Dream Blue Jays starting lineup for the 2024 season

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There is little doubt that the 2024 season is going to be a crucial one for the Toronto Blue Jays. On paper, the club has consistently been one of the better teams in the league, but the execution on that potential has yet to truly come together.

Just this past season, the Jays were able to sneak into the playoffs in the form of a Wild Card seed, but a two-game sweep at the hands of the Twins ended the dream in heartbreaking fashion.

With ESPN's Jeff Passan reporting (subscription required) that the Blue Jays "want to do something big" this offseason, there are quite a few free agent signings and trades to be made that would more than qualify as "something big". Passan specifically mentions the free agency of both Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. creeping closer as a reason why the club feels a sense of urgency this winter.

As of right now, Aaron Nola is the only major free agent to sign, as he returned to the Phillies on a seven-year deal. The rest of the class isn't exactly full of star power, but there are some solid options out there for the Blue Jays to bring aboard that could shore up their offense in a big way.

Here's the dream 2024 Blue Jays lineup

The rules in putting together a 'dream lineup' for the Blue Jays are simple; we can only use current players on the roster or realistic free agent signings/trade acquisitions. This means that we're not quite crazy enough to predict the Jays sign Ohtani, Bellinger, Soler and Chapman while trading for Juan Soto. Let's aim to put together the best possible starting lineup of some legitimate possibilities.

Batting first, Ha-Seong Kim, 3B

Starting things off with a trade acquisition! Kim, 28, is an above-average hitter and an excellent defender. He represents one of the best possible replacements for Matt Chapman, who frankly is not worth the boatloads of money he's going to request in free agency. With the Padres eager to cut payroll, it will not be a surprise to see them begin dangling someone like Kim in trade talks.

Kim is the face of durability and rarely misses games (150 or more in two of his three big league seasons) and is coming off of a season in which he won a Gold Glove and finished 14th in the NL MVP voting. He can bounce around the infield and was in the 96th percentile in OAA in 2023.

At the plate, he doesn't hit the ball all that hard, but he does an efficient job at getting on base, which is all you can really ask for out of your leadoff hitter. This past season, Kim hit 17 home runs with 60 RBI, posting a .749 OPS and 110 OPS+ along the way. He also stole 38 bases in 47 attempts and performed very well in 73 games as the Padres' leadoff hitter (42 walks, 11 home runs, .783 OPS, 25 steals).

Batting second, Bo Bichette, SS

Putting Bichette, another on-base machine, in front of some of the big boppers we have coming up would guarantee he scores about 300 runs a season (exaggeration, but you get the point!).

The 25-year-old remains one of the best offensive shortstops in the game and likely would've led the American League in hits for a third consecutive season if it weren't for a few random injuries that limited him to just 135 games. When he was healthy, Bichette continued to be a real force at the dish.

In those 135 contests, the two-time All-Star hit 30 doubles with 20 home runs and 73 runs driven in. He posted a .306 batting average (a career-high), .814 OPS and 123 OPS+ as well. The five-year veteran spent the majority of this past season in the two-hole and would give the Jays one hell of a one-two punch atop their lineup to set the stage for the power bats behind them.

Batting third, Shohei Ohtani, DH

You had to know this one was coming. Ohtani is (very) easily the top free agent in this year's class and the Blue Jays need to do what they can to reel him in. You're unable to mention 'Ohtani' and 'Blue Jays' in the same sentence without being yelled at on the internet with a "HAHA THERE'S NO WAY!", but the fit is not impossible to see.

The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal has already called the Jays a potential sleeper team to swoop in and snag Ohtani, so why not? The Jays have multiple corner outfield/DH types on their radar already, but there's no bigger fish than Ohtani.

The two-way phenom wouldn't be able to pitch at all in the upcoming season, but since we're focusing strictly on the starting lineup, that doesn't change much here. The sweet-swinging lefty very easily won the second MVP Award of his six-year career and would immediately boost the Jays' lineup in a big way.

In 135 games this past season, the 29-year-old hit an AL-leading 44 home runs with 95 driven in. He also stole 20 bases in 26 tries, hit .304 and led the league in SLG, OPS, OPS+ and total bases. Yeah, that offensive production will play in the three-hole for the Jays.

Batting fourth, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 1B

There is oh so much riding on Guerrero's performance in the upcoming season. He is a phenomenal, superstar-type player but hasn't quite been able to replicate his MVP-like output from 2021.

Realistically, the 24-year-old has been excellent in both years since that 2021 campaign, but the bar was raised so damn high that year that now it just feels like he's underperforming. Sure, he can be strikeout-prone, and it can be impossibly difficult to watch him pop out in clutch situations, but his 117 OPS+ in 2023 is nothing to scoff at.

Putting Vladdy behind Bichette and Ohtani would give the Blue Jays one of the most fearsome 2-3-4 hitters in recent memory. Really, it feels borderline unfair.

Batting fifth, Teoscar Hernández, LF

As great as it would be to bring Ohtani aboard to DH and Cody Bellinger to play left (or center) field, we promised we'd try and stay as realistic as possible. A Blue Jays-Cardinals trade involving one of Dylan Carlson or Tyler O'Neill was also under consideration for this spot, as was the free agent signing of Jung-Hoo Lee, but let's go the reunion with an old power-hitting friend route instead.

In Hernández, the Blue Jays would be bringing (back) 30-home run potential to their lineup at a time where they could really use it. The 30-year-old spent last year on the Mariners and hit 26 home runs with 93 RBI in 160 games. Strikeouts are always going to be an issue for him (31 SO% last year) but the hope is that he makes up for the punchouts with around 30 home runs.

For what it's worth, Hernández hopped on the Blair & Barker podcast around this year's trade deadline and told the guys that he'd be open to a return to Toronto down the line. Sign us up.

Batting sixth, George Springer, RF

The days of Springer being a full-time outfielder are likely winding down, but Ohtani's presence as the every day designated hitter forces Springer back out on the grass. Despite the fact that he's 34-years old, the 10-year veteran did not make a single error in 131 appearances in right field last year.

As tempting as it is to put Springer, one of the best leadoff hitters of all-time, atop the lineup, the fit just doesn't feel right anymore. Last year, he had his worst offensive season, even if it still was above-average. In 154 games, he hit 21 home runs and drove in 72, posting a 102 OPS+ along the way. The Jays began to experiment hitting him in non-leadoff spots in the lineup and he performed well (.291 average in 14 games in the four-hole), so perhaps there's hope for him moving forward.

Batting seventh, Danny Jansen, C

This spot in the lineup was a toss-up between Jansen and whoever the heck is going to be the full-time second baseman moving forward. The former will get the edge here, as he remained a lethal power hitter when he was healthy.

Of course, that's exactly the issue for Jansen. He can't stay healthy. The six-year vet performed exceptionally well in 86 games last year, hitting 17 home runs while driving in 53 - both career bests. However, multiple freak occurrences, including more than one trip to the injured list with hit-by-pitch-related injuries, took away the majority of his season.

If he can stay healthy, Jansen deserves the starting catcher gig over Alejandro Kirk, who took a massive step back offensively but made huge strides defensively in 2023. If he continues to swing a hot bat, he could even move up a spot or two in the lineup, but let's stash him in the seven-hole for now.

Batting eighth, Davis Schneider, 2B

Cavan Biggio could very well have turned his hot end-of-season performance into a starting gig next year, but the dream scenario here involves Schneider taking the reigns.

Schneider, 24, played in just 35 games in 2023 but they were memorable ones. He hit a home run in his first big league at-bat, he broke some all-time records and he became a fan favorite seemingly overnight. Giving him the starting spot in 2024 truly would be the best case scenario, as long as he's able to hold onto it once it's given to him.

Nobody is going to expect Schneider to continue his 175 OPS+ pace next year, but even a slight regression will be most welcomed for the Blue Jays. Let the young man play and see where he takes the team. Putting someone like Schneider in the eight-hole in the Blue Jays' lineup immediately gives them one of the best bottom-of-the-order bats in the entire league.

Batting ninth, Kevin Kiermaier, CF

While Kiermaier is already drawing interest from the division rival Yankees, it would be great to see the Blue Jays bring him back for another go-round. The 33-year-old continued to play some of the best defensive center field you'll ever see, but he also swung the bat at a much higher clip that most expected.

In 129 games, "KK" hit 8 home runs with 36 RBI, a .265 batting average and 104 OPS+. Most of these stats are the best he's had in a single year dating all the way back to the 2019 season. If he can be brought back on a one or two-year deal, Daulton Varsho could function as an oft-used fourth outfielder and the lineup will ultimately be stronger because of it.

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