What to know about the Blue Jays to sound smart at New Year's

This story was excerpted from Keegan Matheson’s Blue Jays Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Going home for the holidays typically includes a shift as tech support for the rest of your family.

Your mother’s TV won’t work (it’s set to the wrong input). Your father’s iPad won’t work (he doesn’t know you have to charge it). Your neighbor can’t figure out their new cable package (they’re using the wrong remote).

This offseason needs what most holiday tech problems do: a hard reset. Turn it off and turn it on again, hoping for a green light or a high-pitched beep to send a cheer through the room, thankful for some sign of life.

Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto landing with new clubs gave this offseason a pair of incredible headlines -- and they were joined by a third when Yoshinobu Yamamoto agreed to a 12-year deal with the Dodgers. Beyond that, it’s been quiet, so much of the initial market being held up by the Ohtani sweepstakes and only now starting to creak to life. That’s left the Blue Jays, in particular, waiting.

The good news? There’s time. Toronto has done some of its best work late in the offseason in recent years, and the majority of the free-agent market is still out there. Don’t forget the trade market, either, which was always going to be the second act of this offseason after the big dollars had been thrown around. The Blue Jays are positioned well there, and it’s beginning to feel likelier that they will make at least one of their significant moves via trade this offseason.

As you enjoy the holidays, here’s where the Blue Jays stand:

Biggest question to answer before Spring Training
Pick a direction, any direction.

Will the Blue Jays swing big on Cody Bellinger, target a surprise name on the trade market or run it back with a collection of mid-range signings? Before we get into anything specific, we still need to see which broad, philosophical direction Toronto wants to move its franchise in.

A year ago, that shift was clear. The club moved out bats for pitching and defense, trading Teoscar Hernández for Erik Swanson and later dealing Gabriel Moreno and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. for Daulton Varsho. The Blue Jays took a different road to the same place, though, ending their season with another early playoff exit. Now, they need to try another path. Does this front office think another significant shift is needed? We’re about to find out.

One player poised for a breakout season
This is the biggest season of Danny Jansen’s career. Jansen, who turns 29 on April 15, is entering his final year of control with the Blue Jays, and it’s difficult to overstate just how respected he is in that clubhouse -- players and staff included. So much focus is on Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s and Bo Bichette’s futures, but more should be on Jansen’s.

Granted, Jansen has already “broken out,” he just needs to go a few months without taking a ball off the hand. Bad-luck injuries have plagued the catcher, limiting him to 86, 72 and 70 games over the past three seasons. If Jansen can get that number over 110, the counting stats will follow and the rest of baseball will take notice.

Prospect to watch in 2024
Ricky Tiedemann will be one of the biggest stories in Spring Training for a second straight year, but this time, a Major League debut feels more realistic.

The Blue Jays’ No. 1 prospect was limited by injuries in 2023, but he was named Arizona Fall League Pitcher of the Year and is expected to open the season in Triple-A. Tiedemann’s workload will be managed early on, and his eventual debut may come in a flexible role, but he’s on the doorstep and is dripping with potential for the Blue Jays to dream on.

One prediction for the new year
There’s still another level to Bichette’s game. He’s proven that he’s capable of hitting .300 annually, and he should continue to pile up the counting stats, given that he’s out there nearly every day, but he can be a superstar in this league.

Last season, one major surprise was Bichette’s lack of stolen bases. I had projected a run at a 30-30 season, which never came close to happening (he finished the 2023 campaign with 20 home runs and five stolen bases). But this could be the season that Bichette puts it all together and cracks the top five of American League MVP voting. The talent is there, the chance at playing 162 games is there and he should have a better offense around him. This is Bichette’s team.