The Toronto Blue Jays are coming off a disappointing season and should look to make some major moves this offseason.
Toronto will likely be aggressive in adding some impact hitters, but should also look to add some more pitching. Teams can never have enough pitching, and they should look to add another reliever or two.
The Blue Jays have an elite closer in Louis Varland but should look for more depth bullpen options.
Toronto Blue Jays Linked to Former Yankees Pitcher
Toronto has an elite bullpen with Varland at closer, with Tyler Rogers as a setup man, and could also have Spencer Miles back in the bullpen as well.
Yet, the Blue Jays should look to add more depth options, as Toronto has had a revolving door in the bullpen with the last few guys. With that, Blue Jays analyst David Cho of FanSided urged the team to sign former New York Yankees reliever Jonathan Loaisiga.
“The Blue Jays are very familiar with the former Yankee Loáisiga. He will not generate strikeouts, but he will use his bowling ball sinker to get a lot of ground balls. With the infield defense of Gold Glove winners Andrés Giménez and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the righty would not have to worry about groundballs getting past the infield,” Cho wrote.
Loaisiga would be a nice addition to the bullpen and add some more depth and experience to the bullpen. He spent last season with the Arizona Diamondbacks after spending his first eight years with the Yankees.
With Arizona, the right-hander went 7-3 with a 2.42 ERA in 67 games, showing how effective he can be. In his MLB career, he’s 26-15 with a 3.30 ERA in 260 games, showing how effective he can be out of the bullpen and has experience in high-leverage.
Loaisiga, meanwhile, has also proven he can pitch in the AL East, which is a major factor, as the ballparks aren’t easy to pitch in.
Toronto Expected to be Aggressive
The Blue Jays are coming off a disappointing season and should look to be aggressive this offseason.
Toronto lost in Game 7 of the World Series a year ago, and this past season was frustrating. So, Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins believes they will learn from this year.
“Baseball just punches you in the face — even when you’re really good — pretty regularly,” Atkins said. “So I don’t think our players came in with some level of complacency and needed any humility. But they’re going to learn just like they learned from winning.”
Toronto will likely focus on adding offensive help this offseason.
Toronto Blue Jays Linked to Former Yankees Pitcher to Bolster Bullpen