Trevor Bauer Rumors: Blue Jays Remain Interested After George Springer Contract

The Toronto Blue Jays took one coveted free agent off the market when they signed George Springer, but they reportedly could keep adding a star to their roster.

According to MLB.com's Mark Feinsand, the Blue Jays aren't completely out of the hunt to sign Trevor Bauer. The right-hander was crowned the National League Cy Young Award winner following the pandemic-shortened season in which he posted a 1.73 ERA and a 0.79 WHIP with 100 strikeouts through 73 innings.

The Blue Jays made a major free-agent purchase on Tuesday, signing Springer to a six-year, $150 million deal—the largest contract in Blue Jays history. 

Bauer, who spent the bulk of his nine-year career in Cleveland before parts of two seasons with the Cincinnati Reds, shed some light on what he's looking for in his free-agent fit in a video he released last week. Among the factors the California native are the opportunities to form a "partnership" and have "open discussion" with his new team, and he expects to be "fairly compensated for the value" he provides. 

"I want to be happy," the 30-year-old said in the video. "I've spent a lot of time in my life being unhappy as a person, as a baseball player, as a teammate." 

The defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers are one of the teams most recently rumored to be interested in Bauer, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan. 

In Toronto, Bauer would slot into a rotation that includes Hyun-Jin Ryu—and little else behind him. Coupled with the offensive power of Springer, signing Bauer could push the Blue Jays ahead of the rest of the AL East and make them a real postseason threat. Toronto finished third in the division last season and earned a playoff berth with their 32-28 record.