#toronto-blue-jays

#toronto-blue-jays

Last year, the Blue Jays practically fell flat with their worst performance during this part of the decade when they finished dead last in the American League East with a 74-88 record. Not only that, many of their stars were underperforming while they had a mass exodus of players at the trade deadline just hoping that they could acquire some key pieces to help their future.

Take this one with a grain of salt, but for what it's worth, one reporter has thrown out the Toronto Blue Jays as being among the teams having interest in a guy who was, at one time, the top prospect in baseball. Reporter Francys Romero has tweeted that third baseman Yoan Moncada is someone the Blue Jays have been interested in.

When you make Game 7 of the World Series and come within two outs of winning a title, odds are a lot of your players had a really good postseason. Such is the case for the Toronto Blue Jays, who came agonizingly close to toppling the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Fall Classic. From Trey Yesavage's rookie breakout in October to Max Scherzer's tremendous Game 7 start, a lot of players stepped up to bring the Jays to the cusp of glory.

That means the Jays won't select until pick #39, coming after the Prospect Promotion Incentive picks (#26 through #28) and Competitive Balance Round A (#29 through #37). Toronto will also not pick in Round 2 as compensation for signing Dylan Cease, who declined the Padres' Qualifying Offer this winter. This means that Pick #39 will be pretty important for the Jays, as they currently hold just 19 picks in the upcoming draft and could lose another if they sign Kyle Tucker this offseason.

It's safe to say that the Jays exceeded expectations last year, finishing in a tie for the division lead, which they won due to holding the tiebreaker over the Yankees. The club utilized their strengths in the lineup under new hitting coach David Popkins to keep passing the baton down the order, whittling down opposing starters and bullpen options while the pitching staff was striking out opposing bats regularly.

Donovan won't fill the power void, but an Anthony Santander bounce-back could be the answer to increasing power production. Over Donovan's four-year career, he's hit 40 home runs and knocked in 202 runs. Donovan has averaged a .772 OPS, a 0.67 walk-to-strikeout ratio, and his lowest wRC+ is 115. The 28-year-old has been great at getting on base and has been relatively healthy, playing in at least 115 games in three of his four big league seasons.

Major League Baseball revealed its 2025 post-season bonus pool for players on Thursday, with the back-to-back World Series-champion Los Angeles Dodgers earning 36 per cent ($46.15 million) of the total $128.2 million pool, per Sportico's report. The Toronto Blue Jays, who were dealt a heartbreaking loss in Game 7 of the World Series at Rogers Centre last month, received 24 per cent ($30.76 million) of the post-season bonus pool.

The Toronto Blue Jays resoundingly took care of business in the 2025 ALDS against the New York Yankees. They took the first two games at home before finishing off the series in Game 4 at Yankee Stadium. The Blue Jays outscored the Yankees 34-19 over the four games and just looked like a more well polished team, despite them both finishing the season with 94-68 records.

Atkins got the offseason started with a bang, signing starting pitcher Dylan Cease to a seven-year $210 million deal. This came off the news that Shane Bieber had chosen to take the option in his contract and stick around with Toronto in 2026 for $16 million. With the rotation already boosted, Atkins then signed Cody Ponce, the MVP from the Korean Baseball Organization for a three-year $30 million deal.

The Blue Jays traded with Cleveland last December for Andrés Giménez and Nick Sandlin in exchange for Spencer Horwitz and Nick Mitchell. The Guardians then flipped Horwitz to the Pittsburgh Pirates, where he posted a decent 118 OPS+ in 108 games. Mitchell played A-ball for the Guardians and posted decent offensive numbers as well. Sandlin suffered through an injury-marred year and subsequently found himself squeezed off the roster.

A trade and a signing all came together for the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday evening. Both moves give the Blue Jays some bullpen upgrades, which was a focus for them at the on-set of the 2025 offseason. While neither guy is considered a "closer" by trade, the Blue Jays have acquired two hurlers who are going to keep opposing batters off balance.