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Former Blue Jays you may see in the AL East this season

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With free agency and trades being the highlight of each winter, the Toronto Blue Jays roster always looks different heading into a new season. There have also been years where the Jays tried to bridge the gap with one-year deals and veteran players to field a competitive team during the rebuild, meaning names and faces have come in like a revolving door at times.

Looking at the AL East, there are a handful of former Blue Jays still lingering in the division. Fans of the team and those who follow the prospect system may recognize some names from the list below.

* denotes with the team in the upper levels of the minor leagues and could play in the big leagues in 2025

Baltimore Orioles

Bryan Baker – RHP*

Acquired by the Blue Jays in exchange for Seung-hwan Oh in 2018, right-hander Bryan Baker made one appearance for the Blue Jays in 2021 before being designated for assignment the following offseason. Since then, he has floated between the big leagues and triple-A, making 131 appearances for the Orioles across the past three seasons. He owns a 3.78 ERA through 138 innings and a 3.26 FIP, with a power fastball being his go-to pitch. Jays fans may recall the bench-clearing incident that ensued back in 2022 after he struck out Matt Chapman and made a ‘hand signal’ to the dugout.

Fangraphs has Baker starting the year in triple-A, however, he is out of MiLB options and will need to be DFA’d if he does not make the big league squad out of camp.

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Franklin Barreto – OF*

A non-roster invitee for the Orioles, Jays prospect watchers will remember Barreto’s name as he was part of the trade package for Josh Donaldson from the A’s back in 2014. Since then, the Venezuelan product has appeared in 101 games and struggled to find an everyday role on a big-league diamond. He also underwent Tommy John surgery in 2021, hampering his big-league goals. After being released by the Washington Nationals in May of 2023, Barreto has spent the past two seasons in the Mexican League.

He will look to carve out a bench role on the Orioles as an outfielder.

Boston Red Sox

Liam Hendriks – RHP

Hailing from Perth, Australia, Jays fans will remember when Hendriks was claimed by the club during the 2013/2014 offseason (multiple times) and made three starts for the club that season before being traded to the Kansas City Royals. Toronto acquired him back from the Royals later that offseason and he had now transitioned into a bullpen arm and was finding more success. Through the 2015 season, Hendriks made 58 appearances and authored a 2.14 FIP and a 1.082 WHIP for the Jays with a 9.9 K/9 thrown in. He would be traded that offseason to the A’s in exchange for right-hander Jesse Chavez.

Since then, Hendriks has suited up for the A’s and the Chicago White Sox and has been through it all – the reliever was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in early 2023 and later that year when he was healthy and cancer-free, he required Tommy John surgery. He signed a two-year pact with the Boston Red Sox last year and after making a handful of rehab appearances last year in the Red Sox system, he is healthy and ready to go for the 2025 campaign.

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Rob Refsnyder – OF

Outfielder Rob Refsynder had a cup of coffee with the Blue Jays in 2017, appearing in 32 games while posting a .196/.281/.216 slash line with one double and a .496 OPS. He would be designated for assignment the following offseason and bounced around a couple of teams before landing with the Boston Red Sox in 2022, where he has remained since in a bench capacity.

Josh Winckowski – RHP

A 15th-round draft pick of the Blue Jays in 2016, Winckowski didn’t make an appearance with the Jays as the pitcher would be dealt to the New York Mets during the 2020/2021 offseason as part of the package for southpaw Steven Matz. A couple of weeks later, the Mets would trade the Ohio product to the Boston Red Sox as part of a three-team deal and he has remained with the AL East squad ever since.

Winckowski would make his MLB debut in 2022, making 14 starts for the Red Sox to the tune of a 5.89 ERA. Since that season, the right-hander has moved into the bullpen and works as a swingman, making the odd start from time to time. His 2023 season opened some eyes, as he authored a 2.88 ERA through 84 1/3 innings and crafted a 3.91 FIP with a 8.8 K/9. Overall, through three seasons in the big leagues, Winckowski owns a 4.21 ERA through 115 outings with a 1.470 WHIP. FanGraphs predicts the reliever will return to the bullpen for the Red Sox to start the 2025 season.

New York Yankees

Mark Leiter Jr. – RHP

Leiter Jr., son of former big league hurler Mark Leiter, spent just eight games in the back end of the season with the Jays in 2018 and was DFA’d the following winter but stayed within the organization. In the Majors, he crafted a 13.50 ERA and allowed 10 runs through 6 2/3 innings.

He would undergo Tommy John surgery early into the 2019 season and became a free agent the following year and has bounced around a few teams before landing in New York last year. With the Yankees, he crafted a 4.98 ERA through 21 outings but was stellar in the postseason, collecting a 1.69 ERA through six outings and 5 1/3 innings split between the ALCS and World Series.

Marcus Stroman – RHP

One of the more popular names on this list is Marcus Stroman, a former top pitching prospect of the Blue Jays who spent six seasons with the Jays. Winning a Gold Glove (2017) and an All-Star nomination (2019), the right-hander crafted a 3.76 ERA and a 3.60 FIP with Toronto, posting a 114 ERA+ and a 7.2 K/9 through 789 2/3 innings.

Stroman was famously dealt to the New York Mets at the 2019 trade deadline and since then, he has found a home in Queens, Chicago (Cubs), and back in New York, with his hometown and boyhood favourite Yankees squad.

The two sides now appear to be at an impasse, as the veteran arm was on the Yankees trade block this winter and there is a strong chance he gets pushed out of the rotation with the offseason acquisition of Max Fried. Backing that decision is a rough 2024 campaign that saw him post a 4.62 FIP through 154 2/3 innings and he did not make an appearance in the postseason for New York last year. As one would expect, Stroman is not taking the news well.

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He is still on the books for this season and has a vesting option for 2025 if he pitches more than 140 innings.

Michael Arias – RHP*

Only the most rounded Blue Jays prospect followers may know Michael Arias, a Dominican product signed by the Jays in 2018.

A shortstop at the time, he spent the 2019 season in the Dominican Summer League and was a casualty of the 2020 COVID cuts that every team went through. He latched on with the Chicago Cubs in 2021 and since then, has moved from the infield to the diamond and the Yankees acquired him for cash just last month.

In 2024, he split the year between double-A and triple-A and authored a 4.77 ERA with 72 strikeouts through 60 1/3 innings.

Cam Eden – OF*

A speedster on the base paths, Cam Eden was a sixth-round pick of the Blue Jays in 2019 and made his MLB debut in 2023, with the club using his outfield skills and pinch running on occasion late in the year during the playoff push.

Eden was traded to the Yankees for cash just after the 2024 trade deadline and did not appear in the big leagues last season.

Tampa Bay Rays

Danny Jansen – C

A stalwart for the Blue Jays since 2019, the dealing of Danny Jansen to the Boston Red Sox last summer was probably the toughest pill to swallow for Jays fans in quite some time.

A favourite of the Jays fanbase, Jansen posted a .222/.308/.425 slash line and a .733 OPS through 471 games across seven seasons. Injuries impacted his career and the amount of time spent on the diamond, with the Illinois product being on the other hand of some unfortunate luck at times.

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Behind the plate, Jansen was renowned for his ability to call a game and his fielding ability, although he did struggle in 2024 between both teams.

Jansen returns to the AL East looking to capitalize on a one-year ‘prove-it’ deal with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Jacob Waguespack – RHP

Acquired by the Blue Jays in exchange for left-hander Aaron Loup in 2018, Jacob Waguespack spent two seasons in the big leagues from 2019 through 2020, making 27 appearances (13 starts). He struggled at times, posting a 5.08 ERA with 54 earned runs and 14 homers allowed, and he did not make a big league appearance through 2021 before hitting free agency.

Waguespack went overseas for a few seasons, suiting up for the Orix Buffaloes from 2021 through 2023, working as the club’s closer and in the bullpen. He returned stateside for the 2024 campaign, signing with the Rays and appearing in just four games while battling a shoulder injury down in triple-A Durham.

The Rays brought Waguespack back on a one-year deal for the 2025 season,

Jake Brentz – LHP*

An 11th-round draft pick of the Blue Jays in 2013, left-hander Jake Brentz spent parts of three seasons in the club’s farm system before being traded to the Seattle Mariners in 2015 as part of the package for reliever Mark Lowe at the deadline.

Since then, Brentz has seen some action in the Pirates system and with the  Royals, making 80 big-league appearances for Kansas City between 2021 and 2022. Tommy John surgery sent him to the sidelines during the 2022 campaign and while he would rejoin the Royals on a two-year deal during the 2022/2023 offseason, he has not appeared in the Major since.

Brentz signed a minor league deal with the Rays this past season.

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