Toronto Blue Jays

It appears the Toronto Blue Jays are the leaders to land free agent slugger Cody Bellinger.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported that the Toronto Blue Jays have "emerged as the favorite" for Bellinger, although the Chicago Cubs do remain a candidate for his services.

Bellinger just wrapped up a one-year deal with the Cubs following a six-season tenure with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He is a two-time All-Star, a World Series champion and was the 2019 NL MVP.

Bellinger had a resurgent 2023 season on the North Side, hitting .307 with 26 home runs and 97 RBIs. He also had 20 stolen bases, finished 10th in MVP voting and won a Silver Slugger award.

This sets him up to get quite the payday this offseason and Toronto has seemingly been looking to throw some cash around to improve the team. The Blue Jays were in on two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani until the end of his free agency, and Bellinger would be a strong pickup following this.

Toronto went 89-73 in 2023 and reached the playoffs, falling to the Minnesota Twins in the Wild Card round. This was Toronto's third postseason appearance in four seasons, but the team has failed to win a playoff round during this run.

The AL East also appears to be an arms race, with the New York Yankees acquiring Juan Soto, the Baltimore Orioles looking like a formidable force for the foreseeable future and the Boston Red Sox being in on Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Signing Bellinger would help the Blue Jays keep pace and potentially grab a division crown in the near future.

The Toronto Blue Jays reportedly made a very competitive offer to the 10-year, $700 million offer that ultimately drew Shohei Ohtani to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

As rumors ramped up over where Ohtani would land in free agency, the Blue Jays were one of the teams very much in the mix. Per Sportsnet's Ben Nicholson-Smith, the Blue Jays had a lofty deal prepared for Ohtani.

"As for how close the Blue Jays came to landing Ohtani, that's a question only the two-time MVP himself can really answer, but sources familiar with the negotiation say the Blue Jays' best offer was in the same financial ballpark as the Dodgers," Nicholson-Smith wrote. "One source with knowledge of the talks said the Blue Jays were 'right there' with an offer described as very competitive."

It's not clear exactly what the Blue Jays offered, but Nicholson-Smith suggested that the deal was likely above the $600 million mark.

Ohtani ultimately went with the Dodgers' offer and will suit up down the road form his former team, the Los Angeles Angels, next season.

Ohtani's deal with the Dodgers is the largest contract by total value in North American pro sports history. His $700 million surpassed Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes' 10-year, $503-million contract.

It was clear that there would be a bidding war for Ohtani after the way the two-time MVP has performed over the past three seasons, and ultimately the Dodgers had the best offer.

Ohtani not only will receive a hefty payday, but also the chance to play for a team that is in a good position to win — which is something the sixth-year player didn't have with the Angels, who didn't make the postseason one time in Ohtani's tenure.

Ohtani's love for winning became evident to the baseball world during the World Baseball Classic in March when he led Japan to a win over the United States. Now, he will play for a team that clearly has the same goals as him.

The Dodgers had the best record in baseball in 2022 as well as the third-best record this past season, but they failed to make it past the NL Divisional Series in both years.

Now Los Angeles has the best player in baseball after beating out Toronto, and the Dodgers are looking to get back to the World Series.

If the Toronto Blue Jays' pursuit of two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani in free agency is successful, it could mean the end for several of the team's longest-tenured members.

According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, rival teams expect Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to hit the trade block if general manager Ross Atkins is able to sign Ohtani.

However, trades involving Bichette and Guerrero Jr. are considered unlikely if the Blue Jays can't bring in the reigning AL MVP.

The Blue Jays have been interested in Ohtani for some time now, with ESPN's Jeff Passan reporting their desire to sign the 29-year-old on Nov. 14. Despite their relatively high payroll, the team is still expected to make a run at the high-profile free agent.

A few days later, an anonymous MLB executive told Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic that he views Toronto as a "sleeper" to sign Ohtani.

Although Guerrero Jr. and Bichette have both made multiple All-Star teams as members of the Blue Jays, the enticing nature of Ohtani's bat combined with his eventual ability to start games on the mound is too much to pass up on. However, Toronto doesn't seem like the frontrunner for his services at the moment due to a unique reason (per Heyman).

"While Toronto would seem like a long shot, partly due to the Canadian monetary issue, one rival said he could see him liking the relatively low-key environment."

Atkins is still positive about the Blue Jays' chances to bring in premier free agents, even if Ohtani doesn't sign with the team (via Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet).

"We have an incredible opportunity here," he told reporters ahead of free agency. "The city, the country, the support of ownership, the winning environment, the renovations that have occurred," Atkins said. "We have incredible opportunities with the economy and the diversity and the strength of this city that is celebrated by a country."

Despite not being able to pitch again until 2025 at the earliest due to undergoing surgery to repair a torn UCL, Ohtani is still one of the best offensive players in baseball and is expected to command a record-breaking new contract.

If the Toronto Blue Jays want to make any drastic changes to their roster this offseason, teams are happy to engage them in trade talks for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette.

The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported teams have been calling the Blue Jays about both players.

Rosenthal was skeptical either Guerrero or Bichette will be dealt because Toronto is "under pressure to win" in 2024 and has been rumored to be in pursuit of Shohei Ohtani.

The Ohtani part of this equation is interesting because they would have to increase their payroll to bring him in without subtracting from their roster.

Blue Jays president and CEO Mark Shapiro told reporters in October he anticipates their 2024 payroll will "stay in the same area" as it was last season. The team had a $218.4 million payroll in 2023.

Toronto does have $59.8 million coming off its books with seven players hitting free agency. That would likely cover the average salary for Ohtani, but there are also going to be players on the roster who get raises through arbitration.

Guerrero is one of those players with a projected $18.3 million salary in 2024. up from $14.5 million last season. Bichette signed a three-year, $33.6 million extension in February that will pay him $11 million next season.

There is an argument that Guerrero could be expendable if Ohtani signs with the Blue Jays because even though he plays first base, he's best suited to be a designated hitter. Ohtani has the athleticism to play a position, but he's been limited to DH when he's not pitching.

All of that is hypothetical until there is a resolution to Ohtani's free agency. Guerrero and Bichette remain valuable players for the Blue Jays as they try to get over the hump in the playoffs after being swept in the wild card round three times in the past four seasons.

Guerrero hit .264/.345/.444 with 26 homers and 94 RBI in 156 games during the 2023 campaign. Bichette had a .306/.339/.475 slash line last season and has hit at least 20 homers in three consecutive years.