The first major event will take place from November 10 to 13, when the annual general manager meetings take place. This is not to be confused with the Winter Meetings, which take place in December. The Manager of the Year will be announced on November 11; hopefully it’s Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider.
On November 18, players must decide whether or not to accept the qualifying offer. The only Blue Jay likely to get a qualifying offer is Bo Bichette, and he will surely turn it down. The same day is the Rule 5 protection deadline. Players eligible for the Rule 5 draft who are not on the 40-man roster can be selected in the draft in December.
The last notable thing in November is the non-tender deadline on November 21. The annual Winter Meetings take place two and a half weeks later. Expect most transactions to take place during the four days of December 7 to 10.
The draft lottery will take place on December 9, which will not affect the Blue Jays in any way. What will impact the Blue Jays is the Rule 5 draft the following day, as a handful of notable players such as Ricky Tiedemann and Yohendrick Piñango are eligible for the draft.
Ahead of the new year, January 8 is the day when teams and players submit arbitration grades. A week later, on January 15, the 2026 International Free Agency begins. The 2026 Hall of Fame class will be announced on January 21, and arbitration hearings will take place sometime in early February.
Thus, the offseason comes to an end as February 20 is the mandatory reporting date for all players, marking the start of Spring Training. In addition, the World Baseball Classic runs from March 5 to 17. Opening day is March 26.
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