5 items the Blue Jays should have on their Christmas wish list

With the merry season upon us, many people will be looking forward to a holiday season full of promise, hope and happiness. For the Toronto Blue Jays, they will be looking towards the new year with high hopes that they can address their needs and shortfalls for the coming season. In celebration of the festive season, let’s take a closer look at what the Blue Jays’ Christmas wish list should be.

Cody Bellinger

After the mega disappointments when the Blue Jays missed out on both Juan Soto and Shohei Ohtani, the club needs to do something big on the free agent front to give the fans something to cheer for. Nothing would be bigger than signing one of the top remaining free agents in Cody Bellinger.

After having consecutive subpar seasons prior to 2023, Bellinger bounced back in a huge way with the Chicago Cubs this year, revitalizing his career by rediscovering his once-dominant form. In 2023, he posted stellar numbers across the board with 95 runs scored, 26 home runs, 97 RBI, 20 stolen bases, to go along with a career-high .307 batting average. In addition to his offensive output, Bellinger is also a former Gold Glove winner in 2019, showing that he can also hold his own in the outfield.

By getting Bellinger, not only does it address one of the Jays’ major needs this offseason, but it gives reassurance back to the entire team and fanbase that the organization is willing to spend to help build a winning group.

Matt Chapman

Reunions can be fun, especially when the player in question is a former fan favorite. This offseason, we've seen Lourdes Gurriel Jr. re-sign with the Diamondbacks rather than coming back to Toronto.

Teoscar Hernández is still out there, as is Kevin Kiermaier, but if the Jays manage to reel in Bellinger, there is no longer a need for a reunion with Kiermaier. As a result, the Jays must pivot fast to a critical position that presents the biggest hole in their roster. That position to fill is third base. With only one obvious candidate available remaining in the free agent market that could provide both game-changing offensive and defensive output at the position, the Jays need to bring back Matt Chapman.

Despite his lack of consistency in his run production this past season following his hot start in April, Chapman has previously proven to be a significant contributor on both sides of the field throughout his career. With all the capabilities of averaging close to 30 home runs and 90 RBI per season when healthy, he has all the makings to be a power, productive third baseman in the long haul. On top of that, his defence is never in question with his four Gold Gloves to date.

Alek Manoah's return to form

One of the unexpected outcomes during the Jays’ 2023 season was the surprising regression of Alek Manoah. After being named an AL Cy Young finalist during his sophomore year following a brilliant rookie debut in 2021, much more was expected out of the young phenom this past season in helping to carry the Jays to the postseason and beyond.

However, who knew that his uncharacteristic Opening Day start in which he gave up 9 hits and 5 earned runs in just 3.1 innings against the St. Louis Cardinals foreshadowed what was to come. Unable to maintain consistent control and command of his pitches for practically the entire season, Manoah ended up posting a disappointing 3-9 record with a 5.87 ERA, 1.74 WHIP, giving up a whopping 93 hits and 59 walks, leading to 57 earned runs in just 87.1 innings. It even got to a point in which he was sent down to the minors to rediscover his confidence and to make the right adjustments to his pitching mechanics with hopes to right the ship, but to no avail.

Nevertheless, GM Ross Atkins has given him the vote of confidence heading into the 2024 season in that he will be in the mix for a starting rotation spot. For the Jays’ sake, they will need to get the dominant, front-end of the rotation version of Manoah back so that they don’t need to attempt to overspend or get into a bidding war for big and overhyped pitching free agents such as the recently signed Yoshinobu Yamamoto or current free agent Blake Snell. That way, not only would they have a bonafide starter back in their rotation, but they can now allocate their resources to address more important needs of the team, such as the aforementioned positions above.

Have a prospect step up

As much as the Jays want to bring in all of the top players either by free agency or by trade to help the ballclub, there’s only so far they can go in terms of their ultimate budget and resources they can spend. As a result, some of their remaining needs will require internal options to step up to fill the void.

In retrospect, the Jays actually haven’t had someone internally that could provide such an immediate impact since the emergence of both Alejandro Kirk and Santiago Espinal over three years ago. Both have gone on to become everyday starters, in addition to being named an All-Star as well. Although in the case of Espinal, his somewhat disappointing season in 2023 has put him a little further back in the depth chart now, but remains a key part of their bench.

For the Jays to have long-term success, they will need a prospect (or two!) to step up this coming season to complement the stars and veterans already in place to round out the team. It could be Davis Schneider filling in at second base or the designated hitter spot, as he gave everyone a glimpse of what he could provide in his two-month stint with the club last season with his performance. Or it could even be Spencer Horwitz becoming the designated hitter, who obliterated minor league pitching all year long in 2023.