Why Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins may be hesitant to make further roster additions

With the Toronto Blue Jays being one of the more active teams this offseason, they have been able to make various moves to bolster their roster ahead of the 2026 MLB season. So far, the Blue Jays have added notable players in Kazuma Okamoto, Cody Ponce, Tyler Rogers, and of course rotation stalwart Dylan Cease and many believe that they are not done just yet.

However, Jays GM Ross Atkins might be thinking otherwise based on some of his comments made during Okamoto’s recent introductory press conference. When asked about whether there would be any more potential moves for Toronto, he said that he feels good about the team as is, “but will always be open to making our organization better”, as per Ben Nicholson-Smith.

More significantly, Atkins reiterated that “one thing that (he) would add is that additions at this point would start to cut away playing time from players that are very good MLB players”.

Why Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins may be hesitant to make further roster additions for Toronto

The Blue Jays GM does have a point with his hesitation in pursuing further players. After all, Toronto fans everywhere witnessed the growth, development and surprising production from the unsung heroes on the team this past season with the likes of Addison Barger, Ernie Clement, Nathan Lukes and others. Where would the Blue Jays have been without each and every one of their contributions?

If Toronto does end up making more additions this winter, those exact same players would be losing playing time in 2026. So who do you take out? You can’t take away everyday playing time from Barger after how he became a big part of the Blue Jays’ offense during the regular season and the playoffs in 2025.

How about the clutch plate appearances of Lukes, who seemed to always come through in the biggest moments for Toronto with key hits. In addition, you can’t cut back time from Clement after the historical performance that he put up during the postseason. Especially not after Toronto just handing him a nice pay raise to avoid arbitration on Thursday.

And that doesn’t even include others such as Tyler Heineman, Myles Straw and Davis Schneider, who have all shown the ability to help the team in one way or another. Then again, Atkins did mention that they will always be open to making the organization better, so perhaps it doesn’t completely close the door on any further additions.

But Jays fans should temper their expectations in that the bulk of the moves may already be all done. As a result, any more that they come up with could very well be the last one for this offseason to minimize the trickle-down effect on the rest of the roster. With that in mind, the Blue Jays should aim big then to make that one count, whether it be a Bo Bichette, or of course, a Kyle Tucker.