The Toronto Blue Jays are in the prime position for a very successful and very expensive offseason. They have their sights set on the top free agent on the market, Juan Soto, with the other top free agents making a lot of sense as backups. Players like Max Fried and Corbin Burnes are also on the radar for the Blue Jays this winter.
Toronto has the money, and it has the desire to put together a successful baseball team.
But with so much improvement on the minds of the Blue Jays, they’re going to need to part ways with players on their current roster to make room for the new stars. While some of these good-byes will be tough to swallow, there are a few players that will be gone by spring training.
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3. RHP Alek Manoah will see his time with the Blue Jays come to an end
The Blue Jays felt like they had an ace on their hands a few seasons ago when Alek Manoah first cracked into the big leagues and began breaking out. He posted a 3.22 ERA in 20 starts during his rookie year in 2021. He proceeded to post an even better 2.24 ERA across 31 starts in 2022 where he finished third in the AL Cy Young voting and 17th in the AL MVP voting. From there, Manoah has gone straight downhill
The right hander has been up and down from the big leagues while also battling injuries in the process. When healthy, he’s looked like a shell of his former self for the most part, though, he has flashed occasional signs that he could be returning to form.
At the end of the day, there’s just no room for him on the roster. Toronto is going in an entirely different direction with the pitching staff, and it likely doesn’t include the aforementioned Manoah. The best case scenario for the Blue Jays is they find a trade partner for the righty. The worst case is he ends up getting cut before spring training gets here. Either way, if the Blue Jays get rid of him, that means they have five solid starters in the big leagues.
2. RHP Chris Bassitt will be gone and replaced with a better arm
While we’re on the topic of starting pitching, the Blue Jays made a massive mistake by deciding to hold onto their starter Chris Bassitt at the trade deadline in 2024. Toronto could have received a massive prospect return for him, but they opted to keep him because he’s signed through 2025. They now have the opportunity to move him before spring training and take advantage of whatever value he still has as a rental now.
There are a few pitchers on the trade market this winter already. If Toronto wanted to, they could package a few prospects alongside Bassitt to go after a pitcher like Luis Castillo, Sonny Gray or even Garrett Crochet.
By no means am I saying that Bassitt will absolutely be traded. But, if he is, that means the Blue Jays have replaced him with somebody much, much better. It likely means Toronto was able to sign two of the top free agent arms, potentially bringing in Corbin Burnes and Jack Flaherty. This is less about being happy that Bassitt is gone and more about being happy with the players that would be coming in if the front office decides to let Bassitt go.
1. Parting ways with OF George Springer means another outfielder will replace him
The top player on this list should be the most obvious. It’s the player that most Blue Jays fans want gone either way – outfielder George Springer. Springer is one of the most overpaid players across the entire league. He’s not nearly the player that he was supposed to be when he was brought over and it would be worth it for the Blue Jays to attach a prospect or two to him to get him out of town.
But, much like Bassitt, the best part of the Blue Jays moving on from Springer would be the player they bring in to replace him. It’s unlikely that Toronto decides to move on from their starting outfielder without a suitable outfield backup to take his place. The top targets for the Blue Jays this winter consist of Teoscar Hernandez, Anthony Santander and the aforementioned Juan Soto.
Toronto could even get really fancy and decide to trade for Chicago White Sox outfielder Luis Robert Jr. In that deal, Toronto could swap Springer for Robert and move a massive haul of prospects to the Windy City to bring in Robert while also getting off Springer’s contract.
Either way, Blue Jays fans should be extremely elated if Toronto finds a way to get rid of Springer by spring training.