2026 Toronto Blue Jays Season Thread

[Roof-Daddy]

This is so awesome.

Going into the off season the rotation had the biggest question marks and they got Bieber and Cease locked in before December even got here. Now the rotation looks like one of the strongest on paper.

Jays FO is not messing around.

[flamingred89]

Originally Posted by Jason14h

They aren’t (in 99.9% sure ) going to go over the 2nd luxury apron

You don’t need a 5th started making 25 million

That’s 3 bullpen arms or a Bo resign $$

Ok. So who's going to take on his contract? If he is what he is. Then the Jays need to pay for someone to take him. So if the Jays retain. What are you willing to pay?

[Roof-Daddy]

Scherzer did an interview today, sure didn't sound like a guy that was going anywhere else but Toronto.

And you just know Bassitt would come back in heartbeat too.

I wouldn't be surprised if they traded Berrios and then brought those two back for the same money on 1 year deals. Say $15 million for Bassitt and $10 million for mad Max.

1. Gausman
2. Cease
3. Bieber
4. Yesavage
5. Bassitt

And have old man Scherzer around playing the Clayton Kershaw role maybe.

[Jason14h]

Originally Posted by flamingred89

Ok. So who's going to take on his contract? If he is what he is. Then the Jays need to pay for someone to take him. So if the Jays retain. What are you willing to pay?

Everyone needs pitching every year , and 3 years and 66 million remaining isn’t that bad for an inning eater

I’m not sure you actually need to eat to trade it , but if so won’t be much

But he couldn’t crack the Jays starting rotation by the end of last year and we’ve upgraded . Having him hang around as a 5th starter seems pointless and I don’t think he wants to be here anymore either

[flamingred89]

I love that so much. But I sincerely ask. What do we think the Jays can do with Berrios other than have him pitch. To be fair, for all the WAR merchants out there, he has had better bWAR than Cease 2 of the last 3 years...

Maybe the Jays are in the spend money and don't care phase and they'll worry about it later. A lot of money comes off the book next year. But that seems like an awfully big contract to just move on a whim

[ben voyonsdonc]

Gausman
Cease
Yesavage
Bieber
Berrios
Tiedemann
Francis
Lauer

That is some really good pitching depth.

This signing doesn’t mean they are out on either Bichette, Tucker, or a big time closer. I think it tells me that they are more likely to sign more big deals. In for several pennies, in for a pound.

We don’t know what the contract deferral look like for Cease yet. Next year we will have some big contracts coming off of the books.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by Jason14h

They aren’t (in 99.9% sure ) going to go over the 2nd luxury apron

You don’t need a 5th started making 25 million

That’s 3 bullpen arms or a Bo resign $$

That threshhold is at $284MM. I agree they won't go over it, both because its punitive tax wise and it hurts your #1 pick by 10 spots.

They're at $255 now, so they can probably squeak one more signing in (Bichette or maybe Tucker with deferrals but definitely not both). It also makes sense to leave some slack so they can make a deadline acquisition or two, in case of injury or underperformance

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by Roof-Daddy

Scherzer did an interview today, sure didn't sound like a guy that was going anywhere else but Toronto.

And you just know Bassitt would come back in heartbeat too.

I wouldn't be surprised if they traded Berrios and then brought those two back for the same money on 1 year deals. Say $15 million for Bassitt and $10 million for mad Max.

1. Gausman
2. Cease
3. Bieber
4. Yesavage
5. Bassitt

And have old man Scherzer around playing the Clayton Kershaw role maybe.

The problem is Berrios tax value is only $18, and that's probably what matters. I think it's tough to get Bassit and Scherzer at $18.

[MRCboicgy]

I, for one, am excited.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by MRCboicgy

I, for one, am excited.

Yeah. I felt like they needed 2 top end starters and a bat. They got the starters (Bieber and Cease) if they can get any one of Bo, Tucker, or Bellinger i think they'll be a very good team again.

The last couple of years it's felt like the Jays were "in on" all the top guys but never got them - hopefully this run puts them over the top for actually getting their players.

[browna]

For a Boras client to go this early in free agency it’s a clear Rogers overpay, but meh. Cable and cell bills go up.

No question the run and the whole spotlight on the Jays for those 3 weeks in October opened some eyes and shed a positive light on the organization. So it helped in this case, but this deal was too good for Cease to pass up, probably 2-3 more years then anyone else was going to give him.

Forget Ohtani and Soto, those guys had a planned destination in mind, but some of the “lesser” but still quality free agents are the ones that chose somewhere else, outside of Santander, and those are the ones that baseball wise, were troubling to lose out on previously.

But there’s still Bo, maybe another bat and a bullpen to fill. Jays don’t want to be done yet but can they snag that mid to upper tier free agent who again, like previous years has a choice of a few places, without a big overpay?

[mile]

https://twitter.com/user/status/1993890060538974441

[Roof-Daddy]

I was hoping the Jays would trade for Cease at the TDL last summer. They traded for Bieber instead which was cool. Now they have both. This is awesome.

5 straight seasons with 200+ strike outs. The guy is a machine.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

This is amazing news. Full stop.

I haven't had the stomach to even think about the Jays since that crushing game 7 loss, but these last few days have really made me excited again. Cease has been one of my favorite pitchers for years, and his addition makes that rotation one of the best in baseball.

However...until they address the glaring need for a real closer, I don't want to get too excited. That was the glaring hole on the roster all year and it came back to bit them in the ass in that game 7. I'm not trying to beat up on Hoffman either, but in reality, he's a set up man.

Oh how I long for the days of Tom Henke and Duane Ward.

[bluejays]

Originally Posted by mile

https://twitter.com/user/status/1993890060538974441

Impressed by the presentation. LOL. He was impressed by the open wallet, let's be real.

[Roof-Daddy]

Originally Posted by bluejays

Impressed by the presentation. LOL. He was impressed by the open wallet, let's be real.

I'd imagine he was impressed by many things.

Money
Presentation
Jays being a legit contender
The run they just went on
Fan base
Jays players raving about the organization and culture

[Jason14h]

Originally Posted by bluejays

Impressed by the presentation. LOL. He was impressed by the open wallet, let's be real.

Haha yeah $210 million reasons to be impressed

However - Cease clearly has some mechanical issues . He walks the most and throws the most wild pitches

If he could correct that issue he is a Cy Young favorite . Coaching matters when selecting where to effectively finish your career and I do believe a presentation showing how you will become dominant would play a part in your decision

These guys want to be the best as well as win .

But is great seeing Toronto be desirable again

[ben voyonsdonc]

Originally Posted by Jason14h

Haha yeah $210 million reasons to be impressed

However - Cease clearly has some mechanical issues . He walks the most and throws the most wild pitches

If he could correct that issue he is a Cy Young favorite . Coaching matters when selecting where to effectively finish your career and I do believe a presentation showing how you will become dominant would play a part in your decision

Sounds a lot like Robbie Ray.

[Roof-Daddy]

Originally Posted by ben voyonsdonc

Sounds a lot like Robbie Ray.

Yep. A right handed and much more durable Robbie Ray.

If they can unlock him he could easily win a CY.

[Inferno]

Originally Posted by bluejays

Impressed by the presentation. LOL. He was impressed by the open wallet, let's be real.

But there would be other factors too that have already been mentioned.

They gave Corbin Burnes a pretty generous offer last offseason but the uncertainty around Guerrero and Bichette scared him away.