He is 38 years old, has played only six innings in the past two seasons, and his chances of securing a multi-year deal are rising. There are a lot of red flags out there, but there’s also upside.
The warning sign with the Cy Young upside is a gamble this Blue Jays regime has taken successfully before, and per reports they are trying to toss the dice again with Verlander.
Noah Syndergaard, according to Joel Sherman, and Verlander fits the bill, but the Blue Jays are clearly interested in short-lived, high-rewind veteran weapons after their alleged disappearance. What does this mean for the Blue Jays offseason plans, and what could a Verlander signing do later this winter? Let’s find out.
If we must take anything from the Blue Jays rumors of the past 16 months, it’s that management checks on everyone, and will be attached to almost every free agent because of it.
Andrew Heaney, the reported offers to Syndergaard, and now interest in Verlander should be taken with a grain of salt – especially in a free agent market where reported interest begets larger offers.
The Blue Jays are reportedly engaged to every free agent pitcher signed so far this winter—Heaney, Rodriguez, and Syndergaard. The starters got three very different contracts and three very different pitchers, but if the reports are correct, Toronto is on the offensive in the market.
Free agency may come to a screeching halt with MLB’s collective bargaining agreement expiring on December 1, so maybe the Blue Jays and other teams are looking to get to work before the lockdown.
However, interest in Verlander and Syndergaard also tells us that teams like the Red Sox, Yankees and Angels, as well as the Blue Jays are open to short-term purchases for high-end pitching. After locking Jose Berios into a seven-year extension, yet to be confirmed by the club, the Blue Jays stabilized Berrios and long-term rotation options at Alec Manoah and Hyun Jin Ryu for at least the next two years. Is.
With future rotation options secured, weapons like the Verlander could allow the Jays to add the potentially-elite starting pitcher they want without earning the market’s top starters. Robbie Ray and Kevin Gossman will be cashing in on longer-term deals, while Verlander may come off the books before Toronto’s young stars get paid.
AAVs of Ray or Verlander contracts could be comparable, however, meaning a Verlander signing would present economic challenges for the Blue Jays this year, despite leaving the long-term books clean. With a high-AAV starting pitching contract, the Blue Jays can turn to trading to make sure all their holes are filled by opening day — or the kind of free agent deals they had for last winter. Find them.
With needs infield, starting rotation, and in the bullpen, the business market is always going to look like an essential tool for Toronto this winter, and a Verlander contract will only ensure that. The Jays have already been linked to Miami in a bat-for-pitching swap, having previously circled Jose Ramirez, and are looking like a potential buyer for all the players the Oakland Athletics could sell.