4 changes the Blue Jays must make immediately after 2024 debacle

After a disappointing 2024 MLB season, the Toronto Blue Jays were destined to embark in an offseason facing a wholesale of changes on the agenda. Jays general manager Ross Atkins may be safe for now as he was recently confirmed to be returning for the 2025 season. However, other action has already begun with the dismissal of various personnel at the management level, including hitting coach Guillermo Martinez, field coordinator Gil Kim and bullpen coach Jeff Ware, along with the re-assignments of assistant pitching coach David Howell and offensive coordinator Don Mattingly.

The Jays will not stop right there, as many more moves need to be made in the coming months if they intend to get back to their winning ways. As a result, let’s a take a look at four changes that the Jays need to make immediately to rectify the debacle of a season that they had in 2024.

Time to take George Springer out of the leadoff spot

Star outfielder George Springer may have made a name for himself for being an elite leadoff hitter for almost the past decade in MLB. However, it has now come the time that he may need to move on from that role going forward.

That is because in 2024, Springer had actually put together his worst season in the role since he was moved into that spot permanently by the Houston Astros during 2016. He batted a dismal .214 with a .640 OPS, along with just 50 runs scored, 13 doubles, 12 home runs, 33 RBI and 14 stolen over 101 games played in the leadoff spot. Those numbers were a far cry from his usual standards that he had produced year in and year out.

With obvious signs of regression occurring for the 35-year-old veteran, it should be about time that the Jays move on from Springer in the position and try out a more traditional leadoff hitter that could be more effective at getting on base and generating runs. At the same time, Springer can still be productive in driving in runs, so moving him further down the lineup could potentially work wonders. As a result, it could present a win-win situation for the Jays going forward if Springer is willing to take one for the team.

Sacrifice defense for some offense

It wasn’t just too long ago that the Jays were one of the top offensive teams in the league. In fact, just two years ago, Toronto ranked in the top five in MLB across the bulk of the major offensive stat categories. However, with their defense severely lacking at the time, the team moved towards the mentality of upgrading their defense by sacrificing some offense in the process.

In doing so, the Jays ultimately moved away from power-producing hitters such as Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Teoscar Hernández and Brandon Belt in favour of more defensively-minded pieces such as Kevin Kiermaier, Daulton Varsho and more recently Isiah Kiner-Falefa. So what result has that approach brought to the club? Two straight seasons with a declining winning record along with a huge struggle to score runs in the process. This season, the Jays actually ranked near the bottom third of the league across many offensive categories. In addition, with their inability to generate runs, they ranked second-last only to the lowly Chicago White Sox in come-from-behind wins with only 25 all season. So basically if they ever fell behind in a game, it was a tall task for them to pull off a win in the end.

As a result, the Jays need to ditch that approach now and revert back to the offense-first mentality. In other words, their focus this offseason should be to bolster their offence once again at the expense of some of their solid defense. It has become evident now that the team had much more success previously in that setup and also provided some much more exciting baseball in the process. Therefore, when the Jays are set to explore options in free agency coming up, they should focus on offense, offense and more offense.

Sign Vladdy to an extension and make him the face of the franchise

For a while, there was a strong debate as to who was the face of the Jays’ franchise. Was it Bichette or Vladimir Guerrero Jr.? After all, Guerrero displayed a gradual decline in his overall numbers since his MVP-calibre season in 2021, whereas Bichette had been a consistent top hitter in the league throughout that same time. In doing so, it appeared as though that honour was tilting in favour of Bichette. Consequently, many felt that the Jays should focus on discussing an extension with the star shortstop as their priority.

However, a tumultuous 2024 season for both Bichette and Guerrero has significantly altered the landscape in Jays’ land. Bichette had perhaps his worst ever season in his MLB career, posting an abysmal .225 average, .598 OPS, with 29 runs scored, 4 home runs and 31 RBI in 81 games played. He was also plagued by injuries over the course of the season, which may have played a role in his underwhelming performance. 

On the other hand, after struggling mightily in the first month of 2024, Guerrero bounced back in a huge way for the rest of the season, often carrying the team on his shoulders in the process. In the end, he performed once again as the superstar that many were expecting of him, compiling a strong .323 average, .940 OPS, 98 runs scored, 44 doubles, 30 home runs, 103 RBI while falling just one hit short of 200 on the season. There was no doubt that prime Vladdy was back.

With Bichette being surrounded by trade talks and rumors of potentially moving on from the club throughout the summer, Guerrero had adamantlyreconfirmed that he wanted to stay and win with the Jays. As a result, the Jays must act now and make Guerrero the priority for a long-term extension instead of Bichette if their goal is to win. On top of that, for someone as determined and dedicated to the organization as Guerrero, Jays’ management should annoint him the face of the franchise going forward for good to help lead the team to success.