Blue Jays reportedly pursuing Zack Wheeler but to what extent?
According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Toronto Blue Jays are one of a handful of teams pursuing free agent hurler Zack Wheeler.
In a recent article on The Athletic, Rosenthal adds that the Blue Jays along with the White Sox, Rangers, Reds, and Twins are all in pursuit of Zack Wheeler. The former Mets hurler reportedly already has a $100 million dollar offer in hand from an unknown club.
The Blue Jays are in desperate need of a front of the rotation arm heading into 2020 who will eventually compliment Nate Pearson. The likes of Gerrit Cole or Stephen Strasburg landing north of the border this offseason are slim to none, but Wheeler would be the top of the tier-two class of free-agent pitchers and an exciting addition if the brain trust can pull it off.
Ross Atkins and company have a ton of financial flexibility, however, they have yet to pull the trigger on any notable free agents this offseason. With players beginning to come off the board the Blue Jays will need to act sooner than later if they are going to fulfill their offseason wish list.
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The 29-year old Wheeler has spent his entire five-year career with the New York Mets after being drafted in the 1st round, 6th overall by the San Francisco Giants in the 2009 amateur draft. Wheeler came over to the Metropolitans in 2011 in exchange for Carlos Beltran.
Last season, Wheeler went 11-8 with a 3.96 earned run average fanning 9.0 batters per nine innings of work and accumulating a 3.5 WAR in 31 appearances.
The right-hander would add some legitimacy to the Jays rotation coupled with Matt Shoemaker, Ryan Borucki, Chase Anderson and possibly Anthony Kay. The organization’s top prospect Nate Pearson should also debut in 2020 once his service time is no longer an issue.
Hopefully, the Blue Jays are is serious negotiations with Wheeler’s camp and not just kicking tires as part of their offseason due diligence.