4 areas where the Blue Jays need to invest the most in this winter

Left Field

Following the trade of Kevin Kiermaier to the Los Angeles Dodgers at the deadline, the Jays moved left field mainstay Daulton Varsho over to centre, leaving a gaping hole that needed filling in the process. So far, the Jays have used a cast of players in the spot, including the likes of Davis Schneider, Joey Loperfido, Nathan Lukes and Steward Berroa. To date, they have displayed varying degrees of success and failure.

Collectively on the season entering Tuesday, Jays’ left fielders have hit a measly .206 with a .655 OPS, along with 72 runs scored, 28 doubles, 7 triples, 18 home runs and 63 RBI over 157 games. But if you take away Varsho’s output where he put up a .223 average and .737 OPS with 24 runs scored, 8 doubles, 4 triples, 7 home runs and 21 RBI in 52 games as a left fielder, one could easily see the huge drop off in the numbers accumulated by the rest.

With the corner outfielder often known to be a power-producing position, the Jays need to find the ideal replacement candidate for 2025. In reality, since their loss of Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Teoscar Hernández over a couple of years ago, they still haven’t found someone that could replicate their offensive production. The Jays could have an internal solution soon as the fast-rising Alan Roden was recently named the team MVP by the Jays’ Triple-A affiliate Buffalo Bisons. In addition, there are some solid options that could be found in the upcoming free agency, including Canada’s own Tyler O’Neill, along with Jurickson Profar and Michael Conforto. But the obvious crown jewel of them all that could potentially change the entire landscape for the Jays is none other than superstarJuan Soto. If the Jays intend to accomplish something big this offseason, the pursuit of Soto should be their main focus.

Back-End Rotation Depth

Heading into the 2025 season, the bulk of the spots in the Jays’ starting rotation appears pretty much set. Barring any unexpected trades, Kevin Gausman, José Berríos and Chris Bassitt will be back to anchor the front end of the pitching staff. One could also argue that with the breakout second half performance by Bowden Francis, he has also already locked up a fourth spot in the starting five.

Yariel Rodríguez will be back next season, with Alek Manoah also a possibility in the latter half of 2025 to compete for the final rotation slot. Both had shown signs of success in the role in 2024, but both also had their run into injuries along the way. In particular for Manoah, he even had to undergo season-ending hybrid Tommy John surgery to repair his UCL. On top of that, many of the Jays’ starting pitching prospects in their minor league system were also decimated by injuries, including top pitching prospect Ricky Tiedemann.

Therefore, the Jays really need to invest in an arm or two to add valuable starting pitching depth to the organization this winter. That is because based on what has transpired the past couple of years, they will likely end up needing it badly. Jack Flaherty, Nick Pivetta, Luis Severino and their old buddy Yusei Kikuchi are solid back end of the rotation options that could be found in this year’s free agency. If some decide to get out of their options, Sean Manaea and Michael Wacha would become viable options as well. However, if the Jays want to aim big and go for a big fish to head the rotation while pushing the rest back a rung, then we may be talking about adding a Corbin Burnes, Shane Bieber, Max Fried, or even the improbable Gerrit Cole if he ends up opting out.

Bullpen (again and again and again)

Without a question the greatest weakness of the Jays from the 2024 season had been the abysmal performance of their bullpen. Their relief corps currently rank near the bottom of league across various major pitching categories including ERA (4.76 - 28th), WHIP (1.33 - 22nd), strikeouts (485 - 29th) and home runs given up (89 - 30th).

The usually-reliable studs in Jordan Romano, Erik Swanson, Tim Mayza and Trevor Richards all had seasons worth forgetting, while the bulk of the rest of the group had endured some on-and-off struggles over the course of the season. Even the infallible Chad Green has also been shaky in recent weeks, with practically only deadline acquisition Ryan Yarbrough being the most dependable arm out of the bullpen right now. As a result, the Jays will need big bounce back seasons from their main core, along with undergoing a huge makeover for the remaining relief corps pieces to bring them back to respectable levels.

Fortunately, this year’s free agent market is loaded with relievers, including some bonafide closers. With the uncertainty of Romano’s rebound next season, added to Green’s recent struggles, it would be wise for the Jays to invest in relief options that are capable of closing games if needed. Among some of the top options include Paul Sewald and Carlos Estévez. Veterans Kenley Jansen, Aroldis Chapman and Craig Kimbrel are also available, but their steady decline in recent years no longer make them as reliable. Other solid relief options that could perform well in high leverage situations include Tanner Scott and Brent Suter.

However, if the Jays wanted to take a flyer on a proven veteran, Kirby Yates would fit the bill. Despite being aged 37, Yates put together his best season since 2019 by going 7-2 with 31 saves, along with an outstanding 1.21 ERA, 0.84 WHIP with a whopping 84 strikeouts in just 59.2 innings pitched in 59 appearances with the Texas Rangers this year. His first go-around with the Jays didn’t go well when his season ended before it started with Tommy John surgery back in 2021. Perhaps a second chance with the club would work wonders this time around.