5 free agent hitters Blue Jays could target this offseason
The Toronto Blue Jays will have a very different-looking lineup in 2024. With four pending free agents in several key positions (Matt Chapman, Kevin Kiermaier, Brandon Belt, and Whit Merrifield), Toronto’s front office will be busy this winter filling those holes around the diamond.
The Blue Jays can more or less run it back with their pitching staff in 2024, but this is a great opportunity to overhaul a starting lineup that grossly underperformed in 2023. In the top, middle and low tiers of free agency, there are players who would fit this squad well.
It will be difficult for any team to overhaul their roster drastically through free agency this winter, other than the top tier free agents. But with a few tweaks here and there, the Blue Jays can add some pop to their batting order with these bats after free agency opens on Monday.
1. Cody Bellinger (centre fielder/first baseman)
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
- Age: 28
- 2023 stats: .307/.356/.525, 26 HR, 4.1 fWAR
- 2023 salary: $12.5 million
One year ago, Cody Bellinger was non-tendered by the Los Angeles Dodgers coming off the worst season of his career. After signing a one-year deal with the Chicago Cubs, he enjoyed the second best season of his career. Because of course he did.
With a very strong campaign in 2023, Bellinger made himself a boatload of money on his next contract. He’s surely to fetch north of $150 million on a multi-year deal, but the million dollar question is: will a team like the Blue Jays pony up?
At only 28 years old, he fits the Blue Jays’ window of contention, he’s a plus defender in the outfield, and his power numbers bounced back significantly year-over-year. Any doubts about his abilities were all but squashed after his rebound with the Cubs.
Signing Bellinger may prevent the Blue Jays from addressing other roster needs in free agency. Yet, shopping at the top of the market for someone like Bellinger would ensure the biggest bang for the Blue Jays’ buck on the free agent market.
2. Jorge Soler (designated hitter, outfielder)
Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports
- Age: 31
- 2023 stats: .250/.341/.512, 36 HR, 1.9 fWAR
- 2023 salary: $9 million
If there’s one thing the Blue Jays’ lineup severely lacked in 2023, it was power. During the regular season, they ranked 16th among total home runs and 13th in slugging percentage. One way to fix that? Enter Jorge Soler.
Outside of Shohei Ohtani, Soler hit the most home runs of any hitter in this free agent class with 36. Not quite in the echelon of his career high of 48 round-trippers in 2019, but a much better campaign at the plate from the 31-year-old.
He will always be a high strikeout hitter (thanks to a 26.7% career strikeout rate), but with that risk comes the reward of the 30+ home run season; something no Blue Jays hitter accomplished in 2023.
Soler can play the outfield, but he’s a bit of a liability in the corners, so he’ll likely spend most of his time at DH. That’s alright for a team like the Blue Jays who have an open spot at designated hitter.
3. Justin Turner (first base/third base/designated hitter)
Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
- Age: 38
- 2023 stats: .276/.345/.455, 23 HR, 1.2 fWAR
- 2023 salary: $13.4 million
If the Blue Jays miss out on Soler (or they prefer to sign someone else), maybe they’d be interested in a Soler-lite type player like Justin Turner? The former longtime Dodger made a successful transition over to the AL East this past season with the Red Sox.
His days filling in at third base are nearly gone, and with a team like the Blue Jays, he’d come in as a DH/backup first base option. Even at 38 years old, his strikeout rate of 17.6% was quite low compared to other Blue Jays hitters.
Turner might be a “Plan B” scenario if some other big picture signings or trades don’t materialize. As a role player, Turner has a suitable place on this Blue Jays team and could provide some bottom third of the order power for Toronto.
4. Adam Duvall (centre fielder/right fielder)
D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports
- Age: 35
- 2023 stats: .247/.303/.531, 21 HR, 1.9 fWAR
- 2023 salary: $7 million
What is it with 30-something Red Sox players that had bounce-back seasons this year? Adam Duvall missed significant time with a wrist injury, but on the whole, his numbers looked decent in 92 games played for the BoSox.
Next to Bellinger, Duvall figures to be the only full-time outfielder on this wish list for the Blue Jays. They could plug Duvall into left field, shifting Daulton Varsho over to centre field, where Varsho is more valuable and can cover more ground.
Duvall, as a former Gold Glover, used to be an elite defender back in his heydey from 2016 to 2019 with the Reds, but he’s still more than capable in the outfield. And that right-handed power would provide some protection for hitters like Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
5. Joc Pederson (left fielder)
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- Age: 31
- 2023 stats: .235/.348/.416, 15 HR, 0.6 fWAR
- 2023 salary: $19.65 million
Joc Pederson underperformed his $19.65 million salary with the San Francisco Giants in 2023, but he’s a strong candidate for a rebound season if he moves to a hitter-friendly ballpark in 2024.
Pederson would bring some lefty thump to the Blue Jays lineup, albeit he’d have to fight for playing time in the outfield and might be relegated to more of a bench player than a regular outfielder.
At the right price on a short-term deal, there’s some value for the Blue Jays bringing a hitter like Pederson into the fold to make them a better balanced lineup with a little more power from top to bottom.
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