Dodgers, Blue Jays' Biggest Offseason Questions After MLB World Series 2025
The Los Angeles Dodgers won the 2025 World Series Saturday night, besting the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 7.
While the Dodgers celebrate and the Blue Jays are left to stew on what might have been, their respective front offices face a few key questions that must be answered this off-season.
From starting lineups to bullpens and a conundrum involving one of the best offensive players on either squad, these are a few of the question marks facing both teams.
Blue Jays: What Does the Starting Rotation Look Like?
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Chris Bassitt and Max Scherzer are free agents this off-season and Shane Bieber will likely join them by voiding his player option and testing the market. That leaves the defending AL champs with playoff phenom Trey Yesavage and the recovering Jose Berrios and Bowden Francis as three of their five starters next season.
Throw in the possibility of Eric Lauer joining the rotation and there is still a need for at least one more starting arm this off-season.
It is, arguably, the most important area of need for a team that is built to be right back in this spot next year if they can reignite the bats come Opening Day.
Dylan Cease, Framber Valdez, Ranger Suárez, Jack Flaherty, and Freddy Peralta are all free agents, and any one of them would immediately elevate the Blue Jays' rotation.
Cease and his 8.1 WAR will be the most coveted on the market. Even coming off a down year for the righty, he is still a strikeout machine and capable of turning in a Cy Young-worthy season at any point.
Whether Toronto pays what will likely be a monster price tag is the question.
The team could always turn back to Bassitt, Bieber, or Scherzer, too, though the playing future of the latter remains in question.
Regardless of who the team gets to fill the voids, the Blue Jays must address that crucial starting pitcher position if they hope to get back to the Fall Classic in 2026.
Dodgers: Where Do They Find Bullpen Help?
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The Dodgers' bullpen ranked among the worst in MLB in 2025, finishing 21st in ERA and 25th in win probability. That part of the team was a problem the team knew about entering the season and leading to the trade deadline, but still did nothing about.
Prized off-season addition Tanner Scott underwhelmed, to say the least, and suffered an infection after the NLDS. Neither him nor Kirby Yates, another player expected to be a foundational piece of the bullpen, were part of the World Series roster.
Add to that future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw wrapping up an unbelievable career with Saturday's game and you have a major point of emphasis for the franchise this offseason.
Edgardo Henriquez and Will Klein came through big time for the champs and there is always a chance that the team calls on its developmental system to replenish the bullpen and give them something consistent beyond Rōki Sasaki to work with.
Blue Jays: Solving the Bo Bichette Conundrum
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Bo Bichette is an exceptional offensive talent who delivered 181 hits, 18 home runs, and 94 RBI. He was impactful when he finally did appear in the World Series, even at less than 100 percent, delivering eight hits, two runs, and a home run while driving in another six.
He has a cumulative WAR of 20.0 in his career with the Blue Jays.
As much of an offensive difference-maker as he is at the plate, Bichette is a shortstop whose defensive play has been suspect, at best. Though he has improved from his early days, he is still a player at a key position on the diamond with an unimpressive fielding percentage of .966, per FanGraphs.
Bichette is a free agent this off-season and carries a market value of eight years, $186 million.
The Blue Jays will have to decide if a Bichette's offensive contributions are worth the money the team will have to pay to keep him, especially amid recent injuries, or if they are better off letting him walk and finding someone else who can put the bat to ball and provide the offensive spark that he has when healthy and at his best.
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