💥 BREAKING NEWS: Blue Jays send shockwaves through MLB as they lock in core stars and signal an all-in run for 2025 glory ⚡.DD
Toronto Blue Jays stars like Ernie Clement and Daulton Varsho were tendered contracts on Friday.
Nov 1, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Ernie Clement (22) reacts after hitting a double against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the eighth inning for game seven of the 2025 MLB World Series at Rogers Centre. | Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
The Toronto Blue Jays reached the World Series for the first time since 1993 and were oh, so close to winning it once again. Although they fell just short, they have one of the best young cores in all of baseball that they feel comfortable moving forward yet.
There are the obvious stars like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and George Springer who are locked up, but then there’s less famous stars such as Andres Gimenez, who was a big contributor during the playoffs. With a roster that deep and after such a great run, it felt obvious that Toronto was going to try to run it back.
The obvious elephant in the room is Bo Bichette, but time will tell if Toronto is going to be able to bring him back. In the meantime, they are going everything they can to keep all of their pieces in place. Before Friday’s non-tender deadline, Toronto extended contracts to all of their eligible players, including playoff heroes Daulton Varsho and Ernie Clement, according to The Athletic’s Mitch Bannon.
Four Players Tendered Contracts on Friday
The list of players includes Varsho, Clement, Eric Lauer and Tyler Heineman. The first two were obvous choices as they were intrugal to the Blue Jays playoff run.
Varsho, a former catcher, is one of the best defensive center fielders in baseball with a 95th percentil outs above average, according to Baseball Savant. The Gold Glover has pop as well. In his three seasons in Toronto, he’s hit 10 home runs.
He only played 71 games due to a hamstring injury, but in 2024 he had the second most bWAR on the team with 5.0. During the World Series run, he had four doubles, a triple, three home runs and a .711 OPS. Keeping him was crucial to the defense of the AL champions.
Clement was the other postseason star tendered a contract. The 29-year-old is coming off of one of the most successful playoff runs ever, setting a new MLB record with 30 hits. He hit .411 with a .977 OPS. But that isn’t his only success at the big league level.
He was third on the Jays in bWAR in 2024 with 3.4 and had an even better season in 2025. He posted a .711 OPS and 4.3 bWAR in 157 regular season games. Clement doesn’t get the attention that the stars do, but he’s been an important part of the Blue Jays for the past two seasons.
He more than earned a contract offer after the postseason he had. Combine that with the potential loss of Bichette, and Clement becomes even more important to that infield.
Lauer was an unsung hero of the entire season for Toronto. In 104.2 innings, he posted a 3.18 ERA and 2.2 bWAR in his first action since 2023. He gave the Blue Jays flexibility as he started 15 of his 28 games. He could give length later in the game or by just starting it, which became important with Max Scherzer’s injury.
He continued to do the same in the playoffs, allowing just three runs in 8.2 innings. A valuable weapon, it was a no-brainer to tender Lauer a contract. He will play a big role again in 2025, especially with Chris Bassitt hitting free agency.
Heineman was tendered a contract. The backup catcher posted 1.9 bWAR and a .777 OPS in 61 games during the regular season.
Not only was offering the contracts an attempt to keep the World Series team together as much as possible, it was an actual need for the Blue Jays. Each player was vital in their own was to the World Series team and there’s no reason that won’t be the case in 2026.
