This story was excerpted from Keegan Matheson’s Blue Jays Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

TORONTO -- Let’s get to the good stuff, finally.

The early days of Major League Baseball’s offseason tend to drag on, littered with flirtations that rarely develop into much more -- it’s tire-kicking season. As the baseball world descends on Dallas for the MLB Winter Meetings beginning this Sunday, though, the real fun begins.

Juan Soto appears no longer to be in play, having picked the Mets, according to a source. Toronto pursued him, but a likelier outcome was the Blue Jays spreading a more limited amount of payroll across multiple needs as they try to rebound from a 2024 season in which it all went wrong.

Here’s what you need to know for the week ahead:

Key Events

• Sunday: HOF Classic Baseball Era Committee results released
• Tuesday: MLB Draft Lottery
• Wednesday: Rule 5 Draft

Club Needs

The bullpen, the bullpen and the bullpen. Without addressing this club’s biggest weakness from a year ago, the Blue Jays aren’t going anywhere. Particularly when you consider the recent decision to non-tender Jordan Romano, Toronto needs not only a legitimate closer, but two or three relievers on top of that. Not waiver-wire fliers, but established relievers who will cost a few bucks.

Beyond that, the Blue Jays need to make one significant addition to their lineup alongside Vladimir Guerrero Jr. This could come at third base or in left field, but it’s necessary. That, along with a potential bounce-back from Bo Bichette, could be enough to make this offense “enough”... as long as the bullpen is sturdy behind them.

Potential Trade Candidates

Look to Toronto’s infield depth group, which includes: Spencer Horwitz, Addison Barger, Ernie Clement, Will Wagner, Leo Jiménez, No. 2 prospect Orelvis Martinez and others. This is the Blue Jays’ “excess,” which is the easiest place to start from, and it helps that all of these players are MLB-ready and capable of stepping into the lineup of a team that might be selling off an expensive reliever.

Horwitz could be the most intriguing of the bunch, while Barger and his big, loud tools could be appealing to the right organization. Jiménez, with his ability to play a true shortstop, has been asked about by other clubs regularly over the years, and that is likely to continue.

Prospects to Know

Who is Jake Bloss to the Blue Jays in 2025? If they think the 23-year-old right-hander can be a legitimate piece of their rotation for a stretch, that simplifies their pitching needs. This organization has needed a prospect like Bloss for years now -- going back to when Alek Manoah debuted -- and they should be set up well to weather an injury or two.

In the field, Martinez is the one prospect who would really pop. Yes, he’s coming off an 80-game suspension for a positive performance-enhancing substance test in 2024 and did himself zero favors with that, but his offensive upside remains exciting. If he can play the field at a level close to competently, he could immediately platoon against lefties as he develops.

Rule 5 Draft

The Blue Jays have a handful of notable prospects exposed, but none you’ll find ranked near the top of the system. Along with 3B/1B Damiano Palmegiani, C Phil Clarke, UTIL Adrian Pinto and CF Dasan Brown, right-hander Lazaro Estrada could be their most attractive player. Estrada is coming off an excellent showing in the Arizona Fall League and has Double-A experience at age 25.

It would be very surprising to see the Blue Jays make a selection of their own in the MLB portion, though, given that they’re trying to compete in 2025. If anything, they’d target an upside reliever in the bullpen.

Burning Question

Will Guerrero be in Toronto beyond 2025?

It’s the most important question the Blue Jays face … and one of the first any free agents will be asking them. The baseball side of this is obvious, with Guerrero’s 2024 renaissance fully reestablishing him as one of the game’s brightest young stars, but this also gets to the broader decision the Blue Jays face about their future.

Along with Vladdy and Bichette, both entering their final years of control, the Blue Jays have some big names coming off the books in 2025 and '26. A Guerrero extension would signal to the fans that the Blue Jays plan to compete well into the future.