Blue Jays Interested In Seiya Suzuki

The Blue Jays didn’t make the playoffs this year, so they are already in offseason mode. Mitch Bannon of The Athletic reports that the Jays are expected to pursue outfielder Seiya Suzuki when he hits free agency about a month from now. Bannon adds that Toronto will probably check in on NPB star Teruaki Sato, who is expected to be posted for MLB clubs this winter. Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet mentions the Jays have been scouting Sato and fellow NPB player Kaima Taira. Bannon reports that there’s some mutual interest in a reunion between the Jays and Shane Bieber. Both Bannon and Nicholson-Smith speculate about a possible reunion with Kevin Gausman as well.

There are lots of possibilities on the table for the club, which makes sense when considering how 2026 played out. The offense was a significant disappointment, thanks both to injuries and underperformance. The team had a collective .247/.310/.381 line and 94 wRC+, meaning their offense was 6% below average. Only five teams were below them in that department.

The pitching was a bit more respectable, as Toronto’s 3.90 earned run average was one of the ten best marks in the majors. But the staff was top-heavy, with a borderline Cy Young performance by Dylan Cease at the front of the rotation and some strong relief performances as well. Due to many pitching injuries, the club was often patching things together at the back end of the rotation.

Starting with Suzuki, he would make a lot of sense for the Jays, with that aforementioned lack of offense. Suzuki has five MLB seasons under his belt now and his bat has been very consistent. He missed a decent amount of time in his first season, only getting to 14 homers in 111 games. Since then, he has played at least 132 games in four straight seasons. He finished each of those four campaigns with at least 20 home runs and a wRC+ of 123 or higher. His walk rate has increased each year, getting to 12.8% in 2026. He has a .269/.351/.472 line and 128 wRC+ for his entire career.

The defense has been more of a mixed bag. For what it’s worth, Suzuki is coming off his best showing in the field. Defensive Runs Saved, Outs Above Average and Fielding Run Value mostly pegged him as a bit below average from 2022 to 2025. In 2026, he was credited with 14 DRS, 5 OAA and 8 FRV. There might be some skepticism about a one-year spike in those numbers, especially with Suzuki now being 32 years old, but it’s better for his market than more negative numbers.

Add it all up and Suzuki should be a very attractive free agent. For the Jays, the corner outfield and designated hitter picture is up in the air. Anthony Santander is a big question mark. Shoulder problems limited him to 54 games of awful production in 2025. He underwent surgery early in 2026. He was able to play in some rehab games but never rejoined the big league squad. Various injuries limited Addison Barger to seven games this year. He had internal brace surgery on his elbow in July and could be ready for spring training. George Springer is now a free agent. Jesús Sánchez was put on waivers late in the year and claimed by the Diamondbacks. Arizona designated Sánchez for assignment two days ago.

Nathan Lukes, Josh Smith, Yohendrick Piñango, Davis Schneider and others got lots of playing time in the outfield this year but those guys are either unproven or project as bench/utility guys rather than regulars. In theory, Santander and Barger could be back in the mix next year but are hard to rely on. Adding Suzuki or some other corner bat would be a clear upgrade. Springer’s potential departure leaves the DH spot open, so it would be possible to spread at-bats around if Suzuki, Barger and Santander all end up healthy and productive at the same time.

Sato could be a bit more tricky to fit in. He has mostly been a third baseman in NPB but he does have right field experience. He played a lot of right field in 2021 and 2022 but then not at all in the two subsequent seasons. He returned to right field more recently but only for 26 games last year and 18 this year.

The Jays had Kazuma Okamoto at third base for most of 2026. He can also play first base but the Jays have Vladimir Guerrero Jr. locked in over there. Adding Sato into the mix would mean locking one of those three guys into the DH spot pretty much every day unless the Jays viewed Sato as a viable corner outfielder. The bat is certainly appealing, as Sato has hit 37 home runs in Japan this year with a .315/.392/.620 line and 201 wRC+.

In center field, Bannon mentions that manager John Schneider said Brett Bateman will be “part of the puzzle,” seemingly stopping short of declaring him next year’s starter. Bateman just debuted and has only 41 games on his track record thus far. His numbers are great but the offensive stats come with an asterisk. He hit .329/.402/.424 in 181 plate appearances but his .410 batting average on balls in play was more than 100 points north of league average, so he won’t be able to maintain that pace.

Bateman is a lefty and was better with the platoon advantage this year. Perhaps he and the righty-swinging Myles Straw could platoon in center next year. Both Bannon and Nicholson-Smith suggest Straw would like to be back with the club next year. His contract has an $8MM club option with a $1.75MM buyout, though Cleveland sent $1.75MM to the Jays for that buyout as part of the trade which sent him to Toronto. The $6.25MM difference may be a tad high for a bench outfielder like Straw but he seems to be a beloved clubhouse presence. Perhaps the two sides would work out some kind of new deal to keep him in Toronto next year.

Bannon also teases the possibility of a change on the dirt, reporting that the Jays targeted an unspecified middle infielder at the most recent trade deadline. Shortstop Andrés Giménez and second baseman Ernie Clement are both excellent defenders but neither had a good year at the plate and Clement regressed in the field as well. Giménez hits from the left side and Clement from the right, so there’s an argument for those two to platoon and take up one lineup spot instead of two.

Free agency doesn’t have great options for the Jays. The shortstop class doesn’t really have anyone significantly better than Giménez or Clement. The second base group is a bit better, with Brandon Lowe, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Luis Arraez and Gleyber Torres in there. Those players would likely provide less defensive utility and versatility than Giménez or Clement but perhaps the Jays are willing to live with that tradeoff for some more offense.

Turning to the pitching, the Jays could use rotation help next year. They have Cease, Trey Yesavage and José Soriano in three spots but questions towards the back. Nicholson-Smith teases the possibility of Spencer Miles being a starter next year after he posted a 2.63 ERA as a swingman this year. Miles had hardly any innings on his arm going into 2026 but ended up logging 95 2/3 frames. Schneider suggests the Jays could push that to the 125 range next year but admitted there would be some risk.

Beyond Miles, the options for the back end would include Cody Ponce, Jake Bloss, Bowden Francis, Spencer Arrighetti and others. Those guys were all hurt for all or a majority of 2026, however, and would be tough to rely on. The Jays began 2026 with eight projected starters and still struggled to keep the rotation stocked for most of the year, so they would be motivated to adding more arms.

Bieber wouldn’t add much certainty, as he has largely been injured for the past few years. He spent most of 2024 and 2025 recovering from Tommy John surgery. Arm issues carried over into 2026 and he only pitched 55 2/3 innings with subpar numbers. He’s a former Cy Young winner, so the ceiling is there if he can get healthy and back in good form. Bannon suggests the Jays may be able to get him at a discount since his family has enjoyed their time in Toronto.

Gausman has also spoken positively about his time in Toronto, so that’s another possibility. Gausman was healthy this year but his numbers regressed. His 4.51 ERA was his highest since 2019. Due to some poor luck in terms of batted balls and sequencing, that number is perhaps uncharitable. ERA estimators like his 3.74 FIP and 3.67 SIERA suggest he deserved better. His strikeout, walk and ground ball rates were all quite close to his 2025 numbers. He should still get a lot of interest as a free agent but his age will cap the length of the deal.

Taira is a big wild card. In Japan, he has mostly been a reliever. He moved to the rotation this year with amazing results, posting a 1.36 ERA in 139 innings. His size is also unusual, as he is 5’8″ and 220 pounds. His build has been compared to a catcher and a fire hydrant by FanGraphs and Jeff Passan of ESPN, respectively.

Per MLBTR’s Payroll Tracker, the Jays had a $275MM cash payroll and $316MM competitive balance tax number in 2026, though they would have been higher if they didn’t sell at the deadline. RosterResource puts those numbers at $211MM and $196MM next year. Those numbers don’t include the arbitration class, which will push things up by about $20MM or so, depending on some borderline tender decisions.