TORONTO – The Toronto Blue Jays entered into an exclusive five-day negotiating window with their nine impending free agents Thursday, a list headlined by franchise icons Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista.

Neither slugger is expected to sign before free agents become eligible to sign with any team at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, when the annual general managers’ meetings get started in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Still, the five days give the Blue Jays an opportunity to set the bar in talks with Encarnacion and Bautista, two of the top offensive players available in free agency, or at minimum gauge what type of contract each is seeking.

That in turn will allow president and CEO Mark Shapiro and GM Ross Atkins to assess how the two players might fit into their 2017 payroll. The Blue Jays are believed to at minimum have received enough guidance on a payroll figure to begin their off-season, if not a final number to work off.

Already the Blue Jays have $103.3 million guaranteed to eight players, not including a $3 million option on reliever Jason Grilli that must be exercised by 5 p.m. ET Monday and will be. Marcus Stroman, projected by MLB Trade Rumors to earn $3.5 million next year, will be the only player to earn a substantial raise through arbitration, but there are many holes to fill.

Aside from Bautista and Encarnacion, outfielder Michael Saunders, lefty reliever Brett Cecil, starter R.A. Dickey, set-up man Joaquin Benoit, catcher Dioner Navarro, reliever Gavin Floyd and swingman Scott Feldman also became free agents.

Bringing back the two sluggers while filling in the supporting cast around them will be difficult without an increase from the roughly $150 million spent in 2016. The Blue Jays are expected to get some type of bump in payroll but how much is unknown.

Qualifying offers of $17.2 million must be extended to free agents by 5 p.m. ET Monday in order to ensure draft compensation should players sign elsewhere. Bautista and Encarnacion will get qualified by the Blue Jays.

Players have until 5 p.m. ET Nov. 14 to make a decision on their qualifying offer.

BACKUP BACKSTOPS: The deadline for teams to pick up or decline contract options on their players is also 5 p.m. ET Monday, and one name to keep an eye on in the days to come is Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Carlos Ruiz.

The Dodgers are believed to be looking to offload the veteran’s $500,000 buyout to a team interested in picking up his $4.5 million option for next year. Teams may be reluctant to pay that for Ruiz, although picking it up is a way to bypass the market.

The Blue Jays are in the hunt for a backup to Russell Martin and Ruiz’s sterling reputation for handling pitchers and ability to still contribute offensively may make him a suitable complement. Another catcher the Blue Jays have had past interest in is Ryan Hanigan, whose $3.75 million option was declined by the Boston Red Sox on Thursday for an $800,000 buyout.

BLAST FROM THE PAST I: Canadian slugger Matt Stairs is the new hitting coach for the Philadelphia Phillies after spending the past three seasons as a broadcaster with the club. The native of Fredericton, N.B., played with the Blue Jays in 2007 and most of ’08 before getting sent to Philadelphia in an August waivers deal, where he helped the Phillies win the World Series.

Stairs hit 265 home runs over parts of 19 big-league seasons with 12 teams, second only to Larry Walker among Canadians. Beloved for making a habit of swinging out of his shoe tops, Stairs also has a strong eye for breaking down swings and sense of how to build an approach at the plate.

BLAST FROM THE PAST II: Former Blue Jays right-hander Dave Bush was hired as a pitching development analyst by the Boston Red Sox, who announced a handful of changes to their front office Thursday. Bush will work under Brian Bannister, promoted to vice-president pitching development and assistant pitching coach, in helping pitchers in the minor-league system. A second-round pick in 2002, Bush pitched in 42 games, all but two starts, over parts of three seasons with the Blue Jays, and was the centre-piece of a trade to land Lyle Overbay from the Milwaukee Brewers after the 2005 season. He’ll also serve as China’s pitching coach in the 2017 World Baseball Classic.