4 needs the Toronto Blue Jays still need to cross off their wish list this offseason

Sign a prolific, power-hitting designated hitter

Throughout the offseason, the Jays have been desperately looking to add a power bat to their lineup to bolster their offence that struggled at times in 2023. There’s no doubt that the addition of Kiner-Falefa and the return of Kiermaier will definitely help out the team’s defence, but their ultimate impact could be limited in terms of their offensive potential. As a result, with the designated hitter role remaining one the main needs that the Jays need to seriously address, the ideal candidate must be a run-producing, power hitter.

Of course, the top candidate for the DH role would have been Shohei Ohtani, but we all know now how that turned out. However, things are starting to become more urgent for the Jays with some of their power-hitting free agent targets coming off the board with the recent signings of Rhys Hoskins, Joc Pederson and now even Trey Mancini. They certainly need to act soon enough before the market begins to dry up.

Among the elite bats still available, Justin Turner and J.D. Martinez would fit the bill, as Bo Bichette recently hinted. After all, both veterans have been close to .290 hitters throughout their career, along with big time run production at the same time. Former MVP Cody Bellinger actually is the crown jewel among the group. However, at just the young age of 28 and entering his prime, it is hard to see him accepting a DH role this early in his career, especially for a former Gold Glove winner. That brings us to Jorge Soler. As one of the main power bats the Jays should have pursued ever since last year’s trade deadline, Soler is better-suited for the ballclub over Turner and Martinez since he could provide many more effective years for the Jays, compared to the two players that are heading towards their twilight years. As a result, Soler would be the perfect fit to fill the DH duties for the ballclub in 2024.

Add more starting pitching depth

Last season, the Jays had the likes of Zach Thompson, Casey Lawrence and Mitch White acting as starting pitching depth for the organization behind the big five that started in the majors. When Alek Manoah faltered in his game early on in 2023, there was no proven depth starter in the minor leagues that the management ended up trusting, leading to a point in time where the Jays resorted to a four-man starting rotation. They were fortunate to somehow survive it without burning out Kevin Gausman, José Berríos, Chris Bassitt and Yusei Kikuchi, but they may not be as lucky if a similar scenario arises again in 2024.

Currently, if we take a closer look at who is currently available on their Triple-A affiliate Buffalo Bisons’ roster as starting pitching depth, the average Jays fan will probably not recognize a single name on the list other than top prospect Ricky Tiedemann. If that doesn’t sound the alarm bells for the Jays to acquire some starting pitching depth, then we can all be prepared for a rough 2024 season ahead.

Among those that can still be found in the free agent market, former Detroit Tigers’ pitchers Matthew Boyd and Spencer Turnbull could be ideal pickups given some of their prior success a couple seasons ago. For the two solid veteran pitchers, one can expect them to eat some innings while carrying an ERA that should hover around 4.00. One more intriguing candidate would be “Thor” himself in Noah Syndergaard. He may not be the dominant strikeout pitcher he once was, but with a little Pete Walker magic mixed in to help him make the right adjustments, he could be a low-risk, high-reward reclamation project that can help the club down the road when called upon.

Sign a bullpen arm to re-establish their core

One of the Jays’ strengths from last season was the solid bullpen core that slowly took shape over the course of the year. The Jays ranked eighth in the entire league with a 3.68 ERA and a solid fifth with a 1.23 WHIP. The additions of Génesis Cabrera and Jordan Hicks really helped round out the relief corps down the stretch as they provided the much-needed shutdown innings to bridge to closer Jordan Romano. 

However, with the departure of Hicks to free agency (and Adam Cimber to a lesser extent), along with the lack of quality relief arms in the Jays’ minor league system heading into 2024, it may be wise for the team to add an arm or two as insurance in the event the bullpen is hit with some injuries or unexpected struggles. 

Among those that were available earlier in the week, Héctor Neris would have the ideal replacement for Hicks’ previous role on the team as he can perform effectively both as a setup man and closer. But Neris was just picked up by the Chicago Cubs recently on a friendly one-year deal worth $9M, eliminating that prime option.

Therefore, the Jays should turn their attention to another solid candidate in 32-year-old Ryne Stanek. Stanek had been one of the mainstays of the Houston Astros’ bullpen for the past three seasons. Although he struggled at times last year by posting an ERA close to 4, it was just two seasons ago when he recorded his best ERA of his career of 1.15 over 59 appearances. Being part of the perennial contending environment of the Astros means he knows what it takes to be a winner, especially given his postseason numbers of a 2.70 ERA and 0.75 WHIP with 21 strikeouts in 20 innings of work. As a result, he would make a great addition to the Jays’ ballclub who have playoff aspirations in their minds again this season.

Sign Matt Chapman to play third base

When the Jays first signed Kiner-Falefa this offseason, many had him temporarily pencilled in as the starter at third base for 2024. Later, during a press conference by GM Ross Atkins, he indicated that they would be more than happy to go with a committee of Kiner-Falefa, Santiago Espinal and Cavan Biggio to cover the third base position for the upcoming season. That may sound like a great idea from the management’s perspective, but practically everyone knows the Jays must be kidding themselves if that is indeed the plan going forward.

It is quite obvious that would represent a huge downgrade from last season when the Jays had Matt Chapman manning the hot corner. Not only was he a proven power bat in the lineup, his defence is second to none as exemplified by his capturing of his fourth Gold Glove award in seven years in 2023. His offence may have been somewhat of a disappointment last year, but prior to that, Chapman had always been a consistent 25+ home run and 70+ RBI hitter throughout his career over a 162-game schedule pace. The Jays would be lucky if the combination of the aforementioned trio above can collectively put up numbers like that as a whole.

With the Jays left with only Bo Bichette, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and George Springer as the main offensive contributors on the ballclub, it is essential that they include as much firepower as they can in their remaining needs in the lineup. They can’t just settle with what they currently have at third base, as they need the best possible player that could actually help the team both at the plate and on the field. As a result, that player has to be Chapman if the Jays intend to be serious contenders for the coming season and beyond.