Blue Jays reportedly interested in Mike Fiers and Kendall Graveman

According to a tweet from Jon Morosi, it sounds like the Blue Jays are interested in a pair of non-tender candidates in Mike Fiers and Kendall Graveman.

It sounds like the rumour mill is already starting to churn at the winter meetings, and it even includes the Toronto Blue Jays.

According to a tweet from Jon Morosi of the MLB Network, it sounds like the Blue Jays are interested in the services of a pair of starting pitchers who were non-tendered earlier in this offseason. Both pitched with the Oakland A’s last season, with Fiers also spending time with the Detroit Tigers.

The interest makes sense in a couple of different scenarios. First and foremost, the Blue Jays will need starting pitching for next year, and both Fiers and Graveman could theoretically offer some veteran help to a young group. However, Morosi also mentions that they could act as reinforcements in the event that Ross Atkins trades one or both of Marcus Stroman or Aaron Sanchez.

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This discussion has happened quite a bit already this offseason, even here at Jays Journal. However, whenever I’ve written about the situation in particular, I just don’t see the Blue Jays trading either Stroman or Sanchez right now, especially at a low point in their value. That said, it’s understandable why the rest of baseball would think the Blue Jays could be sellers, especially as they are at the beginning stages of a rebuild.

Back to Fiers and Graveman, the two of them would be a suitable fit whether the Blue Jays decide to trade their two starters or not. Fiers in particular had a useful season in 2018, finishing with a 12-8 record with a 3.56 ERA in 172 innings between the two clubs. Admittedly I was a little surprised that the A’s let him go, but they do have a budget to work with in Oakland.

Graveman would be a bit more of a risk, but he’s also familiar to the Blue Jays. He was part of the trade package that brought back Josh Donaldson back before the 2015 season, and has been a useful starter during his time in Oakland, with a 4.38 ERA in 78 career starts. He only made seven starts last year and actually had Tommy John surgery and may not even be an option at all in 2019.

It’s hard to say whether the Blue Jays will move on a starting pitching option at the winter meetings or if they’ll wait until later in the offseason, but a candidate like Fiers in particular makes a fair amount of sense. Even if the Blue Jays keep Stroman and Sanchez, they’re still looking at a young group that would include Ryan Borucki, Thomas Pannone, Sean Reid-Foley, and Sam Gaviglio, so they could use some veteran depth.