Blue Jays: Former players suiting up for new teams in 2019

Now that the Super Bowl is in the books, the Major League baseball season is right around the proverbial corner with spring training in the not so distant future. The 2019 season will feature an abundance of former Blue Jays players suiting up for new teams this upcoming season.

The following list of players will not include J.A. Happ or Steve Pearce as they re-signed with teams they ended the 2018 campaign with, so that precluded them from this list as technically they aren’t joining a new team. Happ re-upped with the Yankees on a 2-year pact with a vesting option for a third year while Pearce inked a one-year deal to return to the World Series Champions.

As well, former Blue Jays hurler Jaime Garcia was omitted as he hung up the spikes this past offseason announcing his retirement from baseball.

Aside from all the players in new digs, there is still an overwhelming plethora of former Blue Jays players still searching for new teams. The likes of Jose Bautista, Danny Valencia, Melky Cabrera, John Axford, Joaquin Benoit, Tyler Clippard, Tim Collins, Adeiny Hechavarria, Curtis Granderson, Aaron Loup, Yangervis Solarte, Jose Reyes, and Drew Storen all remain available in the free agent pool.

By my count, there are 13 former players who will be sporting new digs in 2019, in no particular order, here they are.

Marco Estrada- Oakland Athletics

Marco Estrada spent the past four seasons north of the border before signing a one-year/ $4 million dollar deal with the Oakland Athletics this past offseason. During his tenure in Toronto, Estrada went 39-40 with a 4.25 earned run average and a 10.3 WAR over 124 games with the Blue Jays.

The Blue Jays initially acquired Estrada following the 2014 season from the Brewers in exchange for Adam Lind. Estrada would become a free agent in 2015 but remained in Toronto on a new two-year deal that took him through to the conclusion of the 2018 season.

The 35-year old has dealt with a wonky back the past couple of seasons and was unable to recapture that 2016 magic. Estrada will be best remembered in Toronto for his postseason heroics in the 2015 and 2016 playoffs.

The soft-tosser won three postseason games while posting a minuscule 1.96 earned run average in six starts for the Blue Jays. Estrada answered the bell anytime he was called upon in the playoffs for Toronto.

Estrada will hope to instill some of that postseason experience with the young, upstart Athletics staff who surprised all the way to the Wild Card game in 2018. The Athletics would lose to the Yankees in the contest.

Jesse Chavez- Texas Rangers

Jesse Chavez inked a two-year/ $8 million dollar pact to return back to the Texas Rangers. Chavez began last season with the Rangers making 15 appearances with Texas before being traded to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for minor-leaguer Tyler Thomas.

The Blue Jays acquired Chavez at the conclusion of the 2015 season from the Oakland Athletics for pitcher Liam Hendriks. The right-hander would make 39 relief appearances for the Blue Jays in 2016 before the Jays shipped him to the Dodger mid-season for pitcher Mike Bolsinger.

Chavez was also part of the Blue Jays organization in 2012 making nine appearances for Toronto in his first go-round. The 35-year old had somewhat of a bounce-back campaign last season going 5-2 with an impressive 2.55 earned run average with five saves in 62 appearances for the Rangers and Cubs in 2018.

The veteran was lights out during his short tenure in Chicago posting a 1.15 earned run average in 32 appearances down the stretch last season for the Cubs. This undoubtedly contributed to Chavez securing an $8 million dollar commitment from the Rangers. Not a bad raise from the cool million he earned last year.

Rajai Davis- New York Mets

Rajai Davis continues to find work even at the ripe old age of 38 due to his ability to still create havoc on the base paths. The speedster signed a one-year deal with the New York Mets after spending last season with the Cleveland Indians.

In 101 games with the Tribe last season, Davis hit only .224 but still managed to steal 21 bases in 28 attempts over 216 plate appearances. The fleet afoot outfielder spent three seasons north of the border between 2011-13 after the Blue Jays acquired Davis from the Athletics in exchange for pitchers Danny Farquhar and Trystan Magnuson.

During his tenure in Toronto, Davis slashed .252/.299/.369 with 15 home runs, 125 stolen bases and a 6.7 WAR in 345 games with the Blue Jays. Davis currently ranks 66th on the All-Time Stolen Base Leaders list with 415 career thefts. He needs another 59 swipes to match Blue Jays Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar who sits 44th all-time.

Speed never slumps and even though the bat has regressed, Davis is still a threat off the bench or as a late game replacement. Keep running, Rajai.

Josh Donaldson- Atlanta Braves

Josh Donaldson will attempt to regain his MVP form with the Atlanta Braves after the third baseman signed a one-year/ $23 million dollar deal with the Braves.

Donaldson will reunite with former Blue Jays General Manager Alex Anthopoulos as the duo attempts to lead the upstart Braves back to the postseason. The 2014 acquisition of Donaldson is one of Anthopoulos’ most notable and successful trades he managed to pull off during his time in Toronto.

Donaldson ended the 2018 campaign with the Cleveland Indians after the Blue Jays shipped the hot corner specialist to the Indians for pitcher Julian Merryweather at the end of August. Donaldson spent nearly four seasons with Toronto hitting .281/.383/.548 with 116 home runs and a 21.4 WAR in 462 games.

During his time with the Blue Jays, Donaldson won an MVP award, two Silver Slugger awards and represented the Jays at the mid-summer classic on two occasions. The third baseman battled an assortment of nagging injuries the past two seasons but there is no questioning Donaldson is a legitimate game-changer when healthy.

There will undoubtedly be a small union of Blue Jays fans rooting for the former fan favourite and the Braves in 2019 especially with Toronto not expected to contend this season.

Ryan Goins- Chicago White Sox

Ryan Goins will attempt to rejuvenate his career as a member of the Chicago White Sox in 2019. The infielder saw action in only 41 MLB games last season with the Kansas City Royals before being released in July. Goins would latch on with the Philadelphia Phillies a day later but would be reassigned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley for the remainder of the season.

Goins spent five seasons with the Blue Jays up until the conclusion of the 2017 season. In 448 games with Toronto, Goins hit .228/.275/.335 with 20 homers and a 3.3 WAR. Goins saw action in 14 postseason games hitting .146 with a homer in 46 plate appearances.

Goins was better known for his defensive prowess and his innate ability to provide stability on the infield. The 30-year old sports a career .989 fielding percentage while playing a multitude of positions.

The former Blue Jay will have a tough task at hand to crack an Opening Day lineup, however, the infielder can still be an asset as a defensive replacement off the bench for the White Sox moving forward.

Kendall Graveman- Chicago Cubs

Kendall Graveman signed a one-year deal including a team option for 2020 with the Chicago Cubs this offseason. The hurlers Blue Jay career was short-lived after he was dealt to the Athletics as part of the package to obtain Josh Donaldson.

Graveman made five appearances in a Blue Jays uniform in 2014 posting a 3.86 earned run average in only 4.2 innings of work. The former 8th round pick will look to solidify himself as a major league starter in the windy city in 2019.

Last season, Graveman struggled with injuries making only seven starts for Oakland posting an ugly 7.60 earned run average. The 28-year old owns a career 23-29 record with a 4.38 earned run average and a 5.6 WAR in 83 games on the bump.

Graveman won’t be a shoo-in for the Cubs rotation but he has the potential and resume to step in when the need presents itself. It would appear going into spring training, Graveman ranks as starting pitching depth for the Cubs.

Drew Hutchison- New York Yankees

Drew Hutchison will suit up for his fifth MLB organization in 2019 when the hurler takes the ball for the New York Yankees. Hutchison spent parts of four seasons with the Blue Jays before he was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for Francisco Liriano, Harold Ramirez, and Reese McGuire in 2016.

The former 15th round pick made 76 appearances with the Blue Jays going 30-21 with a 4.92 earned run average and a 0.4 WAR during his tenure with Toronto. Hutchison still has not yet been able to live up to the expectations of once being the Blue Jays opening day starter.

Ironically that opening day start in 2015 was versus the Yankees and Hutchison reigned victorious over Masahiro Tanaka beating New York 6-1.

Last season, Hutchison spent time with the Phillies and Rangers going 2-2 with an inflated 6.75 earned run average in 16 appearances. He will surely begin the 2019 campaign in Triple-A for the Yankees and provide rotational depth in the event New York runs into injury troubles.

Troy Tulowitzki- New York Yankees

Troy Tulowitzki will essentially be paid by the Blue Jays in 2019, however, he will play shortstop for the New York Yankees. Toronto bought out the remaining $38 million owing to cut ties with Tulowitzki who will now earn the league minimum from the Yankees.

The Blue Jays acquired Tulowitzki from the Colorado Rockies in 2015 as the team was ramping it up for the postseason. The aging shortstop was an integral part of the Blue Jays playoff runs and an immediate upgrade over Jose Reyes.

However, injuries have decimated the past shortstops past two seasons with Tulo not even suiting up for a game in 2018. The Blue Jays opted to give Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and newly acquired Freddy Galvis an opportunity at shortstop rather than have Tulowitzki linger around.

During his three years in Toronto, Tulo hit .250/.313/.414 with 36 round trippers and a 4.7 WAR in 238 games. His Blue Jays stat line is a far cry from the totals he produced in the Mile-High City with the Rockies.

Tulo will undoubtedly put it all together and turn in a healthy, productive campaign for the Bronx Bombers in 2019, but such is life.

Russell Martin- Los Angeles Dodgers

Russell Martin will go back to where it all began in 2019 as the backstop was acquired by the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for two minor-leaguers. The Blue Jays opted to turn over the catching helm to a trio of backstops but mainly rookie Danny Jansen.

Martin will enter the final year of his 5-year pact he signed with the Blue Jays back in the offseason of 2014. The Canadian struggled offensively last season as it appeared Father Time may be finally catching up to veteran catcher.

During his four years with the Blue Jays, Martin hit .225/.336/.399 with 66 home runs and a 7.6 WAR over 447 games. Much like Tulowitzki, the catcher was a staple during the Blue Jays postseason runs and provided great leadership behind the dish.

Martin will return to the team that drafted him in the 17th round of the 2002 amateur draft. The catcher would spend his first five MLB seasons with the Dodgers before moving onto New York.

Hopefully, Martin can once again become an offensive asset for the Dodgers in 2019 and hey, who says you can never go home again.

Pat Venditte- San Francisco Giants

Pat Venditte will take his ambidextrous circus act to the Bay City in 2019 after inking a deal with the San Francisco Giants. Venditte spent part of the 2016 campaign with the Blue Jays after being selected off waivers from the Athletics.

The dual-throwing reliever made eight relief appearances for Toronto accumulating an inflated 5.19 earned run average in 8.2 innings of work. The Jays would eventually flip Venditte to the Mariners for minor-leaguer Tim Lopes in August of 2016.

Last season, Venditte made 15 appearances for the Dodgers sporting an impressive 2.57 earned run average while fanning nine in 14 innings of work. The reliever hadn’t appeared in the majors since 2016 prior to his small sample size with the Dodgers last season.

Venditte owns a career 2-2 record with a 4.45 earned run average and a -0.1 WAR in 56 career games with the Athletics, Blue Jays, Mariners, and Dodgers.

The 33-year old will look to put it all together over the course of an entire season with his new employer in 2019. Hopefully, for the Giants, two hands will be better than one.

Aledmys Diaz- Houston Astros

Aledmys Diaz was traded to the Houston Astros this past offseason for pitcher Trent Thornton after just one season in Toronto. The shortstop joined the Blue Jays the previous offseason after being acquired from the Cardinals.

Diaz performed admirably last season hitting .263/.303/.453 with 18 homers and a 1.4 WAR in 130 games for the Blue Jays in 2018. The 28-year provided adequate defence while showing good pop while reaching a career high in home runs.

The shortstop will join his third organization and owns a career .275/.325/.458 line with 42 home runs in 320 games with the Cards and Jays. Diaz was an All-Star in 2016 while also finishing fifth in Rookie of the Year voting that season.

Diaz along with fellow shortstop Troy Tulowitzki were both shown the door this offseason to clear a path for the Blue Jays rebuild to take full effect. The acquisition of a controllable pitcher outweighed the benefit of keeping Diaz in the fold.

Diaz will in all probability be utilized as a super utility player for the Astros in 2019 as Houston has the likes of Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, and Alex Bregman cemented as fixtures in their infield.

Francisco Liriano- Pittsburgh Pirates

As I was working on this piece, word broke that the Pittsburgh Pirates had signed former Blue Jays southpaw Francisco Liriano to a minor-league deal. It appears the deal is worth $1.8 million including another $1.5 million in incentives if Liriano makes the team.

The Blue Jays had acquired Liriano from the Pirates back in the summer of 2016 along with Harold Ramirez and Reese McGuire for pitcher Drew Hutchison. The lefty spent parts of two seasons with the Jays before they dealt Liriano to the Astros for Teoscar Hernandez and Nori Aoki.

During his stint in Toronto, Liriano went 8-7 with a 4.77 earned run average in 28 games with the Blue Jays. The hurler also made two relief appearances for the Jays in the 2016 postseason. The veteran owns a career 107-111 record with a 4.18 earned run average and a 17.2 WAR thus far in his thirteen-year career.

Last season, Liriano went 5-12 with the lowly Detroit Tigers accumulating a 4.58 earned run average in 27 games. The 35-year old is hopeful a return to a familiar stomping ground can rejuvenate and extend his dwindling career.