3 mistakes the Blue Jays made at the 2025 Winter Meetings

After coming off a finish where the Toronto Blue Jays were two outs away from winning their first World Series since their back-to-back 1992 and 1993 championship victories, there is tons of excitement for the upcoming season. They quickly addressed one of their offseason needs by signing Dylan Cease to a seven-year, $210 million contract and Cody Ponce, the Korean Baseball Organization's MVP, to a three-year, $30 million contract.

Both players are added to an already stout-looking starting rotation. The two signings join Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber, and 2025's end-of-season rookie sensation, Trey Yesavage. This rotation is so good that it should scare to the rest of MLB when Yesavage looks to be a team’s number four starter.

Even though the Blue Jays addressed their rotation, they left the Winter Meetings with two more dire needs unaddressed. When the team appears willing to spend money to ensure they're prepared to make another World Series run, it's alarming that they have failed to make these acquisitions.

Players are flying off the board, so the Blue Jays can't risk waiting too much longer. Toronto's lack of action during the Winter Meetings has led to these three mistakes.

3 mistakes the Blue Jays made at the 2025 Winter Meetings

Not addressing their bullpen need

The Blue Jays' bullpen was a major weakness this past season, especially down the stretch. Overall, during the regular season, the pen ranked 16th in ERA (3.98) and 14th in WHIP (1.28). Jeff Hoffman struggled in his first season as a full-time closer, when he posted a 4.37 ERA, a 4.90 FIP, and gave up 15 home runs over 68 innings. The righty also blew seven of his 40 save opportunities, but the one upside was his 84:27 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

The Blue Jays need a high-leverage arm, whether it is a middle reliever or replacing Hoffman at closer. There were rumors that the Blue Jays were tied to Edwin Díaz, but he signed a three-year $69 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Robert Suarez, signed a three-year, $45 million contract with the Atlanta Braves, while other options were also taken off the board in Raisel Iglesias, Ryan Helsley, and Devin Williams.

Shawn Armstrong, Kenley Jansen, Tyler Rogers, Pete Fairbanks, or a reunion with Seranthony Domínguez still remain on the table, but they are far from considered top-tier.

Failing to add a power bat

The second mistake was not filling Bo Bichette's power production after he entered free agency. They return Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (23), Daulton Varsho (20), and Addison Barger (21) as their primary home run sources from last season. George Springer shocked everyone by hitting 32 home runs, his most since hitting 39 in 2019 while with the Houston Astros, but it's unlikely he can match that next season as he's 36 years old.

The Blue Jays will have Anthony Santander back and healthy after missing most of last season due to shoulder and back injuries. When he was in the lineup, he hit only six home runs in 221 plate appearances. These results were far from the 44 he hit in 2024 with the Baltimore Orioles, which helped him earn a massive five-year $92.5 million contract from the Blue Jays the following offseason.

Without finding a replacement to match Bichette's 18 home runs from last season, the Blue Jays are banking on a Springer repeat performance and Santander having a bounce-back season. There have been tons of rumors connecting Kyle Tucker to Toronto, although other than a visit to Dunedin, Florida, the Blue Jays' spring facility, there's been no news.

There's still the possibility of a reunion with Bichette, but one thing is for sure: the Blue Jays need to find another power source. If it's Tucker, Toronto pushes itself to the top of the list of best teams and will be a scary threat next season with a better team than last season. Seems Guerrero Jr. likes the idea of Tucker making his way up north, as would every Blue Jays fan.

Not leveraging the plethora of outfielders to acquire needs

The third mistake is not using their appealing depth of outfielders in a trade to fill one of their needs. The Blue Jays have outfield assets that have MLB experience and team control that Toronto could leverage to bring in a bullpen arm or a power source. They have Nathan Lukes, who will join Varsho and Santander in the Opening Day outfield, barring an injury.

Myles Straw and Davis Schneider will be available off the bench, and Barger can help in the outfield, although he will be the starting third baseman if no one is added before the season. Joey Loperfido and Jonatan Clase spent limited time at the major-league level last season, but are stuck in Triple-A until an injury occurs from an outfielder on the 26-man roster.

Lukes and Schneider are in their final pre-arbitration season, while Barger and Loperfido have two more pre-arbitration seasons remaining before their arbitration seasons begin. This team control and their MLB experience would make them prime trade targets.

The only likely reason the Blue Jays didn't trade away one of their many outfielders is the fear that Varsho and/or Santander repeat last season and have long injury stints. Varsho has had injury issues over his career, but last season was the first time Santander had fewer than 640 plate appearances since 2021.

Regardless of these three mistakes, the Blue Jays are set up to take a chance at repeating in their quest for another AL East division title, as well as a trip to the World Series. Solving either of these unanswered needs would further boost Toronto's position on the list as the top team heading into next season.