Blue Jays showing little attachment to World Series roster

ORLANDO, Fla. — As baseball’s annual Winter Meetings get started, this much is clear about the Toronto Blue Jays: they’re not overly attached to players just because they contributed to the 2025 team.

Rather than simply hitting refresh on the group that pushed this year’s World Series to a seventh game, the Blue Jays are quite clearly willing to move on from some prominent, well-compensated players if it means adding others who fit better.

The decision to remove Yariel Rodriguez from the 40-man roster Saturday reinforced that message loud and clear, and it’s worth keeping in mind this week when the entire baseball industry gathers in one place and conversations start intensifying.

Any team could have claimed Rodriguez, but doing so would have meant taking on the $17 million owed to him through 2028. It’s telling that no team snagged the right-hander, and will likely serve as clear message to him about how team decision-makers viewed his performance — assuming he remains in the organization and attempts to earn a bullpen spot this spring.

Simultaneously, the move announced to the 29 other teams that the Blue Jays are willing to part ways with Rodriguez, so a creative rival front office in need of pitching could still offer to cover some, but not all, of that $17 million. For now, Rodriguez is off the 40-man roster, clearing valuable space that can be used when needed (the roster spot wasn’t opened for any particular newcomer).

Further additions will come eventually, of course. That doesn’t necessarily mean this week and it doesn’t necessarily mean Kyle Tucker or Bo Bichette, but the Blue Jays are planning to meet with representatives for other prominent free agents in Orlando — as you’d expect given that’s the purpose of these meetings.

And speaking of potential trade candidates, Rodriguez wasn’t the only prominent player left off the World Series roster. Because of injuries, José Berríos and Anthony Santander didn’t play either (due to family reasons that were approved by the team, Berrios wasn’t around at all for the Fall Classic). Both players are fully capable of rebounding, but their contracts are now considered ‘underwater,’ to borrow the jargon preferred by executives. Put another way, the deals now favour the players, not the Blue Jays.

Under those circumstances, the Blue Jays would presumably have to eat money or take on another hefty contract in any trade, but they’re willing to talk about Berríos. On a related note: they’ve recently explored ways to add even more starting pitching depth, though likely on a smaller scale than Dylan Cease, Shane Bieber or Cody Ponce. 

While their stance on Santander is less clear, the overall picture emerging is one where the Blue Jays are prioritizing the quality of next year’s roster over past production. The priority has to be 2026 wins, even if that means accepting that deals like Rodriguez’s haven’t worked out as well as they hoped.

While it may take time for the markets of Tucker and Bichette to settle, the bullpen market has been moving more quickly. The Blue Jays can be patient on the relief front if they want to, but they are involved on relievers, with various industry sources predicting that they’ll eventually add a late-inning arm capable of pitching late in games and replacing free agent right-hander Seranthony Dominguez.

They’ve been showing some interest in Robert Suarez, the top free-agent reliever not named Edwin Diaz, but it’s too soon to say whether there’s meaningful traction on that front. For now, include the Blue Jays, Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets in a group of teams at least monitoring Diaz, Suarez and the high-end relief market. Whether that’s due diligence or more is the key question here.

Others, like the San Diego Padres, would like to join the hunt too, yet they may not have the cash to compete with baseball’s biggest spenders. At the same time, the Dodgers are said to prefer short-term deals for relievers and the Mets don’t have to act desperately either, having already landed Devin Williams. For now, everyone involved has leverage so there’s no urgency for anyone on either side to take a deal that’s not quite right.

As longtime observers of the Toronto front office note, expressing interest is just Step 1 — necessary for a deal but not sufficient. And as people within the Blue Jays front office will point out, it benefits agents to have their players linked to real spenders like the Dodgers, Mets, Philadelphia Phillies and Blue Jays.

The challenge now is deciphering which interest is noise and which interest is real. Starting Monday, everyone from fans to general managers is about to do their best at separating fact from fiction.

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