Blue Jays' offseason lost Bo Bichette, didn't get Kyle Tucker, still given strong grade

The Toronto Blue Jays didn't bring back Bo Bichette, and they didn't sign Kyle Tucker, Cody Bellinger or Alex Bregman.

Given the stakes after losing in Game 7 of the World Series in extra innings, that feels like a lot of missing, right?

Well, it wasn't all bad for the Blue Jays.

ESPN's David Schoenfield actually gives Toronto a B+ grade for their offseason moves as a whole.

The Blue Jays signed Dylan Cease, Kazuma Okamoto, Tyler Rogers and Cody Ponce in free agency. They also traded for Jesus Sanchez from the Astros.

"Give credit to the Blue Jays for keeping the foot on the gas," Schoenfield writes. "Their payroll is now up about $29 million from last year and about $60 million from 2024. Their time is clearly right now, with nearly all of their key players from last year's World Series run back -- and most are in their primes. Rogers is one of the most underrated signings of the offseason while Ponce, the KBO MVP, should factor into the rotation, especially with manager John Schneider saying Shane Bieber won't be ready for Opening Day. With the announcement Anthony Santander will sit out five to six months, the Jays remained aggressive, acquiring Sanchez right as spring training started."

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Schoenfield wasn't confident enough to give this any kind of 'A' grade, though.

"I'm hedging this grade just a bit on two accounts," Schoenfield writes. "First, while Cease is talented and durable and wouldn't surprise anyone if he contended for a Cy Young Award, he's also a player with an ERA over 4.50 in two of the past three seasons. A $210 million contract is a huge payout for an inconsistent pitcher who isn't a guaranteed upgrade over Bassitt. Then there's what is essentially the Okamoto-for-Bichette swap. I think Okamoto will hit and his offensive projections are close to Bichette's, but we know Bichette can hit at a high level. Okamoto had a Bichette-like season in Japan last year, hitting .327 and improving his contact rate, but in previous years, he had hit for a lower average with more power. It will be interesting to see if he provides the same offense that Bichette offered last season."

The Blue Jays still have a lot of their talent back, which is big in its own way, as well.

But there'll be a different feel about this group. Whether that's better or worse in the long run will just have to be figured out on the field.

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