The Blue Jays are already trailing AL East rivals this offseason amidst total silence

Championship Series - New York Yankees v Cleveland Guardians - Game 3
Championship Series - New York Yankees v Cleveland Guardians - Game 3 | Nick Cammett/GettyImages

The Winter Meetings are here and the Blue Jays have a lot of questions to answer. Rivals throughout the American League East have been on it, making multiple big signings, but the Blue Jays have been conservative while they were awaiting the decision of Juan Soto.

Now that Soto has officially signed his monster 15-year, $765 million contract with the New York Mets, Toronto can begin to shop around to fill in their gaps in their roster. Signing Soto would have greatly improved the roster, but financially, the Blue Jays would have been strapped thin at various positions.

As they waited for Soto's decision, other teams in the division were able to jump ahead this free agency with multiple big moves. This included the Red Sox signing Aroldis Chapman, Orioles signing Tyler O'Neill and Gary Sanchez, and the Rays signing beloved Toronto backstop Danny Jansen.

Each of these signings would have been an a positive, but it was tough to send out offers with how things went. Despite all that, there are still a ton of free agents that fit the Blue Jays needs.

Blue Jays falling behind other AL East teams with silent start to offseason

Soto was obviously the number one target in the outfield, but they should not give up on getting a top one on the market. One that is gaining interest from the Blue Jays is Anthony Santander, a hitter that slugged 44 home runs in 2024. Toronto will battle out two other rivals that missed out on Soto for the former Orioles slugger.

Along with getting a big time outfielder, the Blue Jays are targetting a big time starting pitcher on the market. This could be Corbin Burnes or Max Fried. Multiple MLB insiders have linked both pitchers to the Blue Jays recently.

Any of these players listed would quickly put the Blue Jays in front of their rivals this offseason in terms of additions. Now that Soto is off the martet, Toronto needs to end this silent stretch and jump in front of their AL East opponents this offseason.

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