How the 2025 Blue Jays just gave the Pirates a perfect 2026 blueprint for Paul Skenes

The Toronto Blue Jays finished dead last in the American League East in 2024. A year later, they're playing in the World Series.

But how did they get here?

The 2025 Blue Jays proved you can’t spreadsheet your way to the World Series. Rather, you have to build a team that believes. If the Pittsburgh Pirates stop punting offseasons, invest in complementary veterans, trust their youth and finally embrace urgency, they can become the National League's version of the 2025 Blue Jays in 2026 – flawed, underwhelming on paper, but impossible to kill when it matters most.

Blue Jays' Vladimir Guerrero Jr. extension gives Pirates blueprint to build contender around Paul Skenes

The Blue Jays realized that their future revolved around one foundational superstar – Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – the same way the Pirates’ future revolves around Paul Skenes. Instead of letting Guerrero’s contract status become a distraction or losing him to free agency panic, Toronto chose commitment and clarity.

Toronto signed Guerrero to a 14-year, $500 million contract extension in April – a deal that keeps him with the team through the 2039 season and was a record-setting deal for the franchise, defying expectations that Toronto would remain passive and let their superstar walk in free agency.

The Blue Jays didn't pursue stars to build around Guerrero; they pursued solutions. Their “headline” offseason acquisitions – Anthony Santander (.565 OPS), Andrés Giménez (.598 OPS), Max Scherzer (5.19 ERA), Jeff Hoffman (4.37 ERA, seven blown saves) – were objectively below average.

Even Bo Bichette, Toronto's lineup anchor, hasn’t played since September 6 due to a knee injury. Yet, the team still found ways to win because they built around function, not flash. Santander's defense and switch-hitting helped balance their lineup. Giménez stabilized second base after years of turnover at the position. Hoffman and Scherzer soaked up innings and experience, even if inefficiently. The bullpen had defined roles.

The Blue Jays’ decision to extend Guerrero while surrounding him with solid, affordable, role-specific talent rather than chasing big-ticket free agents is a perfect template for how the Pirates can build a sustainable contender around Skenes. Toronto certainly didn't win the offseason, but they built a team that worked. In that same vein, the Pirates don’t need to chase a splashy $20 million player; they need to build a roster where no weakness kills them.

Toronto didn't necessarily get better because their stars got better; they got better because their supporting cast evolved. Players like Alejandro Kirk and Davis Schneider played above expectations, allowing the Blue Jays to ride internal development over external splurging. They proved that when you combine league-average veterans with homegrown breakthroughs, you can mask a lot of deficiencies.

The Pirates' front office hides behind "budget restrictions," but the Blue Jays showed that urgency is free. They didn't win because of payroll; they won because they played like a team with something to prove after finishing last. They spent modestly but strategically and traded from surplus instead of waiting for perfect timing.

Perhaps the Blue Jays’ biggest move wasn’t financial, but rather, philosophical. Extending Guerrero signaled to everyone in the clubhouse that Toronto was no longer in “development” mode. It said, “We have our guy. Now it’s time to win with him, not wait for him.” That paradigm shift trickled down as veterans bought in, young players matured and front-office decision-making became win-oriented.

Extending Skenes would be that same line in the sand moment for Pittsburgh. It would tell fans and players that the Pirates are no longer hoarding prospects; they’re building a contender. If the Pirates follow Toronto's blueprint – extend Skenes, stabilize the roster and invest in competence – they won’t need to “get lucky" to win. They’ll have built what the Blue Jays built: a winning ecosystem that makes luck unnecessary.