TORONTO — After limping to the finish line in 2024 sporting an offence that ended up 23rd in runs scored, 27th in homers, 27th in stolen bases and hit into more demoralizing double plays than all but three other teams, it’s very clear that lineup improvements are key to the Toronto Blue Jays’ retool.

The spots they have to fill are pretty obvious, too.

There are three gaping holes that scream for big-bat additions — third base, left field and DH.

The other spots on the diamond are mostly spoken for at this point, but there’s also a chance a trade could shift needs in the blink of an eye, and we’ll get to some trade targets the Jays could be eyeing in a separate piece later this week.

Luckily for the Jays, the free-agent market and their needs line up reasonably this winter, which wasn’t the case a year ago.

While third base might be tricky, finding production in left field and DH should be fairly easy, and this list of my favourite options reflects that.

The interest is real, as is the ability to meet his financial demands.

Will Soto choose the city of Toronto and the Jays? That seems to be the only question.

It would be a shocking decision for those south of the border and it might rattle the baseball world for a while, but it’s on the bingo card at least.

Not much needs to be said about Soto.

He’s a generational hitter and one who’s only 26, which means you could conceivably envision Soto producing for the entirety of a 10-year contract, a rare occurrence when it comes to these mega deals.

He’s not Shohei Ohtani, but he’s pretty darn close and Jays ownership........

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