Blue Jays Difficult Decision: Trading Chris Bassitt May Be the Only Option
After bringing back right-hander Yimi García ($7.5 million AAV) and acquiring infielder Andrés Giménez (approximately $19.3 million AAV) and righty Nick Sandlin (projected $1.6 million arbitration salary), the Toronto Blue Jays are starting to run a little thin on financial flexibility for 2025.
Those deals added roughly $28.5 million in average annual value to the franchise’s projected Competitive Balance Tax (CBT) payroll for next season, which sits at approximately $228.4 million, according to Fangraphs’ RosterResource.
With major question marks still in the outfield, behind the plate and at the designated hitter spot on the position-player side, plus in the starting rotation and bullpen, the job is far from finished for Toronto’s front office.
Every dollar spent this off-season must be used wisely, given how many holes the Blue Jays have to fill. Maintaining that mindset will also be extra important as the club’s 2025 projected CBT payroll inches closer to the luxury-tax line.
Following the García signing and Giménez trade, Toronto only has roughly $13 million in off-season spending before approaching the initial luxury tax threshold of $241 million — presenting very little breathing room to address the rest of the roster. However, odds are management will have the green light to become a luxury-tax-paying club for the second time in franchise history.
The first occurrence was in 2023 when the franchise’s CBT payroll finished just above $246 million per FanGraphs, placing between the first and second luxury tax thresholds. And they were on track to repeat that fate last season before dipping below the luxury tax amidst a midseason sell-off of expiring contracts ahead of the trade deadline.
Since the Blue Jays’ spending limits in ’25 are expected to mirror closely from the last two seasons, constructing a competitive roster will undoubtedly require them to land somewhere between those first two luxury tax figures, likely providing $20-$30 million in additional spending.
