If the Blue Jays sell at the deadline, James Click needs full autonomy over baseball operations

Two months that will be crucial for the next competitive window

So while it may be too late to right the ship of the 2024 Toronto Blue Jays, the decisions made at the trade deadline this year and beyond — as Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, Chris Bassitt and most of the back end of the bullpen can elect free agency after the 2025 season — will have long term implications for the competitive future of this franchise.

After nine seasons with Shapiro and Atkins collaborating on baseball-related decisions, the Blue Jays have seen their farm system ranked bottom third for three consecutive years, with very little MLB-ready talent apart from a few top prospects like Orelvis Martinez and Ricky Tiedemann. The roster is one of the five oldest in MLB, and the payroll has become bloated, with too much owed to older players in decline like George Springer, Justin Turner and Kevin Kiermaier, while younger, homegrown stars like Bichette, Jansen and Guerrero have not been extended.

The baseball operations decisions made in the next 12 months will set the course for the Blue Jays’ next competitive window. Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins are not the right baseball people to make those decisions on trades, free agent signings, contract extensions, draft picks and player development. Former World Series champion GM James Click needs to be given autonomy over baseball operations decisions, and quickly.