Blue Jays: The top five Canadian-born Jays in franchise history

4- Brett Lawrie (12.7 bWAR over four seasons)

After I looked at the numbers, I honestly considered putting Brett Lawrie even higher on this list. He’s one of those Canadians I would describe as not having fulfilled the potential that the fan base believed he had, but he certainly still brought some value to the diamond while playing with the Blue Jays.

After arriving from the Milwaukee Brewers in a swap that sent Shaun Marcum the other way, Lawrie burst on to the scene as a rookie and really got us excited when he earned 3.3 bWAR over just 43 games in his first taste of the big leagues, and another 4.5 bWAR the year after during his first full season. Over the four years he was in Toronto, Lawrie slashed .265/.323/.426 with 43 home runs, 61 doubles, 157 RBI, and 29 stolen bases, while playing a mixture of second and third base.

Of course, he did the Blue Jays the ultimate favour by being the primary piece sent the to Oakland A’s in exchange for Josh Donaldson ahead of the 2015 season. While Donaldson would go on to have an MVP season in Toronto, Lawrie’s career started to head south pretty quickly after he left Toronto, and by the end of the 2017 campaign he had played his last big league game. He did attempt a comeback last season, but unfortunately he wasn’t able to reach the highest level.

We may never see Lawrie back on a big league diamond again, but for a few short years, he looked like he could be something special in a Blue Jays uniform. For reason and several more, he lands at number four on my list.