad thing for the Jays. They’ve done some great work already over the past couple of months to bolster the starting rotation, and the addition of Kazuma Okamoto should help lengthen the lineup. If management decides to head into 2026 with the current roster, I think fans should be extremely excited for the season. This is a team that Fangraphs projects to have the second-highest team WAR next season, behind only the Dodgers, while still having plenty of assets to make a major move at the trade deadline if needed.

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Missing out on Tucker and Bichette is going to be the major headliner of Toronto’s off-season, but it really shouldn’t be. This is a team coming off its first World Series appearance in over 30 years, and they went and got better. There’s still time for another addition or two, but the current roster is certainly capable of competing in a wide-open American League next season, and expectations should reflect that.