Blue Jays: Five goals for the Winter Meetings

TORONTO, ON – MARCH 30: Justin Smoak #14 of the Toronto Blue Jays hits a double in the first inning during MLB game action against the New York Yankees at Rogers Centre on March 30, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)

Explore the Market for Smoak

It’s been well documented that Justin Smoak, a 2018 Gold Glove finalist, has been a relative bargain for the Blue Jays over the past few seasons. Slashing a cumulative .256/.353/.495 over the past two seasons, he’s been the most consistent hitter on the roster over the last two years. With an All-Star appearance under his belt and a stellar 63 homers since 2017, Smoak has been worth a combined 5.5 WAR.

His $8 million salary, which looks more and more reasonable by the day, increases his attractiveness on the trade market. Now, this is not to say that the Jays should be actively looking to trade Smoak, because, after all, they need someone to hit behind Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and anchor the offence next year. But, they should at least be exploring the market and feeling out just what a potential Smoak trade might bring them. I won’t pretend to have a complete understanding of Smoak’s trade value right now, but they could do a lot worse than explore other teams’ interest in him, especially with the Winter Meetings right around the corner.

While the front office isn’t exactly likely to put this at the top of their priority list, someone like Smoak could help a number of contenders and even some playoff hopefuls with restrictive payrolls for next year.

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