Blue Jays All-Time WAR Leaders- Position Players

The Toronto Blue Jays played their first franchise game on April 07th, 1977, some 42 years later, we look at the Top 15 WAR position players in franchise history.

According to Fangraphs, WAR is defined as Wins Above Replacement (WAR) is an attempt by the sabermetric baseball community to summarize a player’s total contributions to their team in one statistic. You should always use more than one metric at a time when evaluating players, but WAR is all-inclusive and provides a useful reference point for comparing players.

Toronto has seen 782 different players register at least one major league at-bat since the organization’s existence, this statistic also includes pitchers who have tempted their fate during interleague play.

The Blue Jays have seen a handful of Hall of Famers cross the border and suit up for Canada’s team over the years. The likes of Rickey Henderson, Dave Winfield, and Paul Molitor have all don the blue and white at one time or another, however, in order to be on the All-Time WAR list, you need to couple production with longevity.

The All-Time franchise home run and runs batted in leader is Carlos Delgado with 336 round trippers and 1058 ribbies, how will Delgado fare on the Blue Jays WAR leaderboard?

Without further ado, here are your Top 15 WAR contributors for position players in Toronto Blue Jays franchise history.

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#15- Ernie Whitt- 19.2 WAR

Ernie Whitt was the 34th selection in the 1976 expansion draft that featured the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays alternating picks between rounds. Whitt was the 14th player drafted by the Jays and the second catcher drafted, the Mariners had selected Bob Stinson with the 25th pick.

The backstop spent 12 years with the Blue Jays spanning from 1977 through to 1989 compiling a 19.2 WAR over the course of 1218 games with Toronto. His best season in terms of WAR was 1983 when he posted a 3.4 rating while hitting .256/.346/.459 with 17 homers, 56 runs batted in and 50 walks in 400 plate appearances.

For his career north of the border, Whitt and his tools of ignorance hit .253/.327/.420 with 131 home runs over 3977 plate appearances. The veteran catcher also represented the Blue Jays at the 1985 All-Star game, his only career appearance.

The Blue Jays eventually traded Whitt along with outfielder Kevin Batiste to the Atlanta Braves at the conclusion of 1989 season in exchange for pitcher Ricky Trlicek.

Whitt has stayed true to his adopted Canadian roots managing Team Canada on the International scene since 1999 winning gold medals in the previous two Pan-Am games.

#14- Fred McGriff- 19.4 WAR

Fred McGriff could very well have had the #1 spot on this list had he spent more than five seasons with Toronto. Crime Dog was dealt in arguably the most memorable trade in Blue Jays franchise history following the 1990 campaign. McGriff along with Tony Fernandez was shipped to the San Diego Padres in exchange for Roberto Alomar and Joe Carter.

The Blue Jays acquired McGriff as a minor leaguer in 1982 from the New York Yankees and the first baseman did not disappoint. McGriff hit .278/.389/.530 with 125 homers in 578 games while employed by Toronto.

In 1989, McGriff accumulated a 6.6 WAR rating, the highest WAR season in his 19-year career. The slugger hit .269/.399/.525 with 36 homers and 92 ribbies in 161 games with the Jays. McGriff won a Silver Slugger that season and finished sixth in AL MVP voting.

McGriff would hang up the spikes with 493 career home runs and a Hall of Fame worthy 52.6 WAR spanning across 2460 games with six different teams. The former Blue Jay sits on the cusp of Cooperstown and could finally get his due this time around.

#13- Alex Rios- 20.4 WAR

Alex Rios was drafted by the Blue Jays in the first round, 19th overall of the 1999 amateur draft and although Rios never lived up to the lofty expectations placed on him, he still did enough to rank 13th on the All-Time WAR leaderboard.

The toolsy outfielder spent six years in Toronto before the Jays cut bait with Rios letting him walk on waivers to the Chicago White Sox. During his tenure with the Blue Jays, Rios hit .285/.335/.451 with 81 home runs and 112 stolen bases in 809 games.

The best WAR season of his career (5.9 WAR) came with the Jays came in 2008, Rios hit .291/.337/.461 with 15 homers and 32 swipes in 155 games. Although his power numbers were down that season, he made up for it with success on the base paths.

Rios wound end up playing for four teams over the course of 12 MLB seasons accumulating a 27.4 WAR. The two-time All-Star would finish his career with 169 round trippers and 253 stolen bases in what turned out to be a very respectable career for the former first-rounder.

#11- Josh Donaldson- 21.4 WAR

Josh Donaldson put up a ton of WAR in a short period of time with the Blue Jays, pretty amazing considering he battled injuries the past two seasons in Toronto. Donaldson rivals McGriff as a player who could be atop this list had he remained with the team for an extended period.

J.D. was acquired from the Oakland Athletics following the 2014 season, he would spend the next four seasons with Toronto before being shipped to Cleveland late last summer. From 2015 through 2016, Donaldson put up WAR totals of 8.5 and 7.6 over the course of two years with the Blue Jays. Those totals followed back to back campaigns in Oakland where he accumulated 7.7 and 7.5 WAR totals.

In 2015, Donaldson hit .297/.371/.568 with 41 homers, 123 runs batted in and 122 runs scored in 158 games. That stat line was good enough for his ridiculous 8.5 WAR and the AL MVP award.

Thus far, Donaldson sports an impressive 38.5 WAR career rating over 8 MLB seasons with three different teams. J.D. will attempt to channel his inner 2015 in his first season reunited with former GM Alex Anthopoulos in Atlanta.

#10- Devon White- 22.3 WAR

Devon White was an integral part of the WAMCO contingent that propelled the Toronto Blue Jays to back-to-back World Series championship titles in 1992-93. The Blue Jays acquired the slick-fielding outfielder from the California Angels in a six-player swap in the winter of 1990.

Devo would spend 5 years north of the border compiling a 22.3 WAR total while with the Blue Jays. From 1991 to 1993, White was a model of consistency as his WAR totals mimicked one another for those three seasons notching totals of 6.3, 6.2 and 6.3.

In 1991, White hit .282/.342/.445 with 17 home runs and 33 stolen bases while playing Gold Glove defence for the Blue Jays. The outfielder would claim the Gold Glove award in all five years he patrolled centre field for Toronto.

White would end up joining the Florida Marlins via free agency in 1995 closing the book on a Blue Jays legacy. Devo would retire after playing for 17 seasons with six different teams sporting a final WAR total of 47. 3 for his career.

#9- Roberto Alomar- 22.3 WAR

Roberto Alomar and Devon White share the identical WAR totals after five seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays. Alomar was ranked 9th on the list seeing he is the first Blue Jays player to be inducted into Cooperstown wearing a Jays cap.

The Blue Jays acquired Alomar in one of the most influential trades in franchise history coming to Toronto along with World Series hero Joe Carter (8.5 WAR with Blue Jays). Alomar was the straw that stirred the Blue Jays offensive drink during their back-to-back championships.

In terms of WAR, 1992 was Alomar’s best season in Toronto notching a 6.6 WAR. The defensive wizard hit /310/.405/.427 with 177 hits, 27 doubles, eight homers and 49 stolen bases in 152 contests. The Hall of Famer was an All-Star and Gold Glover every year he was in Toronto.

Following the 1995 campaign, Alomar would sign with the Baltimore Orioles and play another decade with multiple teams. When it was all said and done, Alomar earned a career WAR total of 67.1 over 17 seasons with seven different teams. In 2011, Roberto Alomar was enshrined in Cooperstown.

#8- John Olerud- 22.6 WAR

John Olerud was drafted in the 3rd round of the 1989 amateur draft out of Washington State University. The smooth-swinging first baseman would never play an inning in the minor league making his MLB debut shortly after signing with the Blue Jays in 1989.

Olerud would spend eight seasons with the Blue Jays hitting .293/.395/.471 with 109 home runs and a 22.6 WAR in 920 games. In 1993, Olerud flirted with .400 all season long before finishing with a league-leading .363 batting average.

That World Series-winning season of 1993 would also mark his best campaign for WAR as well. Olerud slashed .363/.473/.599 with 54 doubles, 24 homers, 107 runs batted in and a 7.8 WAR in 158 games. Somehow Olerud finished 3rd in AL MVP voting that year behind teammate Paul Molitor and Frank Thomas. Olerud had a higher WAR total than both of them.

Olerud would eventually leave Toronto for the New York Mets via free agency in 1997. The first baseman would play for five teams over 17 seasons retiring with a 58.2 WAR total. Olerud often gets forgotten about in the Blue Jays collection of superstars but he was a legit hitting machine.

#7- Edwin Encarnacion- 24.3 WAR

Edwin Encarnacion sneaks into #7 on the Blue Jays All-Time WAR list, however, that should come as no surprise to anyone. Encarnacion spent eight seasons with Toronto after the Blue Jays acquired him from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for Scott Rolen.

Encarnacion became a fan favourite during his time in Toronto and hit a huge walk-off home run in the wild-card game versus the Baltimore Orioles in 2016. Surprisingly, 2012 is his best season for WAR totals, Encarnacion hit .280/.384/.557 with 42 homers, 110 runs batted in and a 5.0 WAR in 151 games.

The three-time All-Star formed a potent offence along with Jose Bautista and Josh Donaldson during the teams two postseason runs. Although the Blue Jays never won the big prize, they were one of the most talented teams in baseball for that stretch in 2015-16.

During his career in Toronto, Edwin and the imaginary parrot slashed a career .268/.355/.522 line with 239 home runs in 999 games. Over the course of his 14-year career, Encarnacion has accumulated a 32.2 WAR total which he will try to increase in his first season with Seattle in 2019.

#6- Lloyd Moseby- 26.0 WAR

Lloyd Moseby spent all but two of his 12-year MLB career with the Blue Jays. The Shaker is still the Blue Jays highest draft pick to date having been selected in the first round, 2nd overall in the 1978 amateur draft. The Braves had the 1st overall pick and opted for Bob Horner, leaving Moseby for the Jays.

Moseby comes in at sixth on the All-Time list with a 26.0 WAR during his decade long tenure with the Jays. As earlier mentioned, Moseby part of the outfield trio with Bell and Barfield. Moseby had his best all-around season in 1984 and it showed in his WAR totals.

In 1984, the Shaker hit .280/.368/.470 with 15 triples, 18 big flies, 39 stolen bases and a 7.3 WAR in 158 games. That is a heck of a season by anyone’s standard. Moseby would finish his Blue Jays career slashing .257/.333/.415 with 60 triples, 149 home runs, and 255 stolen bases in 1392 games.

He would go onto sign with the Detroit Tigers as a free agent in 1989 and retire from baseball two years later. Moseby ended up with a career 27.5 WAR total in 1588 games.

#5- Vernon Wells- 28.7 WAR

Vernon Wells is much like Lloyd Moseby having been selected high in the first round of the amateur draft, the Blue Jays selected Wells in the first round, 5th overall in the 1997 amateur draft. Former Blue Jays’ Troy Glaus (3rd) and Jason Grilli (4th) were taken just before Wells that year.

“V-Dub” spent 12 seasons with the Blue Jays and was productive during his time in Toronto, unfortunately, he was saddled with unrealistic expectations from the fanbase due to his astronomical contract.

In terms of WAR production, 2006 was Wells best season as the outfielder hit .303/.357/.542 with 32 home runs, 106 ribbies, and 17 stolen bases which were good enough for a career-high 6.2 WAR total.

Wells had a very impressive career stat line with the Jays hitting .280/.329/.475 with 223 homers, 813 runs batted in and 90 stolen bases in 1393 games. He and his contract would be shockingly dealt to the Los Angeles Angels where he would play for two seasons before finishing his career with the Yankees.

Wells would retire with a career 28.5 WAR total down from his Toronto total of 28.7.

#4- Jesse Barfield- 29.5 WAR

Jesse Barfield played nine years of his 12-year MLB career with the Toronto Blue Jays after the team selected him in the ninth round of the 1977 amateur draft. The outfielder was renowned for his cannon of an arm and opposing baserunners learned quickly not to run on the “Rifleman”.

Barfield had many memorable seasons in Toronto but none more memorable than the 1986 campaign. The slugger hit .289/.368/.559 with 40 homers, 108 runs batted in and a 7.6 WAR in 158 games. Barfield also chipped in 20 outfield assists on defence that season.

He would finish 5th in MVP voting that season while also winning the Gold Glove, Silver Slugger award and represent the Jays at the All-Star game. Not too shabby of a season.

He would finish his Blue Jays career with a .265/.334/.483 slash line and 179 home runs in a Jays uniform. In the spring of 1989, the Blue Jays would trade Barfield to the New York Yankees in exchange for pitcher Al Leiter.

Barfield would spend the rest of his career with the Yanks totaling a career 39.4 WAR over 12 seasons between Toronto and New York.

#3- Carlos Delgado- 36.8 WAR

Carlos Delgado is one of the most decorated Blue Jays players in franchise history, the slugger holds nearly every offensive team record. The native of Puerto Rico spent 12 seasons in Toronto shattering club records and was my pick to finish first on this list before looking deeper at the numbers.

Delgado slides into third on the All-Time list with a 36.8 WAR and narrowly missing out on the top spot. The first baseman was money every season but he was especially good in 2000 when he hit .344/.470/.664 with 57 doubles, 41 home runs, 137 runs batted in and a 7.3 WAR in 162 games. Yeah, those don’t scream out Hall of Fame numbers at all.

The former backstop would end his Blue Jays career hitting .282/.392/.556 with 336 home runs in 1423 games. Delgado would sign with the Miami Marlins after the 2004 season concluding his Blue Jays run.

He would play 17 seasons with three different teams ending his career with a WAR total of 44.4. Yet somehow, Delgado was removed from the Hall of Fame ballot after one kick at the cat for not meeting the minimum requirement of votes. Apparently, 473 career home runs don’t buy you a second crack.

#2- Jose Bautista- 37.0 WAR

Jose Bautista may be the most recognizable player in Blue Jays history, he is a household name anywhere in the country. The bat flips, the swagger, the home runs and apparently the WAR as Bautista finishes just short of first place in the All-Time Blue Jays WAR totals with 37.0.

Joey Bats and his story are well documented as the Blue Jays acquired the struggling Bautista from the Pittsburgh Pirates way back in 2008. He would spend a decade in Toronto and rival Delgado’s franchise records.

He single-handedly put baseball back on the map in 2010 when he launched 54 moonshots. The following season would be his best statistically speaking in terms of WAR. In 2011, Bautista hit .302/.447/.608 with 43 homers, 103 runs batted in and league-leading 132 bases on balls in 149 games. Joey Bats would set a career watermark for WAR that season totaling 8.3.

Bautista and the Blue Jays have since gone their separate ways as the slugger spent last season with different teams. It was the second straight season the Bautista has been a minus WAR player lowering his career total to 35.6.

We will always have Game 5 versus the Texas Rangers.

#1- Tony Fernandez- 37.5 WAR

Tony Fernandez is the Blue Jays All-Time WAR Leader with a 37.5 WAR and probably a safe bet that he was not your first choice. Remember the two key elements: Production and Longevity. Fernandez definitely checked off both those categories.

Fernandez spent 12 seasons with the Blue Jays scattered over four different tenures throughout his MLB career. He was a real-life Blue Jays boomerang, you couldn’t keep him away for long. Although known more as a defender, Fernandez could hit and displayed that in 1987 when he hit .322/.379/.426 with eight triples, five homers, and 32 stolen bases in 146 games. His 5.1 WAR total was the second consecutive season he topped 5.0.

The native of the Dominican Republic could hurt you with his glove or his bat, a solid contact hitter who was always a tough out for opposing pitchers. Fernandez could draw a walk or swipe a bag when needed, truly a complete player.

The shortstop was well traveled throughout his 17-year career playing for seven different teams and the Blue Jays four times. He would retire in 2001 with a career 45.3 WAR total albeit most of it was accumulated while a member of the Blue Jays.