The Toronto Blue Jays have experienced a lot of turnover among top-tier free agents this MLB offseason. After winning the American League Cy Young Award, left-hander Robbie Ray departed Toronto for the Seattle Mariners. To replace Ray, the Blue Jays signed Kevin Gausman, who was fresh off a stellar season with the San Francisco Giants.
Toronto also lost left-hander Steven Matz and infielder Marcus Semien, a finalist for the 2021 AL MVP Award, to free agency. To date, they haven’t replaced either player. In pursuit of finally winning a playoff series with their current core, the Blue Jays have to find ways to sharpen their roster around the edges.
Here are two players the Blue Jays should sign after the MLB lockout.
Related: Top remaining MLB free agents
Jonathan Villar gives the Toronto Blue Jays positional versatility
Toronto’s Opening Day infield will likely come from the combination of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, Santiago Espinal, Cavan Biggio and Kevin Smith. That’s a respectable group, but it has its rough patches. Villar would help smooth over manager Charlie Montoyo’s infield rotation.
Villar is a fit on any MLB ballclub. For starters, Villar is extremely versatile, as he’s adept at playing second base, third and shortstop while occasionally dabbling in the outfield. That bodes well for some of the uncertainty that exists in Toronto’s infield, as Biggio is coming off a shaky campaign and Espinal has brief MLB starting experience.
Offensively, Villar is an efficient and reasonable threat. He has considerable pop from both sides of the plate and is one of the sport’s best base-stealers in recent memory; Villar has 232 career stolen bases, which includes swiping 62 bags in 2016 and 40 in 2019.
- Jonathan Villar stats (2021): .249/.322/.416, 18 home runs, 42 RBIs and 14 stolen bases across 454 at-bats
Villar would push Espinal and Biggio for the starting second and third base jobs. Meanwhile, Villar serves as an emergency/sixth outfielder. A team can never have enough positional versatility.
The Blue Jays have an elite offense that can only get better with Biggio getting back on track, Espinal building on 2021 and George Springer getting healthy. It’s a matter of having depth in the form of plug-and-play individuals.
The 30-year-old Villar is a perfect addition and complement to the Blue Jays’ positional core.
Related: Latest on MLB lockout
Michael Pineda gives the Toronto Blue Jays pitching depth
Hyun-Jin Ryu, Jose Berrios, Gausman, Alek Manoah and Ross Stripling make for a reliable starting rotation. At the same time, as previously alluded to, the Blue Jays brought in one starter to replace two. There’s room for another move on the pitching front, and Pineda is an ideal fit.
Pineda has come into his own as an efficient and reliable starter. While he labors a bit, the right-hander has continually been able to keep his team in games, evade trouble and remake himself after a second year-plus absence (2018).
- Michael Pineda stats (2021): 3.62 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 88 strikeouts across 109.1 innings (22 appearances, 21 starts)
Pineda has found success throwing three pitches: four seamer, slider and changeup. At this stage of his career, a healthy Pineda is suited to be a middle-of-the-rotation starter on a playoff team. With Toronto, he’s asked to be the fourth or fifth starter — depending on how Manoah progresses.
Yes, Stripling is a proven commodity. That said, he has been inconsistent and is accustomed to holding down a flex role; Stripling has experience starting and coming out of the bullpen in the same season. Toronto can have Stripling and Pineda battle for the number five starting gig in spring training/the team breakfast before the regular season. The pitcher who doesn’t get the starting nod becomes a long reliever and fill-in starter.
Toronto’s Achilles heel throughout the bulk of 2021 was its bullpen, which Stripling/Pineda would beef up. An improved Anthony Kay helps that cause, too. Plus, Villar and Pineda’s respective arrivals wouldn’t prevent the Blue Jays from making another signing to improve the bullpen.
Pineda is a savvy option for the Blue Jays.