3 free agents who'd be perfect fits to join Blue Jays for pennant defense

How do you improve on a team that was two outs away from winning the World Series? It is a question the Toronto Blue Jays General Manager Ross Atkins will be asking of himself and his staff in the coming days, weeks, and months as they gear up for the 2026 campaign.

As in years past, it wouldn't be a shock to read, hear, and see them be "involved" in talks with several premier named players and maybe, with the run to the World Series, there is more of an inclination for those players to want to play for the Blue Jays. The Front Office can likely use that as a selling point, but selling to the right players will be key if they are hoping to repeat as champions of the American League.

3 free agents who'd be perfect fits to join Blue Jays for pennant defense

Alex Bregman

It might not seem like the Blue Jays need to upgrade their infield complement, but they could be losing a very big part of that group. Bo Bichette is a free agent and if he doesn't come back there will be a hole to fill. Over the final seven weeks (regular season and playoffs) the Blue Jays utilized Andrés Giménez at shortstop, Ernie Clement at second base and Addison Barger at third base for the majority of their games.

Barger was needed in right field on occasion and that weakened the Blue Jays offensively as they relied on Isiah Kiner-Falefa as their main fill in, although he did do a great job defensively. However, if the Blue Jays do end up losing Bichette, snatching a third baseman from a division rival would go a long way to making up for that loss.

Bregman would be a nice pickup for the Blue Jays as he has decided to opt out of the final two years of his deal. Bregman would fit in with the Blue Jays overall makeup of guys who have relatively low strike out rates, and don't typically chase bad pitches. Bregman's chase rate of 19.8% was in the top five percent last season. While his defence wasn't great, he gave the Red Sox a 3.5 bWAR season in a year where he missed 40 games due to a quad injury.

What Bregman's addition would do is allow the Blue Jays to utilize Barger even more in the outfield as an everyday corner outfielder and gives the Blue Jays phenomenal defence up the middle with Giménez and Clement as your every day shortstop and second baseman.

Kyle Tucker

The 28-year-old Tucker may command a huge multi-year, multi-million-dollar salary to bring in but, hey, all that playoff revenue has to go somewhere right? Tucker wouldn't just be an addition to put the Blue Jays over the top in 2026, but he could be a guy that helps the Blue Jays contend year in and year out alongside Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

George Springer is on an expiring contract in 2026, we're not really sure what Toronto will get out of Anthony Santander, and even if he is healthy, should he be in the outfield every day? And like the Bregman signing, if Bichette doesn't come back, you could go the opposite way by bringing in Tucker and utilizing Barger more at third base.

Tucker produced a 4.6 bWAR in 136 games with the Cubs in 2025 and a hairline fracture in his right hand certainly played a part in lowering his power numbers. However, he was also excellent at the plate with his pitch selection with 87 walks and 88 strikeouts, and managed an .841 OPS, 22 home runs and 25 stolen bases.

He would bring an elite level of power and speed to the Blue Jays that could play anywhere in the top or the middle of their lineup and his defence in the outfield is also above average to go alongside Daulton Varsho.

Ranger Suárez

The Blue Jays will need to find at least one pitcher outside of their organization this offseason to fill in what is currently two vacant spots. Kevin Gausman and Trey Yesavage are basically locks for two of those five spots, along with (a hopefully healthy) José Berrios slotted in as well. But three players who played big roles during the postseason on the Blue Jays pitching staff are no longer with the team.

Chris Bassitt, Max Scherzer and Shane Bieber are all free agents and there is no guarantee any of them will return. That's where the addition of Suárez comes in. The 30-year-old left hander is likely to be the second best option on the market behind Framber Valdez and for good reason.

Suárez had the second best season of his career with the Phillies in 2025, with a 4.7 bWAR and pitched 150+ innings for the third time in four years. The Venezuelan native has been so remarkably consistent since moving from his bullpen role in 2021 to a full time starter in 2022 and he should get paid handsomely for his consistency.

He set a career high with 151 strikeouts, a 3.21 FIP and a 0.8 HR/9 rate. Suárez would give the Blue Jays a deadly 1-2-3 punch in the rotation that would rival not only the pitching staffs of teams in their division, but in the entire American League.

While it feels like the Blue Jays don't have to do too much in order to stay competitive, other teams around them will be hungry and looking to take them down. Therefore, Toronto should be looking at ways to raise the floor of the roster and these three players certainly accomplish that.