Blue Jays: Important dates and what to look forward to this offseason

With the Atlanta Braves taking home the World Series trophy earlier this week, all teams across the league are now starting to switch into free agency/offseason mode. For the Blue Jays and their fanbase, this could be one of the most interesting on record.

These are some of the key points heading into the offseason this year.

Some Big Names from the 2021 Roster are Heading to Free Agency

For starters, the Blue Jays have 11 players eligible for free agency as per MLB.com. The key players heading to the open market are Marcus Semien, Robbie Ray, Steven Matz, and Corey Dickerson from the 2021 roster. As of this past Wednesday, they are already considered free agents.

Semien and Ray are in line for huge paydays and will be looking to cash in, which makes sense given they both took one-year “prove it” deals and came out ahead. The former Oakland A’s shortstop was a monster at the plate, smashing a record high 45 home runs while also earning a Gold Glove nomination at second base while Ray was the club’s bonafide ace this season, pitching to a 2.84 ERA and should be the Cy Young winner this year. After being acquired this past January, Matz was also a solid addition in the rotation and the club could look to bring him back next season and beyond.

Both Ray and Semien will be getting qualifying offers and will be attached to draft compensation (at least under the current CBA) while the jury is still out on whether the front office will extend a QO to Matz as well. I would expect Atkins and co. will be looking to bring back potentially all three, with the main focus on Ray and Semien, but will be competing with a number of teams across the league for their services.

The key date to watch for is Monday, November 8th, as this is when teams can start negotiating with players from other organizations. The first five days after the World Series are dedicated to players and their former teams for negotiating purposes but don’t expect any deals to happen between the two sides, as the players are most likely waiting for the open market and increased competition rather than take the first offer presented to them.

Another date to watch is November 7th, which is the last day a club can offer a player a qualifying offer prior to free agency opening up to other teams. The players have until November 17th to either accept or reject the offer from their former clubs if presented with one, which is set at $18.4 million this offseason.