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If this off-season were a noise contest, then Mark Shapiro made the loudest with his latest comments.

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Shapiro, even after his team, the Toronto Blue Jays, did so much damage in this winter’s market, had one message: this is not enough. And in that same breath, he mentions that – it landed like a salt rub for the Yankees, who by comparison have done nothing.

“My philosophy in free agency is there is no such thing as close,” Shapiro said. “You’re done or not done. There is nothing in between… We need to get better.”

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That’s the ultimatum for all the teams. Jays are far from done, and maybe the names they have circled in red—Shapiro has circled too.

Needless to say, Toronto has already been one of the most aggressive teams this offseason. They got Dylan Cease, they got Tyler Rogers, and they got Cody Ponce. This was not a contract equivalent to window shopping. This was the front office making calculated moves against what stacks up against the aggressive AL East.

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Yet Shapiro still stood there and said, plainly, We’re not done. And if you zoom out one layer, Shapiro didn’t act like the division was standing still. In fact, he openly appreciated Baltimore and its surge and praised Boston and its long-term positioning, and also lumped the Yankees into the “not done” group.

However, that comment, if you put it under the microscope, can be taken both ways—because for sure, Yanks are not done, but it’s because they have not done anything much at all!

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Much of the winter has been spent with the New York Yankees simply being confused. They are after certain players, but don’t commit. Meanwhile, Hal Steinbrenner is there, mentioning how they are on a payroll crunch. At the same time, the front office is all about championship or bust claims.

But where are the moves to break that championship drought? Nada! That contrast is deep; Shapiro is saying, “We need to get better.” After all, Toronto has done so much, which only highlights how little New York has.

Meanwhile, Shapiro’s words can also be dug deeper to take out more meaning—maybe they are planning something bigger!

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Is Mark Shapiro cooking up something big for the Blue Jays? 

If there is one thing that Shapiro’s statements underlined, it is that they are far from done, and they need to get better. Sure, the wait seems long, but according to Sportsnet insider Shi Davidi, the Jays are very much in the picture for getting two of the biggest names in the market—Bo Bichette & Kyle Tucker.

“They remain engaged on Bo Bichette and Kyle Tucker and have kept their options open across that front,” Davidi wrote. Also noting that Toronto’s returning core gives them both confidence and flexibility as they add on the other big pieces.

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This alone is enough to turn heads. Because landing one big bat could be a massive achievement, and adding both? That would reshape the AL picture. Now, sure, Toronto has been rather patient. Ross Atkins, in fact, tried to lower expectations, saying getting another impact position player would be different.

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But it’s not just one insider giving the buzz. Even Jeff Passan thinks Toronto is far from finished and could swing twice. Even though he adds a warning with that, too. See, the logic is simple—the Blue Jays think they have a real shot at a championship, and this is a chance that’s coming to them for the first time since 1993.

Plus, they would want to maximize all the chances of getting runs when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is at his prime.

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They came off a heartbreaking Game 7 loss to the Dodgers, and the ownership has made it clear—their goal is to change that. The foundation is in place; maybe they need to wait for the right moment to bite the bullet and make the next big move.

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