TORONTO -- This offseason will be long and complicated, but the Blue Jays’ problems are short and simple. They need to score more runs. That’s it.
Every conversation we have about the Blue Jays this winter will come back to their offense, which ranked last in homers (152) and runs scored (648) in 2026. Even if they cloned starter Dylan Cease and built an entire rotation out of him, this is such a frustrating way to live, forever stuck in low-scoring games and too often lacking the firepower to do much about it.
Just days after Toronto finished last place in the American League East with a 79-83 record, general manager Ross Atkins and president and CEO Mark Shapiro kept coming back to the same topic.
“Offensively, we never gained any momentum. We never put the ball in the seats,” Atkins said. “We’re not walking, we’re not getting on base nearly enough. When that happens, you’re relying on line drives in gaps. The contact just wasn’t enough.”
This offseason will bring all of the usual tinkering, likely by adding a starter or two, or perhaps some depth in the bullpen. But it feels like something more substantial is needed to fix the Blue Jays' offense, something that changes the DNA of this group and points them in a different direction.
Free agency isn’t overflowing with answers. Expect the Blue Jays to be one of the most aggressive suitors for Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki -- one of the most obvious fits -- while the Mariners' Randy Arozarena and the Pirates' Brandon Lowe also sit near the top of a weak position player class.
Japan could be the key to the Blue Jays’ offseason once again, one year after landing third baseman Kazuma Okamoto on a four-year, $60 million deal, which has paid dividends after he led the team with 33 homers. Looking to expand their organization’s presence in Japan both on and off the field, the Blue Jays will send a contingent across the Pacific this winter, and Shapiro may make a trip, too.
The headliner of this year's international class is Japanese star Teruaki Sato, a 27-year-old power hitter who's hit 38 home runs with the Hanshin Tigers of the Nippon Professional Baseball League in 2026. Sato also represented Team Japan at the World Baseball Classic.
The Blue Jays have worked hard to make themselves not just an option, but a destination for top talent out of Asia.
That said, just how much help this offense needs is up to one man, Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Guerrero is coming off one of the most disappointing seasons we’ve seen from a star in this franchise’s history, hitting just nine home runs with a .688 OPS, all with the backdrop of his new 14-year, $500 million deal he signed in April 2025. That is the Blue Jays’ No. 1 problem and priority to fix.
“[Guerrero]'s such a dynamic athlete and hitter that it’s a really complex problem,” Atkins said. “Everyone in here can probably emulate his rhythm and tempo, that toe tap and how he creates that momentum. It’s a really impressive thing to watch. As he lost a little bit of that rhythm and timing pretty early in the season, it started to impact his confidence. Once it impacted his confidence, the in-game adjustments and in-season adjustments became very difficult.”
Like Atkins, Shapiro threw his support behind Guerrero, calling him “one of the most special offensive players in this game and in the history of this franchise.” Everyone within 100 miles of this ball club knows, however, that Guerrero needs to rebound in a major way for any of this to work.
“I tried to think through whether I’d experienced anything like that,” Shapiro said. “I can remember slumps with great players, players who in the past, we were dependent on for success and how that all feels, but usually they don’t last as long as this one lasted. There’s just such an overwhelming level of compassion for him because of our belief in him, the same belief that led us to where we are and the commitment we made to him.”
While the postseason rolls on without the Blue Jays, their front office will obsess over the answers to Guerrero’s problems, along with every other player on this roster. Then, the attention turns to adding, or perhaps even overhauling, this roster.
Aggression has never been the front office’s issue. They’ve traded top prospects and former first-round picks repeatedly. Backed by one of the top-spending owners in baseball, there’s no limit to what the Blue Jays could do this winter, but they’ve got to get it right. And no matter how it happens, they’ve got to score more runs in 2027.