How will Blue Jays look to improve bullpen?

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.

TORONTO -- Many will see the Yankees and Dodgers as a dream World Series matchup, but you’d have a hard time selling that to some Blue Jays fans.

Old friends Tim Mayza and Kevin Kiermaier provide connections to the 2024 Blue Jays, while Teoscar Hernández is still beloved in Toronto, but otherwise, it’s the Yankees versus the one who got away, Shohei Ohtani.

However you decide to enjoy the World Series, here’s what’s on your mind with the Blue Jays:

Regarding the bullpen, will they pay a premium for "name" relievers or go with volume and see who works out? -- @OwenWGreen
This decision is important because the Blue Jays need to add three or four legitimate big league relievers. The market for “good” relievers -- think Chad Green and Yimi García’s level, for a comparison -- won’t be cheap. Adding a few of those together would be costly, so I think the Blue Jays’ best approach would be one big swing and a flurry of lower-end moves.

Whether that’s Tanner Scott or a trade, if the Blue Jays landed one elite reliever, they could aggressively attack the market with one-year deals. This front office has had success in that market in the past, and with a quantity approach, I’d expect they could uncover some value again.

Do you see the Jays trying to move off of one of their larger contracts for more free agent spending flexibility? -- @Gregz23
The Blue Jays should -- key word “should” -- have freedom to spend this offseason without moving money. Any of their big-money contracts feel too necessary to their success in 2025, too. This club isn’t going anywhere without Kevin Gausman, José Berríos and Chris Bassitt, while Chad Green ($10.5 million) is part of the solution in the bullpen. Bo Bichette will be the other name floated, but he’s also this club’s best bet at improving as an offense. The Blue Jays should be able to spend on top of this, and if money gets tight, the trade market is attractive.

Out of the crop of Buffalo boys and fringe MLB talent, who could we anticipate being trade pieces, big league club pieces, Buffalo pieces? -- @IanBloss
This is another key decision that will shape the offseason. I like Ernie Clement as a useful, versatile piece on the 2025 roster. Regardless of which moves are made, there’s going to be a spot for a Gold Glove finalist with speed and the ability to put the ball in play. No. 18 prospect Will Wagner has earned a shot at second base -- I like the idea of a platoon with Orelvis Martinez (No. 2) -- and Leo Jiménez belongs in the big leagues. Jiménez has long generated trade interest and should continue to. Others, like Spencer Horwitz and Addison Barger, will be on that bubble. If the Blue Jays can turn two depth pieces into a regular contributor, like a reliever, that makes a lot of sense.

When will Jays management sign Vladdy to a long-term contract? -- @fairwaygail
Let’s focus on the “when” here. It’s already clear to anyone with eyeballs that the Blue Jays should do everything possible to keep Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in Toronto, but the timing matters. To me, it either has to happen this offseason or it will turn into a situation that stretches into Guerrero’s free agency.

If I’m a top free agent this winter, one of my first questions to general manager Ross Atkins and president and CEO Mark Shapiro is what their plans are beyond 2025. One big run alongside Vladdy sounds fun, but five or six sound a lot better. Signing with a team that could be rebuilding -- or at least pivoting -- a year from now isn’t attractive.

If this stretches into the 2025 season, we can look at it like Aaron Judge and the Yankees. Judge finished his season and entered free agency, where many suitors, including the Giants, made aggressive moves to land him. He eventually stayed right where he was. Free agency can be part of the process, like it was with Judge, but it’s awfully risky.

Will the Blue Jays be used as a pawn to drive Soto's asking price up before he inevitably signs with the Yankees? -- @adam_hutcheon
The Blue Jays will be involved in the Juan Soto sweepstakes. This isn’t inside information; it’s just the reality of a team with big money that’s been shopping at the top of the market for years now.

That said, going up against two New York teams, with all of their money and ego, isn’t easy. I expect Toronto's interest to be legitimate ... but I expect Soto to have a New York address in 2025.

Do the Blue Jays need to spend actual money on another catcher or can they save and find a cheaper backup for Alejandro Kirk? -- Jeff M.
The catching position has quietly been a luxury in Toronto for years now, particularly the “backup” spot. Many clubs are left scraping around for a legitimate big leaguer, but the Blue Jays have been well protected with both Danny Jansen and Kirk. They need to keep that dynamic alive.

Having Kirk catch more than 100 games is a dangerous bet. The Blue Jays are best off making this a 1A-1B situation, and ideally, the other catcher can contribute something offensively. Kirk looked much sharper down the stretch in 2024, but we’ve seen in the past how it looks when a heavy workload wears him down. Again, it sounds like I’m just describing a reunion with Jansen.

How is Orelvis doing? -- @FrostByte123456
Martinez should get plenty of work in the Dominican Winter League with Tigres del Licey, which is what the Blue Jays want. He’s only played a handful of games so far, but showed his incredible power with his first home run of their season.

Martinez needs to clean up his defense, which is priority No. 1 in winter ball. If that happens, his upside is still massive, even if it’s just crushing lefties in a platoon situation in 2025.