Brandon Lowe headlines 6 players who could reshape the Blue Jays’ roster

Given the reported pursuits of Shohei Ohtani, Juan Soto, and Kyle Tucker in previous off seasons, fans of the Toronto Blue Jays are growing accustomed to the team fishing in the biggest ponds. Sure, they haven't landed any of those guys, but Rogers is willing to spend the money to bring in the best talent to win a World Series. Case in point the $500-million contract dished out to Vladimir Guerrero and the seven-year deal that netted them Dylan Cease.

This offseason, the Blue Jays have several contracts coming off the books and will look to replace players like George Springer, Max Scherzer and others.

According to Spotrac, the Blue Jays had a projected payroll of $315M in 2026, ranked fifth in the Majors. Going in to 2027, they currently have $208M committed including Straw's $1.75M buyout if they take it, but this doesn't include arbitration numbers.

Expiring contracts

Springer ($25M), Shane Bieber ($16M), Yimi García ($7.5M), and Max Scherzer ($5M) were the Blue Jays' incumbent pending free agents. Patrick Corbin, Jameson Taillon, Paul Sewald, and Luis Urías are free agents that were brought in during the season by the Blue Jays.

Not including Corbin, Taillon, Sewald, and Urias as their salaries were below $1M, the Jays would be freeing up at least $53.6M from their payroll.

Arbitration-eligible players

MLB Trade Rumors recently released their annual projected arbitration salaries, and there are eight players who are eligible for arbitration: Ernie Clement, José Soriano, Josh Smith, Bowden Francis, Spencer Arrighetti, Louis Varland, Nathan Lukes, and Davis Schneider. The Blue Jays will need to decide whether or not to tender contracts to each of these players. To keep things simple, if they tender contracts to everyone at these projections that will raise their payroll to $236M.

These players are worth the Blue Jays spending money on this offseason

The main areas of need for the Blue Jays are another outfielder, a second baseman, a starter, and some extra depth in the bullpen. If the Blue Jays were to get their payroll back to where they were in 2026, that leaves them with around $80M to spend. These players would round out a nice offseason for the Blue Jays:

Brandon Lowe ($25M/year)

Lowe is coming off a career season in which he hit .260/.331/.493 with 35 home runs, 96 RBI, and a 121 wRC+. He posted a 4.9 fWAR largely due to improved defense at second base. Prior to 2026, Lowe had primarily been a negative defender at the keystone, but in 2026 he posted an outstanding +15 OAA.

Lowe would be a massive upgrade over Clement at second. and the Blue Jays will need to determine if his defensive improvement is legitimate. Regardless, Lowe will be one of the top free agents in a weak class.

Ketel Marte (trade - $19M/year)

With Marte's relationship with the Diamondbacks deteriorating, and Arizona looking to reduce payroll, now would be the perfect time for the Blue Jays to jump in. Marte has one of the best contracts in the league as he has produced seasons of 6.0 fWAR in the past while being paid less than $20M annually.

The prospect package the Blue Jays would have to give up would certainly be expensive given his contract and production, and Marte would be entering his age 33 season next year. If the Blue Jays can't get Lowe, perhaps Marte becomes plan B.

Teruaki Sato ($20M/year)

After Kazuma Okamoto broke the single-season franchise record for most home runs by a rookie, it would not be a surprise if they tried their hand again at the Japanese market. Sato is younger than Okamoto so he could command more annual salary. But it would be worth it for the Blue Jays to get Sato's bat behind Guerrero in their lineup. He would be able to fill an outfield spot, presumably in left field.

Seiya Suzuki ($25M/year)

If the Blue Jays miss out on Sato, there's always Suzuki. Suzuki had a career season as well. Not only was he his usual self offensively, but he also had his best defensive season. Outside of a +1 OAA in 2023, Suzuki has usually been a negative defender. In 2026, he posted a +5 OAA.

Suzuki does not chase a lot at the plate, something that would benefit the Blue Jays who did too much of that in 2026. Defensively, he has some experience in left field so if he were to sign, he could be moved there.

Adrian Morejon ($15M/year)

In recent seasons, relievers have signed contracts where they converted to a starter after. Reynaldo Lopez and Clay Holmes are recent examples of this, and Morejon should be the next. The advantage Morejon has over Lopez and Holmes is he is entering free agency at a yonger age than the other two. Morejon would be 28 in 2027 whereas Holmes was 31 and Lopez was 30 when they signed.

It would not be a surprise if Morejon provides surplus value as a starter. With the Blue Jays ability to develop pitching, it is definitely possible. He could slot in the rotation with Cease, Soriano, Yesavage, and Ponce.

AJ Puk ($3.5/year)

The Blue Jays do not need to prioritize their bullpen, but an insurance arm would be helpful, especially from the left side. Outside of Mason Fluharty, Brendon Little can be hard to trust despite a strong second half. Puk is recovering from Tommy John surgery but when healthy he was a dominant lefty and a one-year prove-it deal would make sense.

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