Blue Jays: Interesting names become available in recent days

A number of interesting names have become available in recent days that could be of some interest to the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Baltimore Orioles surprisingly placed infielder Jonathan Villar on outright waivers in an attempt to rid themselves of the projected $10 million in salary the 28-year is expected to earn in 2020. It has been rumoured the Orioles were shopping Villar, however, they were unable to find a suitor prompting the roster move.

Villar is a second baseman with shortstop experience along with 13 career games in the outfield. Last season, Villar hit .274 with 24 home runs, 40 stolen bases, and a 4.0 WAR while playing in all 162 games. He is a worthy enough talent to take and insert at second base and move Cavan Biggio to the outfield.

Former Kansas City Royals outfielder Jorge Bonifacio cleared waivers and officially became a free agent. The 26-year old has struggled to replicate his rookie season of 2017 where he slugged 17 homers in 113 games. Bonifacio also served an 80-game ban in 2018 for performance-enhancing drugs. He could be a nice reclamation project who could benefit from a change a scenery, definitely worth a flier if you could get him on a minor-league pact.

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Chicago sent former Gold Glove infielder Yolmer Sanchez packing after he went unclaimed on waivers. The 27-year old was just recently awarded the honour for his defensive efforts last season. Sanchez hit .252 with two homers and five stolen bases in 149 games in 2019. His offensive numbers were not enough to justify paying the second baseman the projected $6 million he is due to earn in 2020.

The oft-injured Greg Bird also elected for free agency after the Yankees first baseman went unclaimed on waivers. The 27-year old only played in ten games last season due to injury and has never played more than 82 games in a season during his four-year MLB career.

The Rays also designated slugger Jesus Aguilar for assignment to clear space on their 40-man roster. The 29-year old only connected for 12 homers with the Brewers and Rays last season, a far cry from the 35 round-trippers he clubbed in 2018 with Milwaukee. The first baseman is only projected to earn $2.5 million next season and could be worth a look considering the uncertainty surrounding what they have in Rowdy Tellez.

The Jays have been quiet of late but here are five names the team could be having internal discussions about as they continue to bolster their roster.