Bo Bichette sending a Christmas card to Jorge Polanco today.

The Blue Jays are paying Hoffman and Rogers a combined $25 million. The Dodgers are paying Diaz alone $23 million. I like ours better.

Literally just this afternoon, I was looking at the list of FA relievers and thinking, man, Tyler Rogers would be a perfect fit for the Jays. I should always tweet these things when I’m thinking about them….

At a quick glance, a serviceable back-of-the-pen depth arm and useful Triple-A reliever. Too HR-prone to get excited about.

I too need to check with my wife to confirm how many children we have.

Aside altogether from the on-field performance and even the RC/Dunedin renos, I feel like Shapiro has significantly upgraded the organization's infrastructure and professionalism. An MLB club is both a multinational businesses and a public trust, and I think he's infused both with clear values.

I would’ve felt very comfortable going 3/$45M or even higher for Robert Suarez, so I’m a little surprised the Jays didn’t. They’re paying Jeff Hoffman, a lesser closer, 3/$39M. A few potential reasons that I can see:

Stealworkers

Spencer Miles?

The Orioles weren’t as good as they looked in 2024, but they also aren’t as bad as they looked in 2025. Alonso makes them better, and they’re not done yet. It’s an overpay, but that payroll (and owner) can afford a lot of overpayment. Keep an eye on them.

Same.

If Barry Bonds had retired after 1998, he'd have finished with 400+ HRs, 400+ SBs, a 950 career OPS, 3 MVPs, and 8 Gold Gloves in 13 seasons (8,000 PA). The unjuiced Bonds was a Hall of Famer before he turned 34.

And zero steroid allegations. Put him in the Hall.

Whoa.

Honestly, if the Jays have enough money to pay Tucker, I think I’d prefer they signed Bichette and Diaz and extended Varsho instead.

The Jays’ 2026 payroll currently sits at $267M, per FanGraphs. For luxury tax purposes, it’s $281M. Tucker is widely believed to be getting at least $38M/yr for 10 years. I have no idea if the Jays will sign him. But the fact they’re serious enough about him to get to this point is mind-blowing.

Fantastic choice, immensely deserved.

You’re at The Captain. I need you at Tennille.

I like the Ponce signing. Basically, he’s Berríos insurance: If Berríos doesn’t bounce back, Ponce takes his rotation spot this year; if he does bounce back and opts out, Ponce takes his spot in ‘27-‘28 (assuming he’s effective, of course). Worst case, they move him to the pen and bump up his velo.

I guess we’ll find out if Devin Williams’s issue was playing in New York or playing for the Yankees.

Last year, the Blue Jays waited for the market. This year, they’re setting it. Completely different and amazing vibe shift. Sends a message to everyone around the league – including but not limited to Bichette’s camp. You want to win? Right here, right now.

Pretty decent return for clearing $40M off the books. Still a good trade for the Red Sox, though.

MLB FA predicted years/salaries: MLB Trade Rumors - Tucker: 11/$400M - Bichette: 8/$208M - Imai: 6/$150M ESPN - Tucker: 11/$418M - Bichette: 5/$130M - Imai: 6/$157M Fangraphs - Tucker: 10/$370M - Bichette: 7/$203M - Imai: 5/$100M Give me Bo + Imai over Tucker alone every single time.

I don’t generally see the point of a trade where you take on the lesser player who’s also owed $30 million more than the guy you dealt, but I’ll always encourage the Rangers to make the themselves worse.

Jays had their eye on him. I’ll be interested to see the salary.

The Mitch White trade can finally be put to rest.

I know the front office has a lot going on, but at some point before the season starts, signing Varsho to a long-term deal would make a ton of sense.

Imagine you’re Danny Young, minding your business, scrolling through BlueSky, and you hit this.

Clearly they got the message after he started walking around with a sledgehammer.

This is the third mid-tier FA to re-sign with his current team before the end of November (Bieber, Naylor). Not sure what’s going on out there, but I can’t remember many previous offseasons starting like this.

I’d be curious to know the Jays’ internal valuations and therefore prioritization of Bichette vs. Tucker. Bo is younger and homegrown; Tucker is a little older, a better hitter, and will cost almost twice as much. They might get neither, but they won’t get both. I wonder how they stack them up.

If the Blue Jays have both Gausman and Bellinger on the team next year, Doritos and White Castle are locks for corporate sponsorships.

Cease and Imai are on my wish list. Peralta's fantastic, but he's a FA after 2026 too, which doesn't set them up longer-term like they need. Plus, the Brewers will have enough suitors that they can push the price way up, and the Jays don't want to empty the system for a rental.

Man, when the Angels fleece you in a trade, it’s time to pack up and go home.

In his last two seasons, ~1,000 PA, Ernie Clement has contributed 5.3 fWAR (7.7 bWAR), but mostly through defence/baserunning (sub-100 wRC+ each year). He has three years of team control left, he’s turning 30, and his trade value has never been higher. There’s a place for him if Bo leaves; if not…

That’s pretty close to a steal. I’m really surprised Naylor signed so fast, before Alonso could set the 1B market. Seattle is going to be a tough team for years to come.

I know Blue Jays fans don’t want to hear this, but Bichette makes a ton of sense for the Dodgers and they’re one of the very few teams that could outbid the Jays for his services.

Small sample size, obviously, but the swift re-signings by Bieber and Naylor make me think the offseason market might move a lot faster this year. There’s no Ohtani or Soto holding everything up, and I feel like players and teams alike want to lock in as early as they can.

I’ll be very surprised if Jeff Hoffman is the closer next season.

My only take on the AL MVP blather is that if Judge were a Mariner and Raleigh were a Yankee, the arguments would be absolutely the opposite of what they are now, and that’s reason enough to ignore them.

A little amusing that the top two NL MVP finishers were both DHs. (I know, one is also a pitcher, but that’s still got to be a first.)

Oof.

Sorry to see him go, but not surprised that he’d draw attention for a promotion elsewhere.

A few reminders as the Hot Stove launches: - The Jays will be connected to everyone. - They will have money to spend, but not unlimited cash. - They need to plan for beyond 2026. - They’re probably going to trade at least one guy you wish they hadn’t. - Don’t assume anything when it comes to Bo.

From April 8 (when his contract was announced) to August 18 (when he hurt his quad), Vladdy hit .303./402/.518 (156 wRC+) in 490 PA. If the slugging seems low, compare his .215 ISO in this stretch to the .221 ISO he posted last year (.323/.396/.544). The power is there. But here's the fun part:

To my mind, Kent Williams wrote the definitive take on gambling in baseball 23 years ago at Batter's Box -- it's still worth your time: www.battersbox.ca/article.php?...

See, I don't bet on baseball (or on anything, really), so it was genuinely news to this little Polyanna that you could lay a bet on *individual pitches*. WTF? Who, other than compulsive gamblers, is betting on the outcome of a single pitch? That's lunacy.

This should, at the absolute minimum, take down the Commissioner.

It’s taken me awhile to process how the Blue Jays season ended. I was in a bad place for a few days. Eventually, I decided that I wanted to remember the first 173 games of the 2025 season and not the last 2, and that’s helped a lot. This was just an extraordinary team that had an incredible year.