Blue Jays reportedly gauging asking price for Josh Harrison

According to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the Toronto Blue Jays are one of three teams reportedly gauging the asking price on the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Josh Harrison.

This is not the first time this offseason that the Blue Jays and Josh Harrison have been linked to one another as the super utility player would be a great fit on the Jays roster and offer manager John Gibbons some flexibility when crafting his lineup day in and day out.

The New York Mets and New York Yankees are the other two teams also linked to the 30-year-old who could become a free agent at season’s end. Harrison will earn $10.25 million this season in guaranteed money and then has team options for 2019 and 2020 for $10.5 and $11.5 million respectively.

Harrison hit .272/.339/.432 with 16 home runs, 12 stolen bases, and a 3.3 WAR in 128 games last season for the Bucs. He sports a career .281/.321/.414 line with 44 round trippers and 72 swipes in his first 7 seasons in the majors.

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As valuable as Harrison is offensively, his versatility may be his best attribute as he has played nearly every position with the exception of centrefield, catcher and first base throughout his major league tenure.

Thus far Harrison has 310 games at second base, 264 games at third base, 110 games in the outfield split between right field and left, 37 games at shortstop and 0.1 innings on the bump. Harrison would unquestionably provide the Jays with some valuable insurance and depth in the event two-bagger Devon Travis or shortstop Troy Tulowitzki are unable to answer the bell once again this season at any point.

Harrison could also spell off Josh Donaldson at third base from time to time or any of the corner outfielders when needed. The Pirates are apparently motivated to wheel and deal with their eyes set on the future as it was speculated the Bucs were also shopping the likes of pitcher Gerrit Cole and Andrew McCutchen this offseason.

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There is no telling if talks are fluid or if this story will gather legs as the day’s progress but one thing is for sure, time is running out. With pitchers and catchers reporting in less than 50 days the Blue Jays need to solidify their roster and start looking toward 2018.