By Mark Polishuk | at
The Blue Jays are exploring several roster upgrades, with Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith reporting that the club has made a bid for Kodai Senga,
Jameson Taillon, and other player interest)Alex Reyes, and Michael Brantley . Between the Jays and
A starting pitcher is Toronto’s clearest need, and as one agent told Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi, the Blue Jays are “ The entire pitcher market ” now. To that end, it’s fair to speculate that the Jays have at least checked out essentially every available arm, which has been the team’s strategy the past three offseasons. Davidi added that the Jays are also on Carlos Rodon, Nathan Eovaldi , and their own current free agent Ross Stripling . Past reports indicate that the Jays have made an offer to
Kyle Gibson (before Gibson rejected Toronto’s one-year, $10 offer to sign the same deal with the Orioles), and even Justin Verlander , before Verlander joined the Mets.
Alek Manoah and Kevin Gausman has solidified the front end of the Blue Jays rotation, but there’s a lot of uncertainty after that because Jose Berrios , especially Yusei Kikuchi struggling in 2022. There’s no necessarily guarantee that Kikuchi will even get a clear chance in the starting role, as he’ll be at best with Mitch White Competition for the fifth starter job, or maybe even relegation to the bullpen if the Jays end up getting two new starters this winter.
As Nicholson-Smith and Davidi pointed out, the fact that Jay is considering entering Verlander’s market (even in a short-term deal) is another sign of how aggressive the team is Willingness to do so is perhaps a sign of how far they will extend the payroll. Given the rising cost of pitching in the pitching market this offseason, bigger payouts may be inevitable, though the Blue Jays spending money to sign Rodon or even Senga could be a target from multiple teams given how the Japanese aces are attracting pitchers. a lot of attention. Presumably, the Jays’ relative lack of interest in Bassitt may have something to do with Bassitt’s desire to have at least four guaranteed years, which could be a daunting task for a pitcher heading into his age-34 season.
Reyes represents another pitching addition, as the former No. 1 prospect is an interesting bounce-back candidate for a lot of teams. That said, Reyes also faces significant risk given his long injury history, including shoulder surgery that keeps him out of pitching in 2022. It will be interesting to see how the market for Reyes plays out, as the Blue Jays and others will naturally weigh injury concerns, but pure interest could still lead to a nice payday for the right-hander.
In addition to the pitching market, the Jays are also looking for left-handed hitting outfielders. With Toronto trading
such as Brandon Nemo and Cody Bellinger is also linked to the Jays’ outfield search this winter, agent Scott Boras told Nicholson- Smith and Hazel Mae (Twitter link) Toronto is indeed interested in two of his clients. Boras also stated that the Blue Jays are interested in another client of
Gallo has a terrible 2022 season, hitting .160/.280 with 19 homers in 410 games for the Yankees and Dodgers /.357. Gallo’s “three true results” style will always limit his offensive efficiency somewhat, but he’s just entering his age-29 season, and Gallo’s strikeouts haven’t stopped him from putting up some great offensive numbers in the past. Just in 2021, Gallo posted a 4.2 fWAR season, and his ability to play a decent midfielder would also be of interest to the Jays team, who are more than willing to give George Springer spends more time at the outfield corner.
Gallo, Bellinger, and possibly Brantley are all lined up for one-year bounce-back type contracts, and the Jays probably plan to address the outfield with only short-term additions Questions, and then focus on long-term additions to the rotation. However, the Blue Jays appear to be open to all possibilities, and their pursuit of free agency is clearly influenced by what they might do in the trade market, especially with their receiving depth in high demand. Down.
