On October 21, 2012, the Blue Jays officially announced that they had released their manager John Farrell from his contract in the same agreement that sent David Carpenter to the Red Sox in exchange for Mike Avilés.
After the end of the 2012 season, the Blue Jays lost a number of players including Carlos Villanueva, Kelly Johnson, Jason Frasor and Brandon Lyon.
The Blue Jays started their offseason by signing free agent Maicer Izturis to a three-year $9 million deal with an option year, on November 8.
On the same day as the Izturis signing, the Blue Jays acquired RHP Jeremy Jeffress from the Kansas City Royals for cash considerations.
On February 5, 2013 at the annual state of the franchise address, manager John Gibbons named reigning National League Cy Young Award winner R. A. Dickey as the opening day starter for the Blue Jays.