Blue Jays open to adding rental players in free agency or trade market
The Toronto Blue Jays are looking to right a few wrongs this offseason.
After finishing with 89 wins this past season but crashing out of the playoffs in a two-game series in Minnesota, the pressure has never been higher for this group of players to perform.
And with the offseason now in full swing but transactions slow to occur in Toronto, fans have been getting a little antsy wondering what the team’s next move will be. While the team’s pitching staff might be the one thing the team can rely on, holes in both the infield and outfield will need to be addressed over the coming months.
While Toronto has been known to make the occasional big splash over the last few seasons, Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins isn’t opposed to adding a rental player for the time being, as per Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi.
“We have such an important window that we want to lean into, that we’re spending a lot of time on the urgency of that roster construction, to complement it the best way. But we cannot lose sight of the future. So this very good team that we want to lean into, we need to lean into any possible way,” Atkins said in a recent media availability.
“And if that means trading for a player that only has one year of control or signing a player to a one-year deal, as you’ve seen we’ve done, we are absolutely open to that. But we’re also willing to get into lengthier deals and trade for players with significant years of club control and that is pricey. We’re in a position where we’re able to do both, fortunately.”
The Blue Jays currently have 38 of their 40 roster spots occupied.
Toronto’s biggest holes come at third base, where they’re looking to find a replacement for Matt Chapman should he not re-sign, and in the outfield, with Kevin Kiermaier likely leaving Toronto after signing a one-year deal last offseason. Additionally, they’ve got another pair of holes in the infield, with Whit Merrifield (who played 84 games at second base) and Brandon Belt (who spent 29 games at first base) also set to depart this winter.