Toronto Blue Jays: Which star to prioritize re-signing first

Ideally the Blue Jays will be able to retain both Robbie Ray and Marcus Semien, but if they can only have one, who should they prioritize?

That’s a question that the Blue Jays’ front office is going to be asking themselves over the next few weeks and maybe even months, and I’m sure they’ll be trying to get something done with both players before free agency officially opens. As their current team for the time being, the Blue Jays have the advantage of being able to make some offers now rather than having to wait until after the World Series.

However, the Jays are only going to have so much control over how each situation plays out, especially if Semien and/or Ray decide that they want to test free agency rather than agreeing to an extension. Other teams can’t officially contact the pending free agents, but just like in other sports, players know each other and reach out with informal ideas and information. That kinda thing may give both veterans an idea of what could be out there for them.

The other obstacle in the way for the Blue Jays is something we’ve talked about before here at Jays Journal, and that’s the sheer amount of star-level players this team may need to re-sign over the next few years. On top of Semien and Ray (Steven Matz was also a valuable contributor in 2021 and will also join them in free agency) the Jays have to think about a possible extension for Jose Berrios after the 2022 season, Teoscar Hernandez in 2023, and even Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette after the 2025 campaign. With George Springer’s AAV of 25 million on the books along with two more years of Hyun Jin Ryu at 20 million, you can only retain so many high salaried players.

Having said all that, I’d like to make a case for the pair of stars that are hitting the market in the immediate future, and which one might be the more important player to bring back.