Bargain bin shopping can be fun. Reminds me of the days when JPR was the GM here in his early years haha. I do believe the Jays will still be spending money, but won't be for the Tier 1 or 2 guys unfortunately since their prices have inflated. They might have to bargain hunt for other spots on the roster.
My bargain bin shopping list:
First two guys aren't really bargain FA signings, but if the Jays were to spend money, would sign these guys based on needs, cost and upside they offer.
- OF Tyler O'Neill (3 years/$42M): need to add thump to this lineup and when healthy O'Neill offers that. He's also still just 29 and offers some decent upside, which the Jays need to take a gamble on. Doubt he returns to being a 5 WAR player like he was in 2021, but out of all the outfielders/DH's not named Soto, he offers that kind of upside. All we need O'Neill is to be a 3-4 WAR guy and hit 30+ HR's. I've warmed up about signing him to a 3 year deal since Vladdy and Bo are both impending FA's after 2025, so at least the Jays would have a bat with some thump in 2026 at a decent cost.
Jeff Hoffman (4 years/$48M): need to add a high leverage reliever and Hoffman has been really darn good the past two seasons (1.5 and 2 WAR seasons). Would automatically make him the closer and at $12M AAV wouldn't be a bad price at all. He might cost more, so Jays might have to add an extra year maybe or up his salary by 1-2M. If Severino is getting paid $22M to barely crack 2 WAR, would rather sign Hoffman at around $12M AAV who can provide the same WAR possibly.
A.J. Minter (1 year/$8M): another high leverage arm who is a lefty, Minter would be a nice fit. Maybe at most he gets a second year tacked on. Has closing experience as well in case Hoffman can't handle the role from the start. Previous years had seasons of 1.3, 2 and 1.4 WAR. Might be a cheap way to add some WAR given the inflated prices of starters so far.
- Yoán Moncada (1 year/$5M): still only 29 and has some prior seasons where he was really solid. Worth rolling the dice on if he comes cheap and might get lucky he has a rejuvenated season. If he doesn't pan out, always have Clement who can start at 3B for an extended period if need be.
- SP Griffin Canning (1 year/$4M): I think the starting rotation is really down on their list right now, especially after seeing what arms like Severino and Boyd got as FA's. Rotation is actually fine as is if everyone is healthy, but depth is an issue. Atkins has always loved to target durable arms who can stay healthy and Canning fits that bill. He's still only 28 and posted a 1.8 WAR season in 2023. Maybe Pete Walker unlocks some more potential with him. Sign Canning to be the No. 5 starter and use Y-Rod in the bullpen to start the season and see if he can carve out a high leverage role. Kinda like filling two holes with one move. If Canning struggles, can always move Y-Rod into the rotation.
So far all those moves would cost the Jays around $43M with some extra bucks left over to sign a backup C and maybe another reliever on the cheap. If Jays want to spoil themselves, sign Carson Kelly or bring back Dany Jansen on a one-year deal. Or just sign Reese McGuire for $1-2M.
If the Jays wanted to go cheaper on adding an outfielder, Conforto (2 years/$18-20M) instead of O'Neill. Horwitz I'm assuming will DH still with Wagner at 2B.
Lineup:
C Kirk/Kelly
1B Guerrero
2B Wagner
3B Moncada
SS Bichette
LF O'Neill
CF Varsho
RF Springer
DH Horwitz
BN Clement
BN Loperfido
BN Schneider/Jimenez/Barger
Rotation:
1) Gausman
2) Berrios
3) Bassitt
4) Francis
5) Canning
Bullpen:
RHP Hoffman
LHP Minter
RHP Swanson
RHP Y-Rodriguez
RHP Green
RHP Burr
LHP Little
Another FA reliever
As the Term would say, WC3 will be easy to make!