LAS VEGAS – The one weakness the Toronto Blue Jays are most likely to address this off-season is the lineup that scored the fewest runs in baseball in 2026. Not far behind on the priority list is starting pitching, where they continue to engage with prominent free agents from Tarik Skubal to Michael King to Kevin Gausman.
But while offence and starting pitching are the top two priorities for the Blue Jays, their ideal off-season also includes bullpen upgrades.
On that front, the work is already well underway and conversations with various agents representing relief pitchers are taking place here at the MLB GM Meetings. The question for the Blue Jays is whether they continue spending significant money on relievers after major expenditures in that area each of the last two off-seasons.
According to GM Ross Atkins, that’s a possibility. At the same time, it’s possible the Blue Jays don’t make a major bullpen addition if they devote most of their free agent dollars and trade chips elsewhere.
“In an ideal world, we get through an off-season where we can add to every aspect of our team,” Atkins said. “Hopefully our creativity can be strong there, but we're certainly open to adding. I would say if we are adding there that we’d be wanting to do it at the highest impact level, a very high impact level, or on a more creative product.”
More creative in this case might mean a waiver claim, a particularly intriguing Rule 5 pick or a minor-league deal. And any list of late-inning options clearly starts with Adrian Morejon, the top reliever available in a market that’s actually quite deep in left-handed relief.
Now a player of Morejon’s calibre likely has interest from more than half the league, not just the Blue Jays. With that in mind, the competition will be stiff. But if possible, the Blue Jays are motivated to improve their bullpen not only for the grind of the regular season but for the biggest moments of the season in October.
As mentioned earlier, the Blue Jays are working hard to find offence and willing to spend to make it happen. Along with Seiya Suzuki, Brandon Lowe and Teruaki Sato, they’re interested in Ketel Marte and Jazz Chisholm Jr. though both come with questions, especially Marte, who spent time on the restricted list last summer.
Some say the Diamondbacks have a high asking price on Marte while others believe it’ll have to come down substantially considering he has off-field questions plus five years and $87.5 million remaining on his contract. Ultimately, the Blue Jays would first have to decide whether they believe in Marte the person. And if they do have questions, they would surely ask Vladimir Guerrero Jr., whose cousin is married to Marte.
On paper, Jeremy Pena would also be a great fit for the Blue Jays, and there are rumblings they have interest there, but the Astros are expected to try to contend and trading Pena away would likely hurt their chances in 2027 under new manager Brad Ausmus, so it’s harder to imagine traction.
Beyond those big names, the Blue Jays are keeping tabs on the centre field market with both Daulton Varsho and Trent Grisham Jr. of some interest to them, according to sources. In the meantime, their centre field depth chart features Brett Bateman and Nathan Lukes (Lukes was asked about in trades last summer only to have the Blue Jays hold on due to his stellar performance).
All of which leaves the bullpen as a nice-to-have area rather than a must-add. But if possible, there’s a strong case for acquiring relief help.
With the season on the line, teams are turning to the bullpen more than ever. And as one executive pointed out, the MLB off-season is really all about preparing for the playoffs. As in, teams are most motivated to add players they foresee on their playoff roster in a significant role. That’s one reason why late-inning relievers like Morejon are projected to earn more than back-end starters like Foster Griffin and David Peterson.
Over the last decade, relievers have seen their responsibilities expand considerably, especially in October. Back in 2016, relievers recorded 43 per cent of all post-season outs. That’s the same percentage recorded during the 2026 regular season. But during the 2026 post-season, reliever usage spiked considerably with 53 per cent of all outs coming from the bullpen.
Teams know this, and are motivated to add bullpen help. In fact, some at the GM Meetings expect relievers to get a greater share of the money this winter. For the Blue Jays, this is an opportunity. Their bullpen is already a strength thanks to Louis Varland, Tyler Rogers, Spencer Miles, Mason Fluharty and Braydon Fisher.
At the same time, it can become an even greater strength, or can at least be reinforced from becoming a weakness. And while they historically stayed away from long-term commitments for relievers under Atkins, that’s been changing as Jeff Hoffman (three years, $33 million) and Tyler Rogers (three years, $37 million) received significant deals the last two off-seasons.
Even beyond Morejon, it’s a strong market for relievers, especially lefties such as Alex Vesia, Stephen Okert, A.J. Minter, Gregory Soto and Sean Newcomb. That lines up well for the Blue Jays, as they could certainly use another trusted lefty reliever to pair with Fluharty and Brendon Little. From that group, Minter’s one name they’ve definitely checked on.
Beyond that, they could pursue contract suppressors like Jonathan Loaisiga or late-inning righties like Bryan Abreu or Evan Phillips. For what it’s worth, they’ve been in touch with Kevin Ginkel, who struck out 72 hitters in 67.2 innings for Arizona last year. But again, they’d be fine starting the season without a splashy addition so long as they improve other areas of their team.
