TORONTO — Feelings about Game 7 of the World Series remain raw and the outlook is still taking shape. Toronto Blue Jays. Still, the baseball calendar is unforgiving, pausing for nothing, so Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins were on the platform Thursday, trying to transport themselves through an offseason that's already in full swing and into a 2026 campaign that feels like it's being seen in the passenger-side mirror, reflected objects closer than they appear.
In immediate news, Atkins said coach John Schneider's 2026 option had been exercised and the sides were discussing a larger deal, while Shapiro said his contract extension talks were put on hold during the playoffs but “we'll probably figure something out soon” and it wasn't a surprise. Also as expected, the Blue Jays submitted a qualifying offer of $22.025 million. Bo Bichette — a procedural move to ensure they receive a compensatory draft pick if he leaves as a free agent — before the market opens at 5 p.m. ET.
So, baseball, begin your typically very slow, deliberate, drawn-out winter shopping spree.
For all those reasons, Thursday's press sessions with the club's top brass drew a more direct line from Saturday's 5-4, 11-inning loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers to winter business, with less time despite more need for reflection.
The whirlwind from an 88-loss collapse in 2024 to inches away from winning the World Series is dizzying, and that doesn't take into account the broader repositioning of the franchise during that time.
Remember that toward the end of spring training, when Shapiro met with the media ahead of Opening Day, he described the Blue Jays as an organization in the midst of a “pivotal year that represents a turning point for us.”
So where do the Blue Jays stand comparatively right now?
“It's hard for me to characterize. I think I need a little more time. I probably need to see our offseason strategy moving forward. But we're certainly in a better position,” Shapiro responded. “We've had another good year in a row in terms of player development. We've really made some progress in the system. Obviously, we're reaping the benefits of the draft much faster than we ever imagined (with Trey Yesavage going in the 2024 first round). And we had the biggest stage to showcase our city, our stadium, our organization, our team to the entire baseball world. So all of those things are going to be the building blocks for us moving forward.”
That's fair, but other than wanting to win the World Series next year and some acknowledgment that it's “impossible to recreate something identical” in terms of the 2026 roster, there were very few details from Shapiro and Atkins.
Bichette's future is without a doubt the most fundamental question before the franchise's status as Shapiro and Schneider is essentially decided (Atkins' contract runs through 2026), and the executive duo has offered few clues other than platitudes.
The willingness of Bichette, who played second base during the World Series to speed his return from a sprained knee, to return as shortstop is perhaps most noteworthy, with Atkins saying “it could work either way with us.”
“It's a good starting point,” he added, “but we'll work through it with him and make sure we fully exhaust what's ideal for him.”
The same goes for Andres Jimenez, who moved to shortstop from second base shortly after Bichette's injury on Sept. 6 and said during the ALDS that the transition “wasn't easy from a body standpoint.” The position is “a little more demanding, I need to be more active, I need to be a little more prepared to play shortstop,” he said, later adding that he was “happy to help the team at that position and I'm really excited about it.”
Either way, keeping Bichette won't be easy, as he will be one of the best free-agent position players available, coveted not only for his prowess at the plate, but also for his ability to make contact with even the best pitches, a rare and valuable trait.
He's also selling his age-28 season onwards, and teams tend to be aggressive in the market for such young talent, so the Blue Jays have a struggle here.
“He played an important role,” Atkins said. “We’ll be in his market.”
When asked if he had any advance knowledge of what the market looks like and what the opportunities are for the Blue Jays at this point, Atkins simply responded, “Yes.”
Afterwards, when asked about it, he grinned and said, “I won't say that part.”
Whatever happens, Bichette really is the linchpin of what the Blue Jays do this offseason and where they can go in different directions.
Atkins has repeatedly mentioned that the positional versatility of players such as Ernie Clement And Addison Bargerhas opened up various possibilities, among other things, and he hasn't ruled out the possibility of looking for another primary DH type despite already having George Springer and Anthony Santander on the roster.
“I don’t want to put myself in a box,” Atkins said. “Versatility allows us to think more creatively.”
When it comes to presentation, the options are a little simpler.
Shane BieberThe player's decision to exercise his $16 million player option for next year rather than buy out the team for $4 million and hit the open market reduces the lift needed for the rotation. Jose Berrios, who finished the season at Illinois with right elbow inflammation, is healthy enough to have a “pretty normal offseason and be ready for spring training,” Atkins said, while pitcher Louis Varland, a former starter, could be considered for the starting spot “if he's ready for it,” but the Blue Jays would first “want to get into it a little deeper.”
Regarding the bullpen, Atkins' most notable comment was about closer Jeff Hoffman when he said, “The great thing about Jeff is that he's not married to that (role). Talking about that cohesion and team approach, he epitomizes that. I think he'll be open to anything that makes us better.”
Collectively, the Blue Jays are open to anything and everything, an Atkins masterclass in giving away almost nothing.
However, their plans will become more clear soon enough as the Blue Jays strive to remain a team capable of winning the World Series. How far they will improve from this year and how reproducible what they have built are some of the key questions to be resolved.
“There are traits of identity and culture, and if they are there, if they are deeply ingrained in the organization, I don’t see them as short-term,” Shapiro said. “This is the effort of our baseball operations group, led by Ross, over the years to identify talent, acquire talent, develop talent at the player development level and ultimately build the team. The power of all of this playing out at this point is that it becomes clearer to everyone how important they are without even saying it. And I think players who value those things gravitate toward that as well.”
The offseason coming immediately after Game 7 will test just that.
