2025 Blue Jays Offseason Thread

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So Bieber does have some health issues apparently.
Let's hope as its being implied in the tweet below that he will be fine by next year

But this could be reasoning behind his picking up his option.

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Trading Skubal is sheer stupidity. Luka trade 2.0

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Do Blue Jays have backup plans if pursuit of top free agents fails? - Sportsnet.ca

4:39 | December 8, 2025

Ben Nicholson-Smith joins Tim Micallef from Orlando to bring the latest on the Toronto Blue Jays, including how the Jays are approaching the relief pitching market, where things stand with Kyle Tucker and Bo Bichette, and much more.

Here is a transcript of Tim Micallef's interview with Ben Nicholson-Smith.

Tim Micallef: Ben Nicholson-Smith joins us from lovely Orlando at the Winter Meetings. The Blue Jays have already added Dylan Cease and Cody Ponce, but it still seems like a lot of folks are talking about pitching when it comes to Toronto. Is the bullpen priority number one for Ross Atkins right now?

Ben Nicholson-Smith: It's definitely on that list, and it might be in a sense the market that's moving most quickly right now. I think the biggest priority of all kind of has to be Bo Bichette and Kyle Tucker, just given that those are some pretty high-potential, impact additions if the Blue Jays are able to complete a deal with either one. And they're in talks with both.

We'll see how long that takes. For Tucker in particular, it might take a little while. But in the meantime, the bullpen market has been moving, and the Blue Jays are linked to a lot of players. They've expressed at least some interest in a lot of relievers. As you would expect, this is normal for the Jays, just the way that they operate. But Robert Suarez is on that list. This is a really top-of-the-line closer who's expected to probably get a three-year deal. And even as you go further down, you get to names like a Luke Weaver potentially. You get to names that are even far less heralded than that. The Blue Jays are doing due diligence on a lot of them. So they are exploring the relief market and talking to people here at the Winter Meetings. The expectation is that they will find a way at some point to add a seventh or eighth-inning-type reliever and bolster that bullpen.

Tim Micallef: All right, I'm full of follow-ups here. Some would say I'm full of other things, but I'm full of follow-ups! We'll save the pitchers for a second. Kyle Tucker is the name most fans are talking about right now. Do you think he's the bat that they're most focused on?

Ben Nicholson-Smith: Well, it's alongside the pursuit of Bo Bichette, I think. And my understanding is that they have—well, we know that they have met with Kyle Tucker at their facility nearby, not far from here in Florida, last week. So Tucker, again, the expectation is that he'll have meetings into this week, maybe even into next week. So that's not on the brink of resolving itself. But in the meantime, they are engaged with Bo Bichette. The sense is that Bichette's in a really good position here, as you would think, given he's 27 years old, he's had an amazing career with the Blue Jays. So he's a coveted free agent. But the Blue Jays are among the teams in that mix for Bo Bichette. And Tucker might be a little while, but Bichette's market is kind of separate from Tucker, as far as I understand it.

And so if Bo Bichette wanted to, if the right deal were to emerge, there would be a pathway for him to sign even before Kyle Tucker. So that means the Jays have to juggle these things at the same time. And of course, if they weren't to get one of those big bats, that might open the door more to, you know, whether it's trade possibilities, or maybe that is spending a bit bigger on a reliever as a way to kind of continue augmenting this team.

Tim Micallef: I know the front office has changed the way it does things based on who they're talking to. So maybe a two-parter here: Will they wait for both of those players? And if it's not one or both or either, is there a plan B? In the past, Soto, Ohtani—there never really has been a plan B. Is a significant bat in the works, regardless if it's Bo, Kyle, or beyond?

Ben Nicholson-Smith: That's a great question. This is really like the crux of the Jays' offseason right here. And so this is a question that a lot of people here are asking. And outside of maybe Ross Atkins and Mark Shapiro, I don't think anyone has a definitive answer. I can tell you that it would be a huge surprise—like a massive surprise—if they were somehow to add both. That seems quite unlikely.

But they are in a position where they can legitimately be in on Kyle Tucker and legitimately be in on Bo Bichette. And we've seen them close deals in the last 12 months that probably shift the narrative a little bit because, of course, you know, dialing back the clock to those Soto, Ohtani pursuits you mentioned, there was so much frustration, and rightfully so, when they didn't land those players. But since then they land Vlad for $500 million. They go out and get Dylan Cease for $210 million. So clearly they're closing deals now in a way that's actually working. Can they get one more done?

Now they certainly have the means to do it. They're a very attractive destination, and Tucker is from nearby Tampa, Florida. So they're in a good position. There are not that many bidders who are alongside them with the Yankees, maybe sitting this one out a little bit, you know, to a degree. Anyways, you have the Dodgers, you have the Phillies, you have the Mets, you have the Jays. Those are the really serious spenders in Major League Baseball. And this is, you know, this is pretty noteworthy, but where it leads, we'll see. I could see them getting Tucker or Bichette or neither. And we'll see which direction it goes.

Tim Micallef: Ben, I always appreciate you taking the time, and enjoy Orlando if you can.

Ben Nicholson-Smith: I'll do my best. Thanks, Tim.

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**** off...