3 genius moves that earned Ross Atkins a Blue Jays extension and cemented his future

There was a time, not so long ago, when it felt like Ross Atkins was on the hot seat. As the general manager of the Toronto Blue Jays, Atkins had been wracking just as many, if not more, failures than triumphs at the helm of the Blue Jays. Maybe, that's a bit harsh of a way to look at it, but before 2025, the Blue Jays had never been AL East division champions, and outside of the 2016 season, they had not won a single playoff game in their three trips as Wild Card entrants.

But that lack of success changed in a big way in 2025 with the Blue Jays not only securing a division title, but also their first AL pennant in over 30 years. So it's not surprising that Atkins earned himself a five-year contract extension earlier this week. And while one really successful trip to the playoffs doesn't warrant the entire deal, there were three other major moves Atkins oversaw that likely earned him a that opportunity to stick around in Toronto a little longer.

The moves Atkins made that ensured he would stay in the Blue Jays front office a little while longer

Extending Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

This was a must. The Blue Jays simply could not have exsisted without Guerrero. He's the current face of the franchise and one of the top superstars in the game. While you can point to the failures of Atkins to attract another big star in Shohei Ohtani, Juan Soto or Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the fact is he got the home grown guy to stick around for life.

The 14-year, $500 million extension was a contentious issue right up until the signing was made. Guerrero was heading toward free agency and it felt like the two sides were nowhere close to being on the same page to getting a deal done during Spring Training of 2025. But a few weeks into the season it happened. Atkins locked up Guerrero for the foreseeable future and Blue Jays fans breathed a huge sigh of relief. Guerreo had a postseason for the ages, and looks poised to continue to bring success to this franchise.

Kevin Gausman / George Springer signings

The Blue Jays may not have had a chance to get to the World Series without Gausman and Springer. The veterans who are both in their mid-30s had tremendous seasons in 2025 and it was Atkins who signed them both to long-term deals several seasons ago in the hopes that they would get to perform on the biggest stage in baseball while wearing that Blue Jays uniform.

Springer came first. The 31-year-old joined the Blue Jays in 2021, coming off a Wild Card playoff berth in the COVID-19 expanded playoffs of the 2020 season. They had the budding pieces in place with Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette coming into their own and Springer helped solidify this team as a group that was aiming for postseason success.

He signed a six-year, $150 million deal which was the largest free agent contract in Blue Jays history at the time. Springer has had some injury issues during the length of the contract and he hasn't been able to be an everyday outfielder, but he's still provided the Blue Jays with 14.3 bWAR over the last five seasons, including a monster 4.8 bWAR year in 2025, that ended in him claiming a Silver Slugger award. His tenure with the Blue Jays could also be summed up in one moment; hitting a go-ahead three run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning in Game 7 of the ALCS against the Seattle Mariners.

Gausman on the other hand may be the best free agent contract ever handed out by the Blue Jays. Following that 2021 campaign in which the Blue Jays got very close to the playoffs, but missed it by one game, they signed the free agent Gausman instead of bringing back their reigning Cy Young award winner Robbie Ray. Many people didn't love that Atkins let Ray walk, but attitudes changed quickly with Gausman coming into the fold. In four seasons with the Blue Jays Gausman has been worth 11.4 bWAR, making at least 31 starts every year and pitching over 174 innings every year.

He led the league with a 2.38 ERA in 2022, and then lead the league in strikeouts with 237 K's in 2023, his lone All-Star season with the Blue Jays, the same year he finished third in Cy-Young award voting. The Blue Jays had had interest in Gausman for a few seasons before finally landing him, at Atkins has to be commended for his pursuit of a pitcher who has been one of the best in the game over the last four years.

Calling up Trey Yesavage

If there’s one major criticism that Atkins should still be under the gun for it’s his failure to develop top end starting pitching. Sure, he’s done a great job finding starters through trades or in free agency, but the Blue Jays haven’t developed a reliable home grown starter in his entire tenure with the team.

And while Yesavage has a long long way to go in his career, the fact that Atkins and his team drafted, and moved Yesavage through the system so quickly so that he was able to help pitch in the World Series is stroke of genius and another move that likely sold the higher ups with Roger’s on extending Atkins’ tenure with the team.