Bleacher Report predicts the Blue Jays will sign Seiya Suzuki this winter. Right field is the hole, and he's the bat that fits it.

Erik Beaston made the call, noting the Jays have already been linked to Suzuki by Mitch Bannon of The Athletic.

He's one of the headliners, alongside Tarik Skubal and Brandon Lowe, in an otherwise thin free-agent class. Beaston framed the signing as a way for Toronto "to kick things off with a bang."

The bat is the selling point. He was a Silver Slugger finalist in 2024 and brings right-handed power to a lineup that hit the fewest home runs in baseball.

He's also free to go anywhere. His $85 million contract with the Cubs has expired.

Last winter, Ross Atkins went big. He landed Dylan Cease, Spencer Miles, Tyler Rogers and Kazuma Okamoto in a short span, and the club still finished last in the AL East below .500.

Dylan Cease thanks fans and promises a better Blue Jays team

Cease addressed that directly. "The season didn't go as planned but I can tell you we are all excited and motivated to come back better next season," the ace wrote.

He also thanked fans "for the passionate support you show us!" Coming from the one starter who delivered in his first year in Toronto, the message carries weight.

Motivation won't fill right field, though. So who does?

The other options are messier. A Bryce Harper trade would mean asking him to play right on the Rogers Centre turf, and Anthony Santander is coming off a season lost to a torn labrum.

Atkins should make Suzuki his first call. A proven bat on a clean free-agent deal beats any trade that drains the farm or any reunion built on nostalgia.

Signing him would be like fixing the foundation before repainting the house. Everything else on the to-do list gets easier after that.

The money exists. Mark Shapiro expects payroll to land in a similar area to 2026, with George Springer, Daulton Varsho and Jesus Sanchez all off the books.

Being linked to a star is the easy part. If Toronto lets this one slip away, the promise Cease made gets a lot harder to keep.