TORONTO -- The Blue Jays look like a good, old-fashioned seller ahead of Monday’s Trade Deadline, but perhaps it’s better to frame them as being “open for business."
The coming days line up for the Blue Jays to be short-term sellers, but also long-term buyers, getting a jump start on an offseason that projects to be even busier than last year’s. Not only will Toronto be facing major needs on its big league roster, it will also be facing deeper questions about the quality of its existing core.
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Coming off the books in 2027 will be: George Springer ($24.2M), Kevin Gausman ($24M), Shane Bieber ($16M), Daulton Varsho ($10.75M) and Max Scherzer ($3M), while the Blue Jays also have a decision between Myles Straw’s $8 million club option or $1.75M buyout.
There’s money to spend and a clear motivation to compete in ‘27. Amid all of the selling, this is what it could look like:
Long-term need No. 1: The starting rotation
The Blue Jays have a type. This organization likes to find durable veteran pitchers in the middle of their prime, and they’re happy to pay them. Kevin Gausman is the ultimate example, and one they’ll be chasing again, but the same could be said for Hyun Jin Ryu, Chris Bassitt and José Berríos, whom Toronto traded for and quickly extended.
Sure, the odd Trey Yesavage story is a nice surprise, but the Blue Jays aren’t built on pitching prospects. They’re built on paying for relative certainty, which they just did again with Dylan Cease. More often than not, they nail it.
Next year’s rotation lines up with Cease and Yesavage, then it’s cloudy. Cody Ponce will be back, but how much of a workload can he carry after missing 2026 with his right ACL injury? Spencer Miles likely becomes a full-time starter, but he’s no guarantee to stick. Berríos and Bowden Francis likely won’t be finished with their Tommy John rehabs until well into the ‘27 season, Berríos potentially missing the entire ‘27 campaign. A prospect like Nolan Perry (Blue Jays’ No. 3, MLB Pipeline’s No. 93 overall) or Gage Stanifer (Toronto’s No. 7) could pop, but the Blue Jays don’t bet on “maybe” in their rotation.
This is where the club can flex its financial muscle, taking on an entire contract or even eating money elsewhere to acquire a starter without giving up the farm.
The Angels, who are shopping both Reid Detmers and José Soriano (both controllable through 2028) are one option. The Mariners could move a starter with control, like Emerson Hancock or Luis Castillo. In such a unique market, though -- a seller doing some buying -- this opens up a long list of unexpected names, especially if the Blue Jays take on money.
Remember, no one saw the Louis Varland deal coming, but Toronto’s front office fell in love and made it happen.
Long-term need No. 2: A star outfielder
No, not just an outfielder and not just a big leaguer. The Blue Jays have plenty of those.
On top of Straw’s option, Toronto has Nathan Lukes, Jesús Sánchez, Davis Schneider, Yohendrick Piñango, Addison Barger, Jonatan Clase, RJ Schreck (No. 9 prospect) and more. Finding big league talent isn’t the issue here, but the Blue Jays haven’t sent a home-grown outfielder to the All-Star Game since Vernon Wells in 2010. Without a star on the doorstep, they need to go out and find another.
This market isn’t spilling over with top-end outfielders, though. The lack of right-handed bats available should actually help the Blue Jays, who will have plenty of suitors for the red-hot Springer, but this is another example of a market that can’t be viewed through the traditional lens of “buying” and “selling” at the Trade Deadline, which tends to leave us with obvious lists of obvious names.
When this front office sent Gabriel Moreno to the D-backs for Varsho, he came to Toronto with four years of club control remaining. That’s the type of scenario this front office could target again, dangling some of their high-end position player prospects in front of a team with an outfield surplus.
There’s some added urgency to this position, too, when you look at the 2027 free agent class. It won’t exactly inspire excitement.
Free agency offers shorter-term solutions like Varsho and Trent Grisham, but beyond that, it’s awfully thin at center field. When the Blue Jays “sell”, expect them to target young outfielders with the potential to play center, and they’ll be able to eat money or add additional assets to make this happen.