Five Offseason Moves The Blue Jays Should Make

5. Sign a Major League Calibre Starter

For the fifth and final off season move, I had some trouble picking between a backup catcher and a fifth starter. There were two reasons that compelled me to choose signing a major league calibre starter.

For one, the Blue Jays already have in-house options for the backup catching position. Danny Jansen surprisingly emerged as a top 10 catching prospect in 2017 and looks to be a legitimate option as Russell Martin’s heir. Another option could be Reese McGuire who is a young catcher that has very strong receiving skills, but still needs a little more work with the bat.

The second reason that convinced me to choose a starter over a backup catcher is the fact that I really like Joe Biagini in the bullpen. While his stuff could definitely play in the rotation, I personally think that a shutdown reliever is more valuable than a fifth starter.

So with that in mind, who could the Blue Jays target in free agency? Because the Blue Jays have many holes to fill and a limited amount of money, they can’t sign top tier pitchers such as Jake Arrieta or Yu Darvish. Instead, they are more likely to target mid to low tier starters to complement Stroman, Sanchez, Estrada, and Happ in the rotation.

Intriguing right-handed options include Tyler Chatwood, Alex Cobb, and John Lackey. Interesting left-handed options include Brett Anderson, Jaime Garcia, and Francisco Liriano.

The most important aspect in this offseason move is not who the Blue Jays sign, but the fact that they do sign a Major League calibre starter. With so many question marks in the rotation, the Blue Jays can’t afford to sign minor league deals with fringe MLB starters and hope for the best – at least not if they want to legitimately complete in 2018.