Blue Jays insider lays out interesting offseason plan that the club should consider

With the 2024 season for the Toronto Blue Jays finally coming to an end, they can now look forward to what is expected to be an eventful offseason. Things have already started to roll with moves being made at the management level earlier this week. As they continue to make the necessary changes in the organization as a whole, Blue Jays insider Arden Zwelling has provided an interesting offseason plan at the players level that the Jays should seriously consider.

On a recent At the Letters podcast, Zwelling suggested that Toronto should acquire Oakland Athletics star Brent Rooker in a big trade, with Spencer Horwitz headlining the package going the other way. On top of that, Zwelling also mentioned that the Jays should pick up infielder Ha-Seong Kim in free agency on a six-year, $115 million deal.

Taking a look at the potential blockbuster first, adding Rooker would significantly boost the Jays’ offensive lineup for 2025. Especially when Toronto ranked just 23rd in the league in runs scored and 26th in home runs for the 2024 season. After all, Rooker put together his best season of his career this year as he batted .293 with a .927 OPS, along with 82 runs scored, 26 doubles, 39 home runs and 112 RBI in 145 games played. In joining the Jays, he can permanently take over the designated hitter role, while making spot starts in the outfield as needed.

As for Horwitz, he also had a breakthrough campaign with the Jays in 2024. After his promotion to the majors in early June, he took full advantage of the opportunity and ran with it. In 97 games, he compiled a solid .265 average, .790 OPS, together with 46 runs scored, 19 doubles, 12 home runs and 40 RBI. After annihilating minor league pitching for years, Horwitz proved that he could produce at the major league level as well. However, as good as he has been, it doesn’t come close to the significant impact a 40-homer, 100+ RBI man like Rooker could potentially provide the team year in and year out. Therefore, Horwitz is valuable, but can be an expendable piece if it makes the Jays that much better.

In the case for Kim, he would bring tremendous value to the Jays on both sides of the field. With the ability to put up double-digit home runs, 60+ RBI and 20+ stolen bases per season, his offensive impact from an infielder position could become a huge difference maker for the Jays. Not only that, Kim showed in 2023 that he could provide Gold Glove defense while playing multiple positions in the infield, which included second base, third base and shortstop. Just those two impressive accolades alone would make him a huge upgrade to whoever the Jays have at second or third base heading into 2025, with apologies to Horwitz, Ernie Clement and company.

With these two potential key additions, it could significantly change the overall makeup of the Jays’ lineup. More importantly, it would not sacrifice much in terms of defense at the same time. As a result, in what could turn out to be a win-win situation for the Jays, they should no doubt consider these proposals if their main goal next year is to win.