Despite failing haul in Kyle Tucker and/or retain Bo Bichette, the Toronto Blue Jays have had a positive offseason, especially when it comes to their starting rotation. Adding Dylan Cease and Cody Ponce to a staff that already includes Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber, and Trey Yesavage was an undeniably strong start to the offseason for Toronto.
But could the Blue Jays actually still be shopping for top-line starting pitching?
Bleacher Report’s MLB writer Kerry Miller reminded us all on Monday that Toronto had an in-person meeting with free-agent left-hander Framber Valdez back in November.
Miller then wondered aloud if the Jays renew their interest in Valdez, now that they missed out on Tucker and won’t be spending the $350 million they allegedly offered to the outfielder over 10 years.
Ultimately, though, Miller concluded that a Valdez-Jays union is not likely.
“Save for occasional mentions of the Orioles’ interest level, Framber Valdez’s market has been strangely quiet all offseason,” Miller wrote. “But he’s eventually going to sign somewhere, right? And the Blue Jays are clearly all-in on winning in 2026, right? It’s still an unlikely pairing.”
“The Blue Jays signing Valdez would be about as superfluous as the Red Sox signing Ranger Suárez with all the rotation options they already had,” Miller continued. “It would also cost them way more … Every dollar the Blue Jays add to their payroll at this point comes with a 90 cent tax. So if they add Valdez at a $35M AAV, it would add $31.5M to their tax payment, too. They were willing to bite that bullet for Tucker, but for Valdez? Probably not.”
