Blue Jays Free Agents and Options Part 2: Wilson, Darvish, Fielder and Pujols

Pitching in the bullpen isn't the only thing Blue Jays manager Alex Anthopoulos is after—a front-line starter is also on the wish list.  With plenty of high-ceiling youth around, but no real veteran starters after Ricky Romero who can put in a reliable 200-plus-inning year, the Jays will be scouring both the free-agent market and trade opportunities to find that pitcher.

C.J. Wilson is one of the more obvious choices, as the left-hander led the Texas Rangers to the World Series this year.  He faltered once he got to the playoffs, but his 250 innings over 39 starts might have had something to do with that.  The Jays might be wary of pursuing Wilson partly for that reason, as they could be worried about the possibility of injury after such a season, not to mention the the possible $100 million payday he could be after.

More affordable but also more risky options could include Erik Bedard, the oft-injured Canadian starter, and Mark Buehrle, the Chicago White Sox pitcher with the highlight-reel defense.

Tim Dierkes of MLBTradeRumors.com finds it difficult to imagine Buehrle in any other than a White Sox uniform, but perhaps the loss of Ozzie Guillen as manager could persuade Buehrle to try other venues. Buehrle cannot provide the high-end pitching that Wilson can, but he is a reliable starter that logs a lot of innings, something the Blue Jays sorely lacked.

Bedard is someone Dierkes can see signing with the Blue Jays, though.  As after a couple of frustrating years dealing with injuries, Bedard might be willing to try his luck on his home turf, joining fellow Canadians Brett Lawrie and Mark Teahan.

Much has been made of the Blue Jays expanding their salary commitments over the next few years, and how that could put them in the running for two of the biggest free agents in Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols.  However, it seems likely Pujols will figure out a deal with the St. Louis Cardinals after just winning a World Series title with them. As for Fielder, according to The Globe and Mail (h/t mlbtraderumors.com), the Blue Jays won't give out anything longer than a five-year deal, which is very detrimental to landing the prized slugger.

With both Pujols and Fielder probably out of the picture for the Blue Jays, then, it seems possible that if Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish decides to make the jump to North America, the Canadian team could be bidding hard for the starter.  The Blue Jays have scouted several of Darvish's starts, and since he is already in veteran in his mid-20s, they might be more willing to make a multi-year commitment to him.

Darvish could also end up costing near $100 million, due to approximately a $50 million posting fee and an equivalent contract.  

The question is, do the Blue Jays feel they are close enough to making that next step to the playoffs to make a commitment to one of these players now, or do they think they need more time to develop?  

One thing is for sure, there are several free agents this year who can change the whole outlook of a team, and a group like this isn't going to happen again soon.  If the Blue Jays are looking for a difference-maker, this might just be their year.