Important MLB offseason dates for Blue Jays fans, as Bo Bichette free agency looms

The Toronto Blue Jays haven't played this deep into October in a decade and fans across the country are enjoying the ride. But an end is nearing, and with comes a point in time where the franchise will have to make a significant decision. Star shortstop Bo Bichette will be a free agent when the season concludes and many of the other 29 teams will be lining up for his services.

Here are the key dates Blue Jays fans may want to circle on their calendar as some of these could dictate when Bo may or may not sign with the Blue Jays, or another team.

Important MLB offseason dates for Blue Jays fans, as Bo Bichette free agency looms

Qualifying offer deadline (five days after the World Series ends)

Teams have five days to determine whether or not to extend qualifying offers to prospective free agents. The latest this date would be is Nov 6. and that would only be the case if the World Series goes to a seventh game which is scheduled for Nov. 1. This is a crucial time for the Blue Jays who will have to make a decision on not only Bichette, but on starting pitchers Chris Bassitt, Max Scherzer, and Shane Bieber, although this is pending on Bieber opting out of his contract, which many expect him to do. Infielders Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Ty France are also set to hit free agency.

It's likely the Blue Jays will at least offer a qualifying offer to Bichette and it's also likely he will decline that offer. The jury is still out on whether the Blue Jays will extend qualifying offers to the other impending free agents.

Non-tender deadline (Nov. 21)

The Owners Meetings take place in New York City from November 18-20 and the non-tender deadline immediately follows. The Blue Jays have several intriguing players who could be non-tender candidates this upcoming offseason. Toronto will have to decide on whether or not they want to offer contracts to Daulton Varsho, Eric Lauer, Nick Sandlin, Ernie Clement, Ryan Burr and Tyler Heineman

If they don't offer these players a contract by Nov. 21 they automatically become free agents. Varsho and Clement are the biggest names here and according to FanGraphs Varsho's arbitration estimate is around $9.7 million, while Clements comes in around $4.3 million. At this point those numbers seem to fit within Toronto's financial means for two guys who have contributed sufficiently to the ball club in 2025.

Lauer and Sandlin are also interesting cases. Lauer was the teams pitching MVP for much of the summer by not only holding down a spot at the back end of the rotation, but putting up some of the best numbers out of the entire staff for a good two month period. Sandlin, meantime, saw limited action while dealing with right elbow inflammation.

The Blue Jays always need pitching depth and if both guys are healthy, there's no reason they shouldn't be offered a contract, with FanGraphs projecting Lauer's arbitration number to be $4.4 million and Sandlin's to land around $2.2 million. FanGraphs also projects relief pitcher Burr's arbitration at $800,000 and back up catcher Heineman's to come in at $1 million.

Of course the Blue Jays could go higher or lower than these numbers and the players could turn them down and decide to take their chances in arbitration.

MLB Winter Meetings (December 8-11)

Front office personnel will gather in Orlando as the Winter Meetings take place. While GMs are available to each other 24/7 these days, the Winter Meetings are always a chance for two sides to come together and lay the groundwork for a blockbuster deal - or meet with agents to get a player signed. This could be the perfect time for the Blue Jays to make a splash and announce they are signing Bichette to a long term deal.

A couple of other events that will happen during the Winter Meetings are the MLB Draft Lottery (Dec. 9 at 4 pm ET) and the MLB Rule 5 Draft (Dec 10. from 2-4 pm ET). Last year, the Blue Jays selected Angel Bastardo from the Red Sox in the MLB phase of the draft.

With potentially only two Saturdays of baseball remaining on the calendar, the preparation for the offseason is about to pick up.