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Teoscar Hernández is one of 30+ former Blue Jays available in free agency

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Major League Baseball’s free agency always starts slow.

As it stands, 10 players have signed a contract so far, one of which (Nick Robertson) accepted his qualifying offer from the Cincinnati Reds. There are a whole lot more free agents, including 34 former Blue Jays.

We won’t look at every single former Blue Jays’ season, but we’ll highlight the relievers to keep an eye on this postseason. Let’s go position by position.

Relievers

As you can imagine, there are a ton of former Blue Jay relievers as the position is so volatile. There are 15 former Blue Jays relievers available in free agency, with several of them pitching for the 2024 Blue Jays. 

Yimi García was traded to the Seattle Mariners before the trade deadline and is available to be signed. Last season, he had a 3.46 ERA and a 3.73 FIP in 39 innings pitched, but only pitched nine innings with the Mariners. Joining him from the 2024 team in free agency are Trevor Richards, Génesis Cabrera, and Ryan Yarbrough, the latter being Toronto’s only free agent.

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Jeff Hoffman is arguably the best reliever available. He was involved in the 2015 trade that brought Troy Tulowitzki to the Jays and finally broke out in his 30s. Last season with the Philadelphia Phillies, the 31-year-old had a 2.17 ERA and a 2.52 FIP in 66.1 innings pitched with a 33.6 K% and a 6 BB%.

Kirby Yates, Ryan Borucki, Jesse Chavez, Carl Edwards Jr., Jacob Barnes, Miguel Castro (also involved in the Tulowitzski deal), Kendall Graveman, Jay Jackson, Adam Cimber, and Dominic Leon are the other former Blue Jay relievers on the market.

Starting pitchers

There are five former Blue Jays starting pitchers available. Of course, Yusei Kikuchi is the most noteworthy, as the left-handed pitcher had a 4.05 ERA and a 3.46 FIP in 175.2 innings pitched with the Jays and Houston Astros.

The Astros acquired him before the trade deadline, sending the Jays a nice package of Will Wagner, Joey Loperfido, and Jake Bloss. Kikcuhi had success in an Astros uniform though, as he had a 2.70 ERA and a 3.07 FIP in 60 innings pitched, helping the team win the American League West division.

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Ross Stripling once pitched with Kikuchi in the rotation back in 2022, where he had a 3.01 ERA and a 3.11 FIP in 134.1 innings pitched. He signed with the San Francisco Giants and pitched for both Bay Area teams the past two seasons

Other former Blue Jay starters available in free agency are Chase Anderson, Anthony DeSclafani (traded to the Marlins in 2012), and Matt Boyd. The latter was involved in the blockbuster deal to acquire David Price before the 2015 trade deadline.

Catchers 

There are three former Blue Jay catchers in free agency. At one point, there were four, but Travis d’Arnaud signed with the Los Angeles Angels earlier this month.

Danny Jansen is the most notable of them, as he was the longest-serving Blue Jay before the Jays traded him to the Boston Red Sox before the 2024 trade deadline for Eddinson Paulino, Gilberto Batista, and Cutter Coffey. As a whole, Jansen slashed .206/.308/.348 with nine home runs in 328 plate appearances.

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While it was a rough season for the 29-year-old, Jansen hit a career-high 17 home runs in 301 plate appearances with the Jays in 2023 and had a 141 wRC+ in 2022.

The two other former Blue Jays are Yan Gomes and Luke Maile. Gomes played his first season in MLB with the Jays in 2012, while Maile spent three seasons with the Jays from 2017 until 2019. I also bought a child-sized Maile jersey by accident after his hot streak to begin the 2018 season. Oops.

Infielders

Instead of going position by position for the infield, we’ll look at first base, second base, shortstop, and third base combined into one section.

Justin Turner played for the Blue Jays in 2024, slashing .256/.350/.372 with six home runs in 349 plate appearances for a 112 wRC+. The Jays traded him to the Seattle Mariners before the trade deadline for RJ Schreck, the best name in all of baseball. Turner’s tenure with Toronto was good, but hopefully, he isn’t the notable bat the Jays bring in this off-season.

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Whit Merrifield spent parts of two seasons with the Jays after they acquired him at the 2022 trade deadline. With the Philadelphia Phillies and the Atlanta Braves, Merrifield slashed .222/.311/.314 with four home runs for an 80 wRC+. At this point in his career, he’s a utility player.

Other former Blue Jay infielders include Rowdy Tellez, Aledmys Díaz, Gio Urshela, Paul DeJong, and Brandon Drury. Urshela and Drury are two examples of players who figured it out later in their careers. I’ll add the only former Blue Jay who is a designated hitter here. Daniel Vogelbach played with the Blue Jays in 2024 (and 2020), getting 79 plate appearances before the Jays designated him for assignment.

Outfielders

There are three former Blue Jay outfielders available in free agency. The most notable of them is Teoscar Hernández, who slashed .272/.339/.501 with a career-high 33 home runs in 652 plate appearances, along with a 134 wRC+ and a World Series ring to boot. Unlike last off-season, Hernández has the loss of a draft pick attached to whichever team signs him.

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The two other outfield free agents are Kevin Pillar and Randal Grichuk. All three of those outfielders played together in 2018. What a dark period.

As always, you can follow me on Bluesky @ryleydelaney.bsky.social.