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As a friendly reminder, questions for future editions should be sent to bluejaysmailbag@gmail.com. The following questions have been edited for length and grammar:

Any early takeaways from spring training? Give me something to feel good about.

— Tom, Barrie

The biggest takeaway is that I think Bo Bichette is going to have a huge year. He was making the hardest and most consistent contact of any hitter during the early days of camp and he entered play Wednesday (a 7-6 loss to the Pirates in Bradenton, Fla.) with three extra-base hits in 18 Grapefruit League at-bats. Bichette was one of MLB’s most consistent performers before last season and I expect him to get back to that previous level. The prediction here is that by the summer the Jays will regret not having signed him to a long-term contract extension.

At a time when Canadians are moving to limit their spending on everything American, how will they feel about playing along with Major League Baseball, a major U.S. industry? Would they pay to see the Jays play one U.S. team after another?

Taken to the extreme by enough people, this would undermine the financial viability of the Jays and force their relocation to an American city. I am prepared to see that page turned. How about you?

— Cam

That seems a bit extreme. Look, I’m not in a position to tell fans what to do. I’m here to inform readers about the Jays and MLB while inserting my opinion regarding moves that are made on and off the field. If fans decide they want to boo the American anthem because of an unprovoked trade war, that’s their right. So too is boycotting a predominantly American league. 

That said, I don’t support taking such an extreme step of boycotting the game. One, I’d be out of a job. Two, I love the sport too much. And three, the Jays are owned by a Canadian company so I’m not sure what purpose it would serve. Forcing a relocation would only aid whatever U.S. location ends up getting the team. That sounds like a win for Donald Trump and his legion of soulless sycophants, not Canadians.

Let me politely suggest another approach instead. For fans in the Maritimes, consider cancelling that annual trip to Fenway Park and visit Rogers Centre. Same for the fans out west who attend games in Seattle and others who go to Minnesota, Detroit and Cleveland. If pc28����isn’t your thing, fly to Vancouver and get to know some of the prospects in Class-A. Watch spring games on TV, instead of in Florida. There are ways to do this without giving up on pro ball.

Given their track record in Cleveland, the failure of the Jays in the playoffs, the Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto false hope, and last year’s awful season, why are Ross Atkins and Mark Shapiro still in charge?

— David E.

You’re forcing me to be the devil’s advocate, but I’ll play along. The argument for keeping Shapiro and Atkins is that business has been booming. The Jays might have finished in last place, but they ranked inside the top 10 for attendance while maintaining strong television ratings. Prior to 2024, they had also made the playoffs in two consecutive seasons, so it’s not like they’ve been terrible for a long time.

An argument could be made that the front office deserved a do-over. I’m just not going to be the one to write it, because I don’t believe it. In my opinion, the time to make a change was at the start of the off-season so a new regime could be the one to make decisions on Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette. Ultimately, it was Edward Rogers’s call and he stuck by his hired guns.

The Jays should do a lot of things … like making sense. Trading Vlad would be one of them, and the Expos (Washington Nationals) would be a good trading partner. I bet he’d love to play for the organization that provided his father with the field to establish his marvellous credentials. 

— David W., Fredericton

I’m including this note because this week’s mailbag was littered with hypothetical Guerrero trades. Let me save everyone time by firmly stating it’s not going to happen any time soon. There’s a reason free agent Pete Alonso took so long to sign this winter: Only a select number of teams had money to spend and even fewer required a first baseman.

The New York Mets and Yankees already have their first basemen lined up for the year. So do Boston and Houston. Washington recently traded for Nathaniel Lowe. The Los Angeles Angels could find room but have few prospects to offer in return.

Needs will arise later in the year but the market for Guerrero is almost non-existent right now and figures to remain that way until the summer. The Jays also made assurances to their own free agents about trying to contend in 2025, so this team isn’t going to sell unless it’s out of the playoff race by July.

How did Joey Loperfido get to be the “favourite” to sub in for Daulton Varsho? He did not demonstrate enough last year to warrant that. He’s no better than Jonatan Clase, and should be behind Steward Berroa and Myles Straw.

— Michael, Winnipeg

The Jays haven’t publicly called Loperfido a “favourite.” That was my wording in a recent article, not theirs. I wrote it that way as an educated guess based on what I heard this spring and my own expectations for how this year’s camp would unfold.

Why Loperfido? He’s already 25 and spent most of the last two years at Triple-A and above. Clase is 22 and only got promoted to Triple-A last season. Maybe you’re right that Clase will become the better player, but there’s no reason to rush him while there’s more to learn in the minors.

Loperfido is close to aging out as a prospect. He has nothing left to prove in the minors, so the Jays might as well take an extended look at what they have. Writing him off because of a two-month sample size would be short-sighted. There’s a lot of intriguing power here, so I’m on board with giving him a shot in April before exploring other options as necessary.

Do you see a role for Davis Schneider? He was a nice story at first, but I can’t see how he can really be an important part of the team moving forward. 

— Rob B., Sydney, Australia

That would depend on how you define “important.” Sorry, I’ve been listening to Atkins a bit too much lately. Schneider is unlikely to take on a large role this year, but he could still carve out a job. The Jays have two left-handed hitters in the outfield with Loperfido and Varsho. A third, Anthony Santander, bats from both sides of the plate. What this team lacks is a right-handed hitter that mashes lefties.

To win that spot, Scheider needs to justify it with production. He performed worse against lefties than he did against righties last ear, but it was the opposite in 2023. If he goes back to swinging like he did during his rookie season, the opportunities will follow, but he has an uphill battle to make the team as a reserve over Nathan Lukes and possibly Straw.