Toronto Blue Jays 2025 offseason preview: After devastating World Series loss, can Vlad Jr. and the Blue Jays repeat as the American League's best team? Fred ZinkieNovember 2, 2025 at 5:16 AM 0 2025 season: 9468, first in AL East, eliminated in World Series Game 7 With the Blue Jays' loss to the Dodgers in Game 7 of the World Series, let's take a look at the season that was in Toronto, the questions the team must address this winter and the early outlook for next year.
- - Toronto Blue Jays 2025 offseason preview: After devastating World Series loss, can Vlad Jr. and the Blue Jays repeat as the American League's best team?
Fred ZinkieNovember 2, 2025 at 5:16 AM
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2025 season: 94-68, first in AL East, eliminated in World Series Game 7
With the Blue Jays' loss to the Dodgers in Game 7 of the World Series, let's take a look at the season that was in Toronto, the questions the team must address this winter and the early outlook for next year.
Read more: MLB offseason previews 2025: What's next for the Phillies, Astros, Cubs and more?
Things that went right
Predicted by most analysts to miss the postseason, the Blue Jays won the AL East for the first time in a decade, finished as the top team in the American League for the first time since 1993 and reached the World Series, also for the first time since '93. Their success was primarily due to bounce-backs from disappointing seasons by several key players.
If we omit those who returned from major injuries, George Springer would be the MLB Comeback Player of the Year. The 36-year-old looked like his career was on a steep decline when he logged a .674 OPS last season. But this year, he completely flipped the script, finishing third in baseball with a .959 OPS. He won't seriously compete with Cal Raleigh and Aaron Judge for the AL MVP award, but Springer's name will be on many ballots. He logged an .899 OPS across the postseason and, despite missing two-and-a-half games due to an oblique injury, batted .381 in the World Series.
Alejandro Kirk was another terrific story. His year-over-year OPS jumped by 92 points, and he recorded a Fielding Run Value score of plus-21, the second-best mark of any catcher. His 4.6 WAR ranked second on the Blue Jays.
The third comeback player in Toronto was shortstop Bo Bichette, who logged a .598 OPS during an injury-plagued 2024 season. In 2025, he finished second in the majors in hits (181) while driving in 94 runs. Bichette picked a great time to get his career back on track, as he's heading to free agency this offseason. His regular season ended on Sept. 6 due to a knee injury, and he missed the ALDS and ALCS, but Bichette was back on the roster for the World Series and batted .348 across the seven games, with a monstrous Game 7 home run that would've been the enduring highlight had the Jays held on to win.
While Springer, Kirk and Bichette were trending up, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. continued to anchor Toronto's offense with his steady, excellent play. Guerrero finished the regular season ranked sixth in OBP and 19th in OPS. The $500 million contract the Blue Jays and Guerrero agreed to in early April seemed to set the tone for this Blue Jays' season, with the promise of a bright future for the organization. And Guerrero's skills were on full display across an unforgettable postseason, in which he hit eight homers and logged a ridiculous 1.289 OPS across Toronto's 18 games. He batted .333 with two home runs in the World Series.
Although the Blue Jays finished near the middle of the pack in run prevention, their stellar defensive play made their pitchers as successful as possible. Toronto led the majors with a Fielding Run Value of plus-44. Kirk deserves special recognition for turning himself into an outstanding defensive player at the most important position. And he wasn't alone in his excellence, as Myles Straw, Ernie Clement, Andrés Giménez and Daulton Varsho were all far better than average at their respective positions. Backup catcher Tyler Heineman also excelled defensively when called upon.
Things that went wrong
The Blue Jays were feeling good for the first seven innings of World Series Game 7, but then they surrendered three solo home runs to the Dodgers and failed to scratch across another run, losing 5-4 in 11 innings. That concluded a postseason run in which their offense battered opposing pitchers, their defense was usually crisp, and their pitchers did just enough. But in Games 6 and 7 of the World Series, both at home in Toronto, the Jays left too many chances on the table and made too many mistakes to emerge as champions.
In the regular season, the success of the Blue Jays was somewhat surprising, considering that their major offseason signings all failed to provide significant contributions. Anthony Santander entered the season as the favorite to lead the team in home runs; he wound up hitting .175 with six homers in 54 games. Giménez was excellent in the field but missed plenty of time due to injury and had his worst season at the plate. Yimi García was expected to be the primary setup man. He threw 21 innings, made one appearance after May 22 and underwent elbow surgery at the end of August. Max Scherzer was limited by a thumb injury to 17 starts and finished with a 5.19 ERA, but he did deliver a vintage Mad Max performance in ALCS Game 4 and strong starts in World Series Game 3 and Game 7, though Toronto ultimately lost both games.
While the hitting and defensive play carried the team, the Blue Jays' hurlers were average at best. Kevin Gausman, José Berríos and Chris Bassitt deserve credit for making 30-plus starts, but they didn't pitch at an ace level, and Berríos missed the entire postseason due to an elbow injury. Bowden Francis couldn't build on his outstanding stretch-run success from 2024. He owned a 6.05 ERA across 14 starts when he was lost for the season to a shoulder injury.
Jeff Hoffman was erratic in his first season as the team's closer. He blew seven saves, was saddled with seven losses and finished with a 4.37 ERA. Hoffman deserves credit for logging his best stretch of 2025 in October, but he finished the year with one more blown save in World Series Game 7, in which he surrendered a stunning, ninth-inning home run to Dodgers No. 9 hitter Miguel Rojas.
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Offseason outlook
The Blue Jays have some foundational pieces in place for 2026. That starts with Guerrero, who will be the lineup's anchor and a superior defensive first baseman for many years. He will be joined on the right side of the diamond by Giménez, who needs to make some offensive improvements in order to remain a full-time player. There is uncertainty on the left side of the infield, especially at shortstop with Bichette heading to free agency, though Giménez proved in October that he can slide to shortstop if necessary. Toronto has options at third base, with Addison Barger and Clement; Clement got most of the starts there in October. No matter how the rest of the infield shakes out, it will be anchored by Kirk and Heineman behind the plate.
There are several outfield options and plenty of versatility within the group. Varsho will be the center fielder, with Straw serving as his backup and drawing some starts in left field. Assuming Santander makes a full recovery from his shoulder woes, he will be the right fielder. Springer can play all three outfield spots but will likely draw the majority of his starts at DH. Nathan Lukes, Davis Schneider and Joey Loperfido all made significant contributions this season and will return to battle it out for roster spots. The most obvious left-field platoon is the right-handed-hitting Schneider and one of the lefties, Lukes or Loperfido.
Repairing the rotation will be the primary offseason focus for general manager Ross Atkins. Gausman and Berríos will be back, but the sure things end there, as Scherzer, Bassitt, Shane Bieber and Eric Lauer are all set for free agency. Francis will try to put his name back in the mix but cannot be counted on. Top prospect Trey Yesavage seems certain to make the Opening Day roster after he showed tremendous poise and potential in a late-season and postseason audition. There's a chance the organization will transition reliever Louis Varland to the rotation, as he was once a starter for the Twins. But either way, acquiring at least two veteran starters will be necessary this winter.
The bullpen is in better shape than the rotation, assuming Hoffman can continue his postseaso success into 2026. Key setup men such as Yariel Rodríguez, Brendon Little, Mason Fluharty, Varland and Tommy Nance are all set to return. Getting García back in the mix would make a big difference as well.
Prospects on the horizon
Yesavage has skyrocketed through the Blue Jays' farm system, becoming one of the most exciting pitching prospects in baseball along the way. The first-round pick from the 2024 MLB Draft has an incredible ability to generate strikeouts, recording 12 against the Dodgers in World Series Game 5. After delivering in five postseason starts for Toronto, it seems clear he has already played his last minor-league game.
Ricky Tiedemann used to be Toronto's top prospect and could soon return to that lofty ranking. The lefty should be ready to return from 2024 Tommy John surgery by spring training. A first-round pick in 2021, Tiedemann will likely need two-to-three months in Triple-A before he becomes an option for Toronto. After all, he has thrown just 140 innings over the past four minor-league seasons.
Toronto also has two elite position-player prospects — Arjun Nimmala and JoJo Parker — but they're both teenagers who are a couple of years away from major-league consideration.
Goals for 2026
After years of finishing around .500, the American League champion Blue Jays can finally count themselves among the top postseason contenders. But staying atop the AL is an even more difficult task than getting there. Toronto will be heavily challenged in 2026 by the Yankees, Red Sox and Orioles — and the Rays should never be counted out. The Orioles can speak to the competitiveness of this division, as they went from first to last in two years, despite having a promising young core.
To keep pace with the stiff competition in the division, the Toronto front office will need to make major additions to the Jays' rotation and offer Bichette a competitive, long-term contract. The shortstop deserves credit for increasing his value in 2025, and the onus will now be on management to reward him accordingly. The guess here is that contract talks with Bieber's agent will be an offseason priority as well. The rotation would look much better with Bieber as the ace, followed by the reliable righties, Gausman and Berríos, and the immense upside of Yesavage.
Fantasy focus
Guerrero will be the first Toronto player selected in every 2026 draft, as he should come off the board in Round 2. There will be a significant gap between Vladdy and the next Blue Jay, which would be Springer in the range of Round 7. Bieber and Bichette will likely be selected in the same range; we'll see if they return to Toronto.
The middle rounds will be populated by members of this balanced club. Those players include Varsho, Gausman, Hoffman and Berríos. Kirk and Santander will be selected in the second half of drafts, as will Barger. Assuming he secures a rotation spot, Yesavage will be an exciting boom-or-bust option in the middle rounds.
Original Article on Source
Source: "AOL Sports"
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Published: November 02, 2025 at 01:27AM on Source: COSMOPOLITE
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Toronto Blue Jays 2025 offseason preview: After devastating World Series loss, can Vlad Jr. and the Blue Jays repe...
