Toronto Blue Jays Offseason Tracker: Hottest Free Agency News, Trade Rumors
After an early season surge that saw the Toronto Blue Jays occupy first place in the AL East for just over a month, things came crashing down around manager John Gibbons and general manager Alex Anthopoulos.
Toronto scuffled the rest of the way, finishing 2014 with an 83-79 record, good enough for a third-place finish in the AL East—the team's highest spot in the standings on the final day of the regular season since 2007.
But with increasing salaries through long-term commitments and arbitration, the Blue Jays don't have much room to add salary this winter. Not yet, at least.
Could we see the Jays unload some of their high-priced veteran talent for younger, more controllable pieces, giving the team more financial flexibility to make improvements?
Keep it here for the answers to those questions and more as we'll be bringing you the most up-to-the-minute rumblings about the Jays along with analysis and everything else that comes with it.
While the post date will always show as October 31, simply click through for the latest from the rumor mill on the Jays as they look to bolster the roster for another run at the AL East crown in 2015.
Toronto's Free Agents and Done Deals
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All the juicy rumors and analysis follow, but consider this your one-stop shop for all the comings and goings in Toronto this winter, including the status of the team's free agents.
Done Deals
Oct. 28: Claimed 1B Justin Smoak off waivers from Seattle; Dec. 2: Non-tendered; Dec. 3: Re-signed to a one-year, $1 million deal
Oct. 31: Clained OF Andy Dirks off waivers from Detroit; Dec. 2: Non-tendered
Oct. 31: Signed LHP Jeff Francis to a minor-league deal
Nov. 12: Traded OF Anthony Gose to Detroit for IF Devon Travis (Analysis)
Nov. 28: Acquired 3B Josh Donaldson from Oakland in exchange for INF Brett Lawrie, LHP Sean Nolin, RHP Kendall Graveman and SS Franklin Barreto (Analysis)
Dec. 3: Signed OF Ezequiel Carrera to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training
Dec. 3: Traded RHP J.A. Happ to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for OF Michael Saunders
Dec. 8: Claimed 1B/OF Chris Colabello off waivers from the Minnesota Twins
Dec. 16: Signed 1B/DH Daric Barton to a minor-league deal with an invitation to spring training
Blue Jays Free Agents
LF Melky Cabrera
OF Andy Dirks (Dec. 2: Non-tendered)
LHP J.A. Happ (Oct. 31: Picked up $6.7 million option, Dec. 3: Traded to Seattle)
RHP Casey Janssen
1B/DH Adam Lind (Nov. 1: Picked up $7.5 million team option, traded him to Milwaukee)
OF John Mayberry Jr. (Dec. 2: Non-tendered, Dec. 11: Signed a one-year deal with the New York Mets)
RHP Dustin McGowan (Nov. 1: Declined $4 million team option, will pay $500,000 buyout)
SP Brandon Morrow (Nov. 1: Declined team option, Dec. 16: Signed a one-year, $2.5 million deal with the San Diego Padres)
CF Colby Rasmus
RP Sergio Santos (Nov. 1: Declined team option)
1B/DH Justin Smoak (Dec. 2: Non-tendered; Dec. 3: Re-signed)
C Josh Thole (Nov.1: Picked up $1.75 million team option)
Dioner Navarro Wants out of Toronto
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Update: Wednesday, Dec. 10 at 9:52 p.m. ET
After trading Miguel Montero to the Chicago Cubs, Arizona is in need of a starting catcher and GM Dave Stewart named Navarro as a potential target for his club in a trade, reports MLive's James Schmehl.
At this point, there's no indication that the D-Backs and Blue Jays have spoken about a potential deal but that could change quickly.
--End of Update--
Thursday, Nov. 20 at 12:10 p.m. ET
Despite assurances from the Blue Jays that he'd get plenty of playing time between catcher and designated hitter, Dioner Navarro apparently wants to be a full-time catcher and has let the team know that he's interested in being dealt away, says CBS Sports' Jon Heyman.
Making only $5 million in the final year of his contract, nearly any team looking to bolster the catching position would be able to fit him into their payroll for 2015. The 30-year-old had a productive season for the Blue Jays in 2014, hitting .274 with 12 home runs and 69 RBI.
According to Heyman, at least three teams are interested.
Could Holland Be the Ninth Inning Answer in Toronto?
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Monday, Dec. 8 at 11:31 a.m. ET
Greg Holland has been made available by Kansas City, per the Toronto Sun's Bob Elliott, and the Blue Jays are interested. “He’s available, but they’re asking for a lot in return,” sources tell Elliott.
The Royals don't have to move Holland, but with Wade Davis and Kelvin Herrera in the fold, the team apparently feels that it could afford to lose the two-time All-Star if the return was great enough.
Holland, who has successfully converted 93-of-98 save opportunities since the start of the 2013 season, held opposing batters to a meager .170/.238/.274 slash line last season.
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Blue Jays Discussing a Dexter Fowler Trade with Houston
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Tuesday, Dec. 2 at 10:42 p.m. ET
Fox Sports' Jon Paul Morosi tweets that the Astros and Blue Jays are discussing a trade that would send Fowler to Toronto. It's unclear what the Astros are asking Toronto for—or what the Blue Jays are offering—in exchange.
Fowler, 28, hit .276 with eight home runs, 35 RBI and 11 stolen bases to go along with a .375 on-base percentage and .774 OPS. While he's a switch hitter and would fulfill Toronto's wish for another left-handed bat, he was far more effective from the right side of the plate than he was the left in 2014.
Nov. 28: Blue Jays Acquire Josh Donaldson from A's
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Age: 28
Bats: R
2014 Stats (PIT): .255/.342/.456, 29 HR, 31 2B, 98 RBI
Contract Status: Under club control through 2018 season
The Toronto Blue Jays have acquired Josh Donaldson from the Oakland A's in exchange for infielder Brett Lawrie, pitcher Sean Nolin, pitcher Kendall Graveman and minor-league shortstop Franklin Barreto, according to Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal.
The Blue Jays were looking for a big bat, and that's exactly what they got in Donaldson. He hits for power, drives in runs and gets on base.
In two full seasons, the right-handed slugger has hit 53 home runs and driven in 191 runs.
Donaldson has put up those strong numbers while playing in Oakland's spacious ballpark. In recent years, sluggers have come to Toronto and put up even bigger numbers. Expect Donaldson to do the same.
With Donaldson, Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion, the Blue Jays have a lot of power from the right side of the plate. Acquiring the third baseman could help ease the pain of losing Melky Cabrera if the outfielder signs elsewhere.
Toronto gave up a group of young players in the trade, but it will be able to get Donaldson during the prime of his career. The 28-year-old is under club control for four more seasons.
Is Melky on His Way out of Toronto?
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Update: Friday, Nov. 28 at 5:47 p.m. ET
Melky Cabrera has taken issue with Buster Olney's report and issued a statement via his official Twitter account:
"I want everyone to know that I am a baseball player and it doesn't matter to me what surface I play on. I will be the best player I can be."
As is the case with many players, Cabrera's ultimate decision on where to play in 2015 and beyond will likely come down to money, not playing surface. Certainly, there's a drawback to playing on artificial turf, but if the Blue Jays make him a lucrative offer, there's no reason to believe that the turf at Rogers Centre is going to sway Cabrera's decision one way or another.
--End of Update--
Update: Friday, Nov. 28 at 7:14 a.m. ET
Remember how Melky Cabrera was all about returning to Toronto as the season came to an end?
You can forget all of that, for it turns out that it was nothing but noise.
Per ESPN's Buster Olney, Cabrera's preference is to sign with a team other than the Blue Jays so that he doesn't have to play his home games on artificial turf.
Cabrera's name has been mentioned as a "fallback option" for teams like Baltimore and Seattle, but thus far, his market has not materialized.
--End of Update--
Update: Wednesday, Nov. 12 at 11:07 a.m. ET
GM Alex Anthopoulos didn't sound all that confident about the team's chances of re-signing its starting left fielder, telling Sportsnet's Shi Davidi that "there's a good chance he doesn't come back" while noting that the team is still trying to work out a new deal with him.
Anthopoulos says that he's begun to investigate alternatives to replace Cabrera, though it's worth noting that teams do their due diligence to prepare for all sorts of situations, including the loss of a free agent, at this time of year just in case the unexpected happens.
--End of Update--
Update: Monday, Nov. 10 at 7:02 p.m. ET
As expected, Melky declined the qualifying offer. Toronto will receive draft pick compensation if he sins elsewhere.
--End of Update--
Update: Saturday, Nov. 1 at 10:33 p.m. ET
During a conference call with reporters, including Sportsnet's Shi Davidi, GM Alex Anthopoulos didn't sound all that optimistic about the current state of negotiations with Cabrera:
"When you talk about making a push to sign a player, it takes two parties to come to an agreement. It depends on what you classify as a push. All you can do is negotiate and try to get a deal done, make offers and counteroffers, but at some point if you’re far apart you’re far apart, there’s only so much that can be done.
"
It's entirely possible that the Blue Jays simply don't believe that Cabrera will be able to land the kind of deal that he's seeking on the open market and encourage him to investigate all his options, expecting that he'll come back and have more interest in the deal they proposed.
Of course, the danger in that thinking is that they could be wrong—and Cabrera could be scooped up by another club, leaving Anthopoulos needing to fill yet another hole on the roster this winter.
--End of Update--
Saturday, Nov. 1
As expected, the Blue Jays extended a one-year, $15.3 million qualifying offer to left fielder Melky Cabrera, an offer that he is expected to decline.
Cabrera, 30, hit .301 with 16 home runs, 73 RBI and a .806 OPS in 139 games for the Blue Jays, his season ended prematurely due to a fractured right pinkie finger. While Cabrera has let it be known that he'd like to stay in Toronto, he could become too pricey for the team's liking.
It's not crazy to think that he could command a deal similar to the one that shortstop Jhonny Peralta signed with St. Louis last winter, a four-year, $52 million deal.
Blue Jays Interested in Jay Bruce
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Monday, Nov. 24 at 8:46 p.m. ET
On the heels of a report from Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal that indicated the Cincinnati Reds were listening to offers on outfielder Jay Bruce, his partner Jon Paul Morosi tweets that Toronto has at least had internal discussions about pursuing a deal for the two-time All-Star.
Bruce, 27, was hobbled by a knee injury (among other ailments) for much of the 2014 season, resulting in the worst numbers of his seven-year career—a .217/.281/.373 and a career-low 18 home runs.
Cincinnati isn't going to simply give Bruce away, and whether the Blue Jays would have any interest in paying what is likely to be a high asking price is pure speculation at best. But clearly, Toronto isn't satisfied with only adding Russell Martin to the mix and plans on making at least one more big move.
Nov. 17: Signed C Russell Martin
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Age: 31
Bats: R
2014 Stats (PIT): .290/.402/.430, 31 XBH (11 HR), 67 RBI
Contract Status: Five years, $82 million
A compensatory draft pick wasn't going to stop Toronto from making a huge splash this offseason, and the Blue Jays have done just that by handing Russell Martin a five-year, $82 million deal.
One of the premier game-callers and pitch-framers in the game, Martin not only provides the Blue Jays with an upgrade behind the plate, but his impact will be felt by the pitching staff as well. Per FanGraphs, take a look at the impact Martin's arrival has had on his last two teams.
| NYY (2010 w/o Martin) | 4.06 |
| NYY (2011 w/Martin) | 3.73 |
| PIT (2012 w/o Martin) | 3.91 |
| PIT (2013 w/Martin) | 3.27 |
While there are a number of factors that go into those numbers, the one constant is Martin—pitchers perform better with him behind the plate than they do with other catchers.
That's not a knock on Dioner Navarro, who loses his job as the team's starting catcher in the shuffle, but more a statement of how good Martin is at controlling and calming down a pitching staff.
If there's a downside here, it'd be concerns about Martin's ability to produce at the plate.
Only twice in his nine-year career has he hit at least .290 while posting an OPS above .800—in 2007 (.293/.843) and 2014 (.290/.832). In the six years between, he's seen his batting average dip by nearly 50 points (.244) and his OPS by more than 100 points (.718).
During his two seasons with the New York Yankees, Martin posted a .224/.317/.405 slash line—significantly lower than his career .268/.364/.398 mark in the National League. Of course, given the Blue Jays powerful lineup, Martin won't be asked to carry nearly as much of the offensive load as he was in Pittsburgh.
All things considered, this was a move the Blue Jays felt they needed to make. With Victor Martinez no longer an option and the Chicago Cubs looking to sign Martin as well, rumored to be offering a four-year, $64 million deal, Toronto did what it needed to do to get a deal done.
Is Martin ultimately getting overpaid? Probably, given his history of inconsistent performances at the plate.
But if he's able to improve the pitching performances by Toronto's pitchers across the board and the club is playing meaningful baseball in October, nobody's going to care that Martin is being paid nearly $20 million to hit .230 with 12 home runs and 52 RBI during the regular season.
Is Kendrick No Longer an Option for Toronto?
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Update; Thursday, Nov. 13 at 11:30 a.m. ET
Sources tell CBS Sports' Jon Heyman that it's more likely the Angels will hang onto Kendrick than it is that they'll trade their longtime second baseman.
That could be part of Toronto's thinking behind the decision to trade Anthony Gose to Detroit for Devon Travis, who could potentially be the team's long-term answer at second base.
--End of Update--
Thursday, Nov. 6 at 12:41 p.m. ET
Upgrading second base is on Toronto's list of things to do this winter, so it shouldn't come as any surprise to hear that they club has placed "multiple calls" to the Angels about Howie Kendrick, as reported by Sportsnet's Ben Nicholson-Smith.
Kendrick, set to earn $9.5 million in the final year of his deal, has been one of the more consistent players in the game over his nine-year career.
He hits for average, hitting below .285 only once (.279 in 2010), has some pop in his bat (four seasons with double-digit home runs) and is a threat to run when he gets on base (six seasons with double-digit steals).
Solid defensively as well, Kendrick would form a potentially lethal double-play combination with Jose Reyes.
The Angels are in need of pitching but don't have much room under their budget to take on additional payroll, which is one of the reasons they are looking to move the nine-year veteran. Mark Buehrle would be far too expensive for the Halos, but (and it's all speculation on my part), perhaps a deal could be built around J.A. Happ, whose $6.7 million option Toronto picked up recently.
Nov. 12: Acquired IF Devon Travis from Detroit
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Age: 23
Bats: R
2014 Stats (Double-A): .298/.358/.460, 37 XBH (10 HR), 52 RBI, 16-for-21 SB
Contract Status: Yet to make MLB debut
There's no consensus when it comes to Devon Travis' upside among baseball pundits. ESPN's Keith Law says Travis is a "non-prospect," while Baseball America's Ben Badler ranked him as Detroit's top prospect heading into 2015.
Clearly, the Blue Jays are banking on Badler's assessment being correct.
Primarily a second baseman, Travis has shown the ability to make solid contact at every level of the minor leagues, boasting a career .323/.388/487 slash line over three professional seasons. Badler believes that Travis could become a solid, reliable major league player and compares him to Pittsburgh's Josh Harrison in terms of approach at the plate and his lack of believers in the scouting community.
Given Toronto's current second base situation, you'd have to imagine that Travis will have every opportunity to win the job in spring training. If not, he'll likely head to Triple-A and could find himself in Toronto at some point during the season.
Anthony Gose never lived up to expectations with the Blue Jays, his loss is negligible in the grand scheme of things. Travis could be a keeper—something Gose was never going to be.
Nov. 1: Traded 1B Adam Lind to Brewers in Exchange for RHP Marco Estrada
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After nearly a decade in Toronto, Adam Lind is no longer a Blue Jay. Per the Blue Jays' official Twitter account, the team traded Lind to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for right-handed pitcher Marco Estrada. The deal comes shortly after Toronto picked up Lind's $7.5 million option for 2015.
According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, Toronto wanted to allocate the money due to Lind elsewhere. Couple that with Toronto's successful waiver claim of former Seattle 1B/DH Justin Smoak, and the team decided to move on from Lind.
In exchange for the veteran first baseman, the Blue Jays received the 31-year-old Estrada. The right-hander spent the first few seasons of his career as a reliever but has transitioned into a starter.
This year, Estrada went 7-6 with a 4.36 ERA and a 1.021 WHIP in 39 games (18 starts). In 2012 and 2013, he worked almost exclusively as a starter. Estrada is 22-20 with a 4.20 ERA in 71 career starts.
Estrada did make a start in Toronto in 2014. He allowed just two runs on six hits and a walk in six innings of work but was charged with the loss.
This trade was all about getting something in return for Lind. Several teams were interested in the first baseman, and it looks like the Brewers gave the Blue Jays the best offer. Now, Toronto has added a solid arm to its roster.
Mark Buehrle on the Block?
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Toronto will make Mark Buehrle available this winter, says The Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo, though the veteran left-hander's $19 million salary will make facilitating a deal difficult.
Buehrle, who will celebrate his 36th birthday before Opening Day, is coming off his 14th consecutive season with at least 200 innings pitched, one that saw him post his lowest ERA (3.39) in nearly a decade.
But he was nowhere near as dominant after the All-Star Game (4.64 ERA, .796 OPS against) as he was during the first half of the season (2.64 ERA, .709 OPS against), and teams are sure to have questions about his ability to rediscover his early season form.
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.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
