Blue Jays: Could Tanner Roark be moved this offseason?

The Toronto Blue Jays have money to spend this offseason but that could even be exponentiated if the team can find a taker for pitcher Tanner Roark.

The Blue Jays inked starting pitcher Tanner Roark this past offseason signing the veteran to a two- year/ $24 million dollar deal. The 34-year old struggled for most of the 2020 campaign posting an inflated 6.80 earned run average in 11 games while also making it publicly known that he was not overly impressed with being yanked early from most of his starts.

As the brain trust jockeys their player chips for next season, the Blue Jays may be better suited to invest the allocated funds for Roark somewhere else in 2021. However, that would all depend if Ross Atkins could find a taker for the struggling hurler.

Starting pitching is always at a premium so finding a potential suitor is not out of the question although it may take some creativity. The Jays could free up over $20 million in payroll if they deal Roark and turn down Chase Anderson‘s $9.5 million team option.

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That is a nice chunk of change to throw at a potential free-agent like Trevor Bauer or someone of his ilk. The nifty footnote in regards to Bauer is that he plans to only sign one-year pacts from season to season for the remainder of his career.

The Blue Jays could part with pitching depth in terms of Roark as their cupboard is fairly stocked in terms of young arms. In saying that, the recouped funds would be better served investing toward a front of the rotation starter to compliment Hyun Jin Ryu and Nate Pearson.

A number of teams may lean toward someone of Roark’s ilk to consistently eat up innings at the back of the rotation. The anticipated return would be inconsequential, however, the transaction would primarily be a salary dump.

Hopefully, Atkins can work his magic and we can put the Roark experiment to bed in 2021.