The top international amateurs sign as teenagers. Some are future stars. Many are total busts. In 2015, the Blue Jays went all-in on the 16-year-old son of a Hall of Famer, giving Vladimir Guerrero Jr. $3.9 million \u2014 more than they were technically allowed to spend \u2014 to sign out of the Dominican Republic. They traded two prospects to the Dodgers for extra international pool money to help offset the cost.<\/p>\n
That 2015 international class was correctly identified<\/a> as an elite collection of talent, but of the 13 players who received at least a $2-million bonus,<\/a> only Guerrero has become a true star. The other standouts from that year \u2014 Juan Soto, Fernando Tatis Jr., Yordan Alvarez, Jazz Chisholm Jr., and others \u2014 were all sub-$2 million signings, many signing for much less than what the Blue Jays gave Guerrero. The others who got such massive bonuses have largely faded from relevance.<\/p>\n Guerrero, though, has lived up to his name. Still just 26 years old, he\u2019s been an All-Star the past five seasons in a row, and in that time, only Bryce Harper and Freddie Freeman have produced a higher wRC+ at first base (and even those two haven\u2019t been much better). Guerrero\u2019s 14-year, $500-million extension kicks in next season, and he\u2019s been one of the game\u2019s top performers this postseason.<\/p>\n Step 2 \u2014 Keep building the young core<\/p>\n The Blue Jays largely whiffed on their top two draft picks in 2016, but they made up for it with their third pick, shortstop Bo Bichette, who signed for an over-slot bonus and emerged almost immediately as one of the game\u2019s top prospects. Bichette has been the Blue Jays\u2019 primary shortstop since 2019, and after a disappointing 2024, he was back among the game\u2019s best at the position this season. He\u2019s so far missed the postseason with a knee injury, but a World Series return is possible. It could be a fitting farewell before he becomes a free agent next month.<\/p>\n Also in 2016, the Blue Jays struck gold \u2014 again \u2014 on the international market. Because they\u2019d overspent on Guerrero the year before, the Blue Jays were not allowed to spend heavily on the 2016 IFA class, but they nevertheless landed a gem in 17-year-old Mexican catcher Alejandro Kirk (they also signed current Marlins infielder Otto Lopez and Diamondbacks catcher Gabriel Moreno; more on him in a bit). Kirk didn\u2019t look the part of an elite prospect, but he hit his way onto the radar and eventually to the big leagues. He\u2019s now a two-time All-Star and recently signed a five-year extension.<\/p>\n Step 3 \u2014 Turn the page<\/p>\n When the Blue Jays made the playoffs in 2015 and \u201916, it was with an entirely different generation of players. Those Blue Jays teams were built around Jos\u00e9 Bautista, Josh Donaldson and Edwin Encarnacion. They had star power.<\/p>\n By the time Guerrero arrived in April of 2019, though, only Marcus Stroman remained from the previous core. Even Stroman had been traded by the time Bichette made his debut that July. After nearly winning the pennant in \u201915 and \u201916, the Blue Jays weathered three seasons of losing records before reemerging as a playoff team with essentially an all-new roster in 2020. They\u2019ve been building upon that new core ever since.<\/p>\n Step 4 \u2014 Add a veteran bat<\/p>\n \n George Springer had a bounceback year in 2025, leading the Blue Jays in many offensive categories. (Mark Smith \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n Having returned to the playoffs in 2020, the Blue Jays stopped their rebuild and began building toward a championship. In the winter of 2020-21, they signed Robbie Ray, nearly traded for Francisco Lindor, then signed George Springer to a six-year, $150-million contract that was, at the time, the largest deal in franchise history (the team also added Marcus Semien, Kirby Yates and Steven Matz that winter).<\/p>\n Springer\u2019s time with the Blue Jays has been inconsistent. He\u2019s dealt with injuries and had a career-worst .674 OPS in 2024, but at 36 years old, he\u2019s been resurgent this season. Only Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani produced a higher wRC+ in the regular seasons, and Springer\u2019s 5.2 fWAR was eighth-best in the American League. The Blue Jays signed Springer to help lead them back to the World Series, and in the next-to-last year of his contract, he\u2019s done exactly that.<\/p>\n Step 5 \u2014 Finally land an ace<\/p>\n\n
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