Will the Blue Jays let Vladimir Guerrero Jr and Bo Bichette walk?
It's been a frustrating time to be a Blue Jays fan since this regime took over from Paul Beeston and Alex Anthopolous.
Since then this front office has produced three underwhelming wildcard births and hasn't won a single playoff game since the Blue Jays had back to back American League Championship Series appearances in 2015 and 2016.
The Blue Jays finished dead last in the American League East in 2024 with a 74-88 record, so what is their thought process going forward?
The 2024 season was Ross Atkins 9th season as General Manager of this club and things have digressed since taking over.
Mark Shapiro extended Ross Atkins contract for the 2025 season which suggests its time to (pardon the expression) s**t or get off the pot.
While all these new renovations to make the concrete convertible look more and feel like a genuine ball park is great, what about the actual product on the field?
Toronto is a hockey town first and foremost. When it comes to baseball the fans are much more finicky. If the product on the field isn't up to snuff people will not show up no matter how trendy and cool the stadium looks. Especially after ticket prices have gone up.
The Blue Jays are not the Maple Leafs.
Leafs fans will fill Scotiabank arena every season no matter what the on ice product looks like. Baseball fans are much more discerning.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr and Bo Bichette are among the foundational pieces heading into a walk-season along with Ross Atkins, Kevin Gausman and George Springer in 2026.
It makes us Blue Jays fans wonder in which direction is this team going.
Every time a reporter sticks a mic in Atkins or Shapiros faces asking real questions about the direction of this team, their answers are vague or answer questions with questions sounding more like politicians than baseball executives.
Say what you want about Alex Anthopoulous, Paul Beeston or John Gibbons for that matter they gave you the straight goods, without all the filler. That I can respect.
That being said it's going to be an interesting year to say the least.
A failure to sign Guerrero or and Bichette to extensions will be a sign that there is a selloff coming in the near future.
Looming large for this team is the upcoming MLB draft lottery, in which the Blue Jays have the 5th highest odds to land the number 1 pick in the 2025 draft.
In this draft they will have access to the best available talent and one of the biggest draft bonus pools to work from.
How they draft will give us fans an indication in which direction they plan on going moving forward no matter how slippery this front offices answers are.
This Regimes recent drafting record needs more time to be fairly assessed but they haven't produced a homegrown position player since Alejandro Kirk in 2020 and a starting pitcher since Alek Manoah in 2021.
Simply put, they haven't produced enough talent internally, while other American League East teams like the Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Rays have some of the best farm systems in baseball.
The Blue Jays no matter how you cut it simply aren't anywhere close to being where they need to be in a competitive AL East division.
The road they're on is about to end and the time to choose a new direction is near.
We as fans need answers now or the division isn't the only thing they'll lose.
