Important offseason dates every Blue Jays fan should know: Free agency, Winter meetings & More

The Toronto Blue Jays' season is over, for which many fans are probably thankful. Even though Toronto is transitioning into offseason mode, Major League Baseball is still chugging along with the playoffs in full swing. The offseason won't officially begin until the World Series wraps up.

With a number of deadlines and important dates on the MLB offseason calendar to make note of, there's no harm in looking ahead to the winter months. There are plenty of key dates we need to remember for when the Blue Jays and the rest of the league officially begin preparations for the 2025 season.

Here are the important offseason dates Blue Jays fans should know

Free agency, contract options, qualifying offers: Five days after the World Series ends

The offseason begins the day following the final World Series game. With a flexible World Series start date, that could occur sometime between Oct. 30 and Nov. 3. Players become free agents immediately, but nobody can sign until the free agency period officially opens at 5:00 p.m. ET on the fifth day. During this time, teams can talk with their free agents without worrying about competition from other organizations.

The Blue Jays have one pending free agent, swingman Ryan Yarbrough, who they need to try and bring back when he heads to the open market in November. As for external free agents, the front office has a lot of work to do to rebuild the bullpen and relievers will be a top priority and rightly so, per Sportsnet's Ben Nicholson-Smith.

Decisions on contract options are also due when free agency begins. The Blue Jays currently don't have any players with pending club or player options to worry about, however, so that's one less thing on general manager Ross Atkins' plate.

Finally, qualifying offers need to be extended by this date. Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that the projected qualifying offer this winter will be $21.2M. After cleaning house at the trade deadline, the Blue Jays won't have to pony up a qualifying offer.

Roster protection deadline: Nov. 14

To protect eligible minor league players from the Rule 5 Draft, the Blue Jays must add them to the 40-man roster by 6:00 p.m. ET on Nov. 14.

Blue Jays players who have been in the minor leagues for four to five seasons (depending on how old they were when signed) and aren't on the 40-man roster will be eligible for the Rule 5 Draft. Damiano Palmegiani, Chad Dallas, Connor Cooke and Hayden Juenger are some of the biggest Blue Jays prospect names who are eligible for the Rule 5 Draft this December.

Non-tender deadline: Nov. 22

Shortly after the roster protection deadline, the non-tender deadline arrives. At this time, the Blue Jays must decide which arbitration-eligible players on the 40-man roster will be tendered a contract for 2025.

The Blue Jays have 10 arbitration-eligible players this offseason. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. leads the way with an estimated $29.6M coming his way through arbitration. The rest of the arbitration-eligible group includes:

• Erik Swanson ($3.2M)
• Jordan Romano ($7.75M)
• Génesis Cabrera ($2.5M)
• Dillon Tate ($1.9M)
• Daulton Varsho ($7.7M)
• Alejandro Kirk ($4.1M)
• Alek Manoah ($2.4M)
• Zach Pop ($1M)
• Ernie Clement ($1.7M)

Winter Meetings, Rule 5 Draft, Draft Lottery: Dec. 9-12

The baseball Winter Meetings are the marquee event of MLB's offseason. With team and league executives coming together for four days, there is always plenty of action. Last year, MLB traveled to Nashville for the event. This year, everyone will gather in Dallas, Texas from Dec. 9-12.

Stay tuned for rumors, signings and trades as every team's front office attends, as do agents. Deals will get done during the meetings, and more groundwork will be laid for future agreements.

The MLB Draft Lottery will take place during the Winter Meetings, usually on the second-last day of the event. The Blue Jays have the fifth-best odds of securing the No. 1 pick in the 2025 Draft at 7.48 percent.

The Rule 5 Draft also takes place at the end of the Winter Meetings. Teams can select unprotected minor league players from other organizations (for $100,000 each) and place them on their own 40-man roster. These selections must be assigned to the drafting team's 26-man roster and remain there for the full season. Otherwise, they get shipped back to their original team.

Arbitration filing deadline: Jan. 9, 2025

The Blue Jays and their arbitration-eligible players (who didn't settle at the non-tender deadline) will exchange arbitration figures on Jan. 9. They have to come to an agreement on the player's salary for the 2025 season before the deadline (usually mid-January) or risk going to an arbitration hearing. Hearings are scheduled for Jan. 27 to Feb. 14.

International signing period opens: Jan. 15, 2025

The international signing window opens on Jan. 15 and runs to Dec. 15. This is when teenagers, typically from Latin America, officially sign contracts with organizations even if they've been in contact with the team for years before their eligibility. The Blue Jays made a flurry of international signings when the 2024 period began.

Blue Jays pitchers and catchers report: Feb. 12-14

This period marks the end of the offseason, with Blue Jays pitchers and catchers reporting to training camp in Dunedin sometime during this three-day window. The rest of the players typically have to report five days after the pitchers and catchers, although the official date hasn't yet been announced. Spring training officially begins on Feb. 20.