After a disappointing 2024 campaign and with franchise slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. entering his final year of arbitration eligibility, this could be the team’s final chance to craft a winning roster around its current core before being forced into an extensive rebuild.
Signaling their interest in fortifying the roster around Guerrero, the Blue Jays have joined the running to sign superstar slugger Juan Soto this winter.
“Soto is starting to take meetings with teams this week in California, and the Blue Jays will be first, according to major league sources,” ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported. “After trying to land Shohei Ohtani last winter, Toronto is serious about adding a star alongside Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and has targeted Soto.”
While adding Soto on a long-term deal would instantly boost the Blue Jays’ chances of contention, a championship run would require some additional firepower. To that end, Zachary Rymer of Bleacher Report predicted that the Blue Jays would add veteran southpaw Max Fried on a six-year, $160 million deal.
“Even though he’s a two-time All-Star and World Series champion, he might still be underrated,” Rymer wrote. “He’s been 51 percent better than the average pitcher over the last five seasons, and that is over a sturdy 659 innings. He doesn’t hurt himself with walks and doesn’t make it easy for batters to do damage. He’s typically good for a strikeout per inning, and he was in the 96th percentile for ground balls and the 95th for exit velocity this year.”
After eight seasons with the Atlanta Braves, the 30-year-old Fried has reached free agency after an All-Star 2024 with a 3.25 ERA, two complete games and a shutout in 29 starts. He would add a critical lefty look to a veteran Blue Jays rotation that is set to include Kevin Gausman, José Berríos and Chris Bassit next year. After the Blue Jays dealt Yusei Kikuchi at the 2024 trade deadline, they could use another reliable starter.
As one of the best pitchers on the market, Fried is going to command a long-term contract in the nine-figure range. The Blue Jays are hoping to lock up Soto while having the financial flexibility to extend Guerrero to a long-term deal, but they are relatively free of other long-term contracts, so it could work.
“Toronto, of course, hopes to extend the aforementioned Guerrero and would need a massive offer to do so, but a long-term payroll ledger with Soto and Guerrero seems plenty doable given the lack of other commitments,” per MLB Trade Rumors.
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