The Toronto Blue Jays will have to make some tough roster decisions this offseason.
Toronto made it to the World Series a year ago but lost in Game 7 to the Los Angeles Dodgers. This year, the Blue Jays have struggled as they are battling for a playoff spot.
Regardless of whether Toronto makes the playoffs or not, the Blue Jays will have some intriguing roster moves to make this offseason.
Toronto Blue Jays Predicted to Part Ways With Myles Straw
The Blue Jays have some key pending free agents like George Springer, Shane Bieber, and Max Scherzer, among others.
Yet, Toronto has an interesting decision to make on Myles Straw. The fan-favorite outfielder has an $8 million option, and the Cleveland Guardians are on the hook for the $1.75 million buyout, meaning the Blue Jays can get out of the contract for nothing.
With that, Blue Jays analyst Matthew Spagnuolo of BlueJaysNation believes Toronto could move on from Straw this offseason.
“While Straw’s defence is top-notch and makes up for trading away Daulton Varsho’s glove, Brett Bateman has emerged as the team’s new every-day center fielder. While it is a small sample size, Bateman’s performance is helping his case to be a future piece to their contention puzzle,” Spagnuolo wrote.
“Straw is a hitter with a career .634 OPS, which may not fit his potential price tag of $8 million. While that may seem harsh, given how the overall roster’s OPS sits at 27th in baseball (.692), they need to really improve in all-around hitting metrics. While we have seen Straw as a workhorse and ultimate teammate, the reality is that you need to build a roster around players who can not only defend, but also hit, at least at a $8 million price point.”
Toronto has Brett Bateman as its starting center fielder, and although Straw is a solid fourth outfielder, the Blue Jays could look internally. The Blue Jays, meanwhile, could even decline the $8 million option and sign him for cheaper, and not be on the hook for declining the 2028 $8.5 million option.
Regardless, Straw’s future in Toronto is very much up in the air with just weeks left in the season.
Toronto Right Now
The Blue Jays are battling for a playoff spot and are now 1 game behind the Guardians for the final Wild Card spot.
Toronto beat the Athletics 4-2 to even up the series and will look for the series win on Wednesday.
“This is what you play for,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “They understand that. I don’t think that the environment or the weather or anything has any bearing. We’ve got to go out and just play a little better than we did yesterday.”
The Blue Jays are 73-73.
Toronto Blue Jays Predicted to Part Ways With 9-Year Veteran