The Blue Jays are identified to be within the Juan Soto bidding, however like all groups, they’ve to contemplate backup plans. Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet takes a take a look at their Soto pursuit and notes that in addition they have curiosity in Max Fried, Luis Severino, Anthony Santander and Alex Bregman. MLBTR has beforehand lined their curiosity in Fried and Santander.
Bregman, 31, is without doubt one of the high free brokers out there this winter. He has a profession batting line of .272/.366/.483, which interprets to a 135 wRC+, indicating he’s been 35% higher than league common on the plate general. His strikeout fee hasn’t been greater than 13.6% in any of the previous six full seasons, barely half of league common. His stroll fee dipped a bit in 2024 however has been above par for many of his profession.
He additionally will get robust grades for his third base protection and is keen to maneuver to second if he indicators with a membership that has a larger want there. His clubhouse and management qualities are sometimes lauded by those that have performed with him. MLBTR predicted Bregman for a seven-year deal value $182MM in the beginning of the offseason. It’s properly established that the Astros need him again, however he’s additionally been linked to the Tigers, Pink Sox, Phillies and now Blue Jays.
For the Jays, third base and second base are each pretty unsettled. Ernie Clement was the first choice on the sizzling nook in 2024 and he had a serviceable season. His .263/.284/.408 batting line was barely beneath common, translating to a 94 wRC+. However he additionally stole 12 bases and received robust grades for his glovework at third and shortstop, in addition to temporary seems to be at second base and left subject.
The overall bundle added as much as 2.2 wins above alternative within the eyes of FanGraphs and Clement remains to be on the roster, however he shouldn’t stand in the best way of somebody like Bregman coming aboard. If Bregman took over because the on a regular basis man on the sizzling nook, it might transfer Clement right into a utility position, which might nonetheless enable him to contribute pretty usually.
At second base, Spencer Horwitz and Davis Schneider received first rate chunks of the enjoying time, alongside the now-departed Isiah Kiner-Falefa. Horwitz has hit properly in his main league profession to date however shouldn’t be a pure second baseman, solely transferring there since his first base spot is taken by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. A whole lot of the designated hitter plate appearances went to Justin Turner in 2024, who’s now not with the group. Maybe that frees up Horwitz and Guerrero to share that spot and first base in 2025, relying on what different strikes the Jays make this winter. Schneider is coming off a down season and may also play left subject.
The Jays have another gamers on the roster able to enjoying both third or second base, together with Addison Barger, Orelvis Martínez, Will Wagner and Leo Jiménez, however nobody in that group has even 70 video games of main league expertise. With the Jays trying to rapidly bounce again from a poor 2024 marketing campaign, there’s logic in going for a longtime main leaguer like Bregman versus hoping that somebody in that group takes a step ahead. The Jays have additionally been tied to shortstop Willy Adames, who’s reportedly keen to maneuver to 3rd base together with his new membership in the event that they have already got a shortstop. The Jays have Bo Bichette at brief however he’s just one 12 months from free company, in order that’s a transfer that might doubtlessly assist in the brief and long run.
The curiosity in Severino aligns with the membership’s different rotation pursuits. As talked about, they’ve been tied to Fried in addition to Corbin Burnes and Blake Snell, although Snell is now off the board because of his settlement with the Dodgers. Severino as soon as appeared like a budding ace with the Yankees however he didn’t pitch a lot from 2019 to 2021 because of accidents. He was capable of pitch partial seasons in 2022 and 2023 however with inconsistent outcomes.
He’s coming off a stable bounceback 12 months with the Mets. He made 32 begins and tossed 182 innings, his first time throwing greater than 102 innings since 2018. On high of the amount, there was additionally some high quality, as Severino allowed 3.91 earned runs per innings. His 21.2% strikeout fee, 7.9% stroll fee and 46% floor ball fee have been all fairly near league common.
Severino isn’t as thrilling as Burnes or Fried however he additionally received’t value as a lot. MLBTR predicted Burnes for a $200MM assure and Fried a bit behind at $156MM. Severino, however, was projected for a three-year deal value $51MM.
The Jays have a veteran rotation nucleus consisting of José Berríos, Kevin Gausman and Chris Bassitt. One other spot is probably going ticketed to Bowden Francis after his robust second half. Choices for the fifth spot embrace Yariel Rodríguez and Jake Bloss however there’s sense within the Jays including. Rodríguez has loads of aid expertise and the Jays want assist in the bullpen, so he might be pushed there, no less than till an damage opens up a necessity within the rotation. Bloss has lower than 12 large league innings and solely 112 within the minors, so he might get some extra seasoning in Triple-A till an enormous league alternative arises.
On the monetary aspect of issues, RosterResource initiatives the Jays for a payroll of $189MM subsequent 12 months. President Mark Shapiro has prompt the membership will find yourself with a roughly comparable payroll as they did in 2024. Cot’s Baseball Contracts pegged their Opening Day determine at $225MM final 12 months, so that might go away them with about $35MM of wiggle room.
Including one in all these notable free brokers might definitely match into that window, although Soto can be a novel case. The common annual worth of his contract will definitely eclipse that quantity but it surely’s been reported by Nicholson-Smith that the Jays would make an exception for Soto, keen to stretch the price range additional than they’d in any other case.
Every of Soto, Bregman, Severino, Fried, Burnes, Santander and Adames rejected a qualifying provide, so the related penalties may even need to be a consideration. The Jays seemingly ducked beneath the aggressive steadiness tax in 2024 with their midseason selloff, although it’s not but official. If that proves to be the case, the Jays must give up their second-best decide within the upcoming draft in addition to $500K of worldwide bonus pool area for signing one in all these gamers.
