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 — The offseason comes quickly for those who play into the early hours of November.
Speaking Thursday in Toronto, GM Ross Atkins and president and CEO Mark Shapiro looked back, then looked forward.
Seven quotes stood out, and here’s why:
“Yes.”
Atkins, asked if the Blue Jays would be willing to offer Bo Bichette the shortstop position if he was “adamant” about playing there.
Bichette’s market could develop a massive gap between its floor and ceiling. While Bichette was willing to play second base in the World Series, that’s a much different conversation than where his long-term home will be. The Blue Jays have one tiebreaker already — that Bichette has repeatedly stated his desire to play here long-term — but this could give them another if he prefers to play shortstop in the coming years. That said, Andrés Giménez is an elite defensive shortstop, and it’s already easy to see the upside of Bichette at second, instead.
“The great thing about Jeff is that he’s not married to that. Talking about that cohesion and the team approach, he epitomizes it. I think he would be open to anything that makes us better.”
Atkins, on Jeff Hoffman as the Blue Jays’ closer in 2026
This one raised some eyebrows. Atkins later said that Hoffman had excelled in the closer’s role in 2025, which was certainly true for much of the postseason, but it wasn’t always the case. Given Hoffman’s 4.37 ERA with 15 home runs allowed over 68 innings in the regular season, this is officially an open conversation.
“I think he has the arsenal, the durability, the athleticism and mindset to start, but that’s something that we would want to talk to him about more. It could be something that, if he were open to it, we would want to dig into a bit further.”
Atkins, on Louis Varland’s potential as a starter
After the Blue Jays acquired Varland at the Trade Deadline, there was some brief chatter about the potential of him returning to the starting rotation. It’s surprising to hear a new wave of this conversation, though. Yes, Varland came up as a starter and knows the role well, but 101 mph with a hammer of a breaking ball out of the bullpen should be awfully hard to turn away from.
“We feel good about the free-agent market and the starting-pitching market. Relative to most years, it’s a little bit better, seemingly. We’ll get to work on the trade front, as well, and have started that.”
Atkins, on the 2025-26 offseason
The starting-pitching market will be led by Framber Valdez, Dylan Cease and Tatsuya Imai, then there’s a strong second tier including Michael King and Ranger Suárez. Keep in mind that the Blue Jays could lose both Kevin Gausman and Shane Bieber following the 2026 season, and José Berríos can opt out, too. It’s time for another deal like Gausman’s to extend the window of this starting rotation.
“I think he’s in a pretty good position, workload-wise. It might be something we need to navigate a little bit if we are planning on being in the World Series again, which we are planning to do.”
Atkins, on Trey Yesavage
Expectations will be sky-high for Yesavage next year. Let’s remember Alek Manoah in this conversation. Remember when Manoah shot up from 111 2/3 innings in 2021 to 196 2/3 the next season, which was his peak? Yesavage threw a total of 139 2/3 innings last year, so while that’s a stronger starting point, the Blue Jays would be wise to downshift Yesavage mid-season when the opportunity presents itself, just in case.
“[Ricky Tiedemann] is going to have a normal spring.”
Atkins, on the Blue Jays’ No. 4 prospect
Tiedemann, if he’s healthy coming off a long Tommy John rehab, is the biggest story no one is talking about (yet). The 23-year-old is gifted, and while building up as a starter will take time again, he could make a near-immediate impact in a shorter role.
“What is clear is that we’ve had an unprecedented level of support, and I don’t see that support going backwards at all.”
Shapiro, on 2026 payroll
Money matters … and the Blue Jays didn’t exactly lose money with that World Series run and the eye-popping TV numbers that came along with it. Shapiro always likes to play his cards close to his chest when it comes to payroll, but now that Rogers ownership has gotten a taste of owning Canada’s attention, all signs point toward the potential for a huge payroll climbing even higher.
