How tall is the task facing the Blue Jays front office after a season in which so much was expected, but ended with a plummet all the way to the basement of the American League East?
Perhaps even more than the beleaguered front office headed by general manager Ross Atkins cares to admit.
There is a growing sense in the baseball world that suddenly Toronto is a less-attractive place for upper-tier free agents to land given the perception of what is going on with the franchise.
Fair or not, when a team implodes the way it did through the entirety of the 2024 season after one of the more embarrassing exits from the post-season the previous October, people around baseball often leap to conclusions.
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And, according to a source long familiar with the American League East, that has made it for more difficult for the Toronto front office than it was as recently as a few seasons ago.
“Why would you go to Toronto right now if you’re a free agent?” the source rhetorically asked. “It’s amazing how far this team has fallen from the top in such a short time. If (management) thinks free agents are going to want to come to Toronto the way things are right now — or perceived to be — they’re sadly mistaken.
“It’s like back in the ’80s when nobody wanted to come to Toronto, a fact that didn’t change until they started winning in the 1990s. The perception is out there.”
Getting free agents to come to the city always has had its challenges, a point Atkins acknowledged at his season-ending press conference. As big and bustling a market as Toronto is, players naively get influenced by the fact they would move to a foreign country and that border crossings are a major hassle.
When a team is a winner or perceived to be aggressively trending in that direction, it’s easy to overlook those concerns. Accordingly, the Blue Jays have landed a number of big-name, big-money players in recent years from Hyun-Jin Ryu to George Springer, Kevin Gausman and Chris Bassitt to name a foursome.
Thanks to the bountiful Rogers Communications cash and terrific renovations to team facilities in both Toronto and Dunedin, the Jays’ stock was mostly on the rise since baseball returned to normal post-pandemic.
But when there is a whiff of discontent, the courting process becomes all the more challenging.
“It’s your one chance to pick your spot,” the source said of the mindset of most free agents shopping for a multi-year deal that, in most cases, will be the biggest contract of their career. “There are challenges for playing in Toronto, but at the same time, it’s a hell of a place to play when they’re not good. It’s not exactly always what you want.
“Right now, so many teams are stronger than the Toronto Blue Jays. That’s the reality of it. When you start matching position by position, they can’t compete with many (teams).”
Of course, all concerns can vanish in a hurry and change a team’s outlook almost instantaneously. And as stark as the Jays regression was in 2024, there clearly is room for considerable internal improvement.
As dismissive as many fans are of the Jays’ current pursuit of the head of this year’s free-agent class, Juan Soto, if the Jays were somehow to land him, it would be a huge boost to the current group and beyond.
Dare to dream, right? And even if the Jays aren’t frontrunners for Soto, as reports suggest, at least they are out there willing to spend, another reality well known around the sport.
Of course, further damaging the sales pitch of the Jays is the limbo situation surrounding current star Vlad Guerrero Jr., who is due to hit free agency at the end of the 2025 season.
An extension of a player well-regarded by stars around the game would be a huge selling point. Without it, Guerrero’s status tops the lists of questions surrounding the team.
“Why would you go there, especially if (the team) hasn’t signed (Vlad Guerrero Jr. to a long-term deal)?” the source said. “If you don’t sign him you can just close Toronto off.
“I’m sure free agents would ask themselves ‘Why would I even go there if you can’t keep Guerrero?’ That message is horrible. I don’t think (the team) understands the message.
“It’s unfortunate. Vladdy’s everything you want in a player: He’s home-grown. He’s wonderfully open to the fans. He has a great personality and he’s an excellent player.”
The Guerrero stalemate — if that’s what it is — could be well beyond the Jays’ control, of course. No doubt his camp is waiting to see how the Soto sweepstakes play out and ultimately wait for free agency.
Money may be the ultimate currency in baseball free agency, but it’s not the only one, especially for those determined to land in a spot destined for long-term, upper-echelon success.