The Jays are plotting something HUGE...

Toronto Blue Jays are going all in as folks, a huge new report has just dropped from multiple reporters revealing the Jays are planning something huge and that they have their check book ready for some massive, massive free agents. We're going to break down the reports and discuss how something big is coming in Toronto, as well as an interesting note revealing some pretty wild details surrounding the impending lockout that has big implications, as well as a bunch of other news today. Let's dive into it. So Jim Bowden came out today and said that not only do the Blue Jays have their checkbook ready, their checkbooks open, that they're going to be searching for the top of the market, including Tarek Skubal, Freddy Peralta, and Seiya Suzuki. Now, this isn't just Jim Bowden who heard this as well as back in September 28th, Mitch Bannon of The Athletic reported the Jays are also expected to pursue Suzuki and MLB.com wrote it wouldn't be a shock to see Toronto kick the tires on Tarek Skubal. You want to stay up to date with all the latest Jays news and see where this Tarek Skubal sweepstakes go, make sure to hit that subscribe button. We're very, very close to 25,000 subscribers. You guys have been absolute beasts with the sports. Thank you guys for that. Now, you know, the casual fan or other fans of teams may wonder why on earth would the Jays, who just finished 79-83, want to spend that much money? I mean, the reason's obvious, right? This team is always willing to spend huge. And for a team that hit the fewest home runs in baseball and has one of the biggest checkbooks in baseball, this is the time to do it. You arguably need a pitcher and a bat. You obviously need the bat first, but... Being interested in Tarek Skubal is not a surprise to anybody here, but the fact that they're willing to open their checkbooks once again with an impending lockout is at the very least a very encouraging sign. Let's start with Tarek Skubal. Now, I don't need to have a whole video discussing why he makes sense, but let's dive into some new reports and kind of where things stand. So Tarek Skubal is simply one of the best pitchers on the market. It's not even close. In 2025 with Detroit, he had a 2.21 ERA, struck out 241. And since 2000, only 86 seasons had an ERA of a 2.75 or lower with 200 strikeouts. And Skubal ranks 18th. That wasn't a one-off either. 2024 struck out 228. He is a very good pitcher. And quite frankly, if the Jays do somehow land Tarek Skubal, which they're going to try to do, this would be one of the best rotations in baseball. And I mean, arguably the best duo in baseball, maybe behind a couple of other teams with Tarek Skubal and Dylan Cease. He doesn't walk, guys. He doesn't give up free bases. He has one of the best fastballs in the game, one of the best off-speed pitches in. And one other note as well that people aren't talking about, because he finished the year as a Dodger, there was no qualifying offer, which means you sign him, you don't lose a single draft pick. And right now, of course, the starters on our contractor, Cease, Ponce, Soriano, Yassavage, and Miles, I guess. Nobody else in that group is really an ace. You could throw Barrios in there as a potential starter, but you put him next to Dylan Cease, Trey Yassavage, Jose Soriano. Wow. Now, Jim Bowden said that if Skubal costs too much, the Jays could have a plan B, which involves Sonny Gray and Michael King. I'm going to have full videos covering both those guys in the future, but neither of them are Tarek Skubal. And do I think Skubal to the Jays is likely? No, right? Like it's going to be a, it's a far, it's far-fetched for sure. But I think one thing that is important here is that this is now the third or fourth report revealing that the Jays are going all in this offseason. And yes, it's not the same offseason we've seen in the past where there's super, super stars outside of Tarek Skubal, but this is very important. We've been covering Seiya Suzuki for a while, but I do want to touch on him again as well, just because he has been picking up, I mean, the most steam I've ever seen for the Toronto Blue Jays. There's report after report saying the Jays make the most sense. Ken Rosenthal, the Jays are going to be in. Mark Finesend even, which I'll have a video on coming soon, basically saying that it's the Jays. He makes the most sense. And why do the Jays want Seiya Suzuki? Well, I've covered it before, but he's an animal. He had 26 home runs, drove in 86 with an .841 OPS. His on-base percentage was .368, which is 92nd percentile. And per our stats desk, he was worth about 5.1 wins with the bat. And no Jays hitter was worth more than three WAR this year. He barely chases. His chase rate's in the 89th percentile. He is insane. It's obvious why he would fit with the Jays. Now, there is different reports coming out about how much he's, you know... worth. One article dropped, I think it was today, four years, 90 million. I do that in a heartbeat. I drive to the airport to pick him up. Now on the Skubal front, very, very different, right? I mean, Skubal is going to go for 425 plus million dollars. So if you can somehow, and again, this is going to sound crazy, somehow get Seiya Suzuki and Tarik Skubal, which I'm not going to put it past the Jays. Maybe this is the off season. We finally get the two big fish, but it's going to It's going to be very wild. Now, if they do get Seiya Suzuki, keep in mind, they do give up a pick. There's been some predictions about him going to Seattle, about him going to the Jays. FanSided has him at four years, a hundred million dollars. The question is, can they afford both? And the answer is yes. Now, obviously right now, the $39 million under the 2027 tax line of 247 million. There's some big deals in the books. They're losing a lot of, you know, they're saving a lot of money with, you know, George Springer being gone, Kevin Gorman on Skubal's front. Guesses have ran from 176 million to 500 million. Now, ESPN polled insiders, and the average that came out was eight years and $355 million. Now, for context, the record for one year is 43.33 million, held by Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander. Of course, if the poll ran through, that would work. So Skubal alone is bigger than all kind of, you know, all those combined. And keep in mind, with the Jays, there's no salary cap. We have an update on that later. So they can spend if they want to. Jeff Passan himself has floated Tarik Skubal going well past $300 million, maybe $400 million, and I would expect it to beat Tarik Skubal's deal. This is a proven, proven pitcher who's one of, if not the best in the league. And the Jays have done this before. Last winter, signing Dylan Cease cost them their second round pick and their fifth round pick, and going way over the tax, pushed their top first rounder back 10 spots. Ownership doesn't care. This is an ownership that has shown its willingness to spend. It has shown its willingness to pursue the top free agent in every single offseason. Shohei Ohtani, Juan Soto, Roki Sasaki, Yamamoto to a degree. They got Okamoto. And with a salary cap pending, I think this is, and the reason this is so important, this might be the Jays' last chance to really flex those muscles before, of course, we play ball in the 2027 season. Now on and speaking about the lockout, Jeff Passan reported today that the MLB has proposed pushing that cap, the proposed salary cap, back to the 2028 season because teams are having a hard time navigating free agency with all this uncertainty. The players are obviously still fighting a cap, but if one does come in 2028, this could be the last winter Toronto gets to spend like this. And on that note, there's already moves happening to the Jays' front office. David Bell had been the Jays' assistant GM and VP of operations since the winter of 2024. He was in charge of player development. He stepped down today, per Ken Rosenthal, which is very interesting. And there's been no replacement named yet. It's one less voice in the room. He obviously is somebody that... It's interesting it happens right before free agency. In his words, he said, I decided to step away and reassess where I can make the greatest impact on and off the field. With all that being said, the clock is here, right? Like we are now 28 days away from the lockout. It runs out December 1st, 11:59 PM. Jeff Passan says Skubal is expected to sign before then and that the Dodgers and Mets are the most obvious suitors. So if the Toronto Blue Jays want him, You can't wait for the market to come. They're going to have to go out. And free agency is officially open about 24 hours ago. And it's going to be crazy. Here's my take, though. It's clear from multiple reports the Jays are going as big as they can. They have every single offseason. The question is, are they going to go after Skubal and a guy like Seiya Suzuki? Are they going to go after Seiya Suzuki and Michael King? I don't think by me saying all in. They don't need Tarek Skubal. Obviously, I'm covering him because the report said the Jays are interested in Skubal, but they don't need him, right? If you go out and you get Seiya Suzuki plus a pitcher, you're in a very, very good spot, right? You're in a position to where this team right now can go out and really make an impact. And maybe it's through a starting pitcher. Maybe it's through a guy like Brandon Lowe instead of Seiya Suzuki in your workaround. At the end of the day, pay the tax if it gets the deal done early. You've got to get the player. Most importantly, you have to fix this offense because if you don't, we're going to be running back in last year's offense in 2027.