They may not have been the favorites in most categories but the Toronto Blue Jays sure made many MLB executives feel like they knew what they were talking about. A recent ESPN poll was sent around the league, asking for different executives to anonymously weigh in on some of the most burning questions that have popped up in the offseason.
Many of those executives believed that the Blue Jays would be in the running to land at least one big name free agent pitcher this winter and on Wednesday evening, the Blue Jays did exactly that.
Blue Jays made MLB executives look like geniuses before Thanksgiving even started
Just before the (USA) Thanksgiving holiday the Blue Jays sent shockwaves across both sides of the border, when it was reported that they had landed one of the biggest free agent pitchers on the market, by signing Dylan Cease to a multi-year contract. In the ESPN survey, the Blue Jays
got the second most votes to do exactly that.
The second question on the survey had to do with pitching. Executives were asked about the top three free agent pitchers and where would they end up. The Blue Jays were actually the favourites to land Framber Valdez, and the third most likely team to sign Ranger Suarez. The industry clearly sees the Blue Jays as a team that wanted to bulk up their rotation and one executive said, “I could see the Blue Jays adding a lefty like Valdez. He fills a need and might send them back to October baseball.”
While it wasn’t Valdez they got, the Blue Jays made at least three executives look smart by picking up the former San Diego Padres pitcher. He’ll join a rotation that appears almost to be set now for 2026, with Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage and Shane Bieber locked in.
Pending on health, José Berrios should be the number four guy, while Eric Lauer could also be in the mix as none of the current pitchers are lefties, and Lauer would at least give them one southpaw in the rotation. Adding a pitcher of Cease’s caliber easily gives the Blue Jays one of the best rotations in the American League to begin the season, regardless if it’s Berrios or Lauer who claims the number five spot.
Sticking with pitching, the third question was also about a pitcher and they asked the executives, “Who will sign Japanese ace Tatsuya Imai?” The Blue Jays received one lone vote in this category and it’s unlikely now that they will get into the Imai sweepstakes. While theBlue Jays cross off a few of the needs on Imai’s wish list, that doesn’t mean they are the clear cut favourites to get him, especially after the Cease signing. They’ve also come up short a few times in their attempt to land a star player from Japan, so it’s not hard to see why executives don’t see them as the favorites here.
The Blue Jays, after coming up just two outs shy of winning their third ever World Series championship, seem like they are doing what everyone, executives included, figured they would do and that’s doing everything they can to win it all in 2026.