Toronto Blue Jays‘ George Springer will be a free agent after the 2026 season. The veteran is coming off a big bounce-back season, hitting .309 with 154 hits, 32 homers, 84 RBIs, and 106 runs scored in 140 games in 2025 while winning his third Silver Slugger award, per StatMuse.
At 36 years old, Springer is in the final stages of his MLB career, and with free agency looming next offseason, the question is whether he will get to end his career north of the border or will another team see out the final year or two of his career.
On the Jan. 21 edition of “Toronto Sports Rush,” MLB.com’s Blue Jays reporter, Keegan Matheson, shared his take on how the Springer situation could play out.
“He really seemed to kind of find that joy for baseball again last year,” Matheson said of Springer. “I think there may be more beyond this for George, and if he can find a place where he’s DHing, plays the outfield once or twice a week, where he’s still good, he’s still solid, you’re not throwing a clunker out there to run around, I think he can keep this rolling.
“And especially given his experience, given his ability to hit in big moments like we saw last year, Game 7 of the ALCS. Fascinated to see where that goes. Now, whether it’s in Toronto or not, I don’t know. We’ll see.”
MLB Work Stoppage Could Impact George Springer
Whether or not Springer continues in Toronto remains to be seen, but Matheson is convinced that if he can come close to replicating what he did in 2025, he can certainly continue playing in the majors. However, a potential work stoppage could get in the way of this.
“I hope that a potential work disruption next year with the CBA does not get in the way of that,” Matheson said about a work stoppage impacting Springer’s final stage of his career. “I hope that, however George decides [to end his career], he can do it on his terms. But there’s a spark there, man, and I’m interested to see this spring training for him.
“I was thinking about his last spring again just the other day, when he looked terrible in the spring. Just like he had looked pretty slow, pretty out of steam the year before, and the middle of February last year, middle of March, it looked bad, and he discovered something. So, we’ll see if he can keep that momentum going.”
2026 Blue Jays Outlook for Springer
With Bo Bichette leaving for the New York Mets, the Blue Jays will need someone to step in and replace his production. Springer did put up impressive numbers in 2025; if he can come anywhere close to that, it would be a major help for Toronto, which is looking to return to the World Series in 2026 after falling short last season.
Moreover, if this were to be the end of Springer with the Blue Jays, it would be ideal for him to go out performing as he did last season to show he still has plenty of gas left in his tank.
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