Blue Jays kicking tires on Justin Turner and Michael Brantley

The Toronto Blue Jays are reportedly kicking the tires on free agents Justin Turner and Michael Brantley as potential roster upgrades.

According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Blue Jays have some degree of interest in both Justin Turner and Michael Brantley. It is being reported that Toronto has spoken to representatives for both players, however, it is not known how far the talks have progressed.

The brain trust is undoubtedly putting in their due diligence on every available player to gauge the market and interest level but they do have a previous relationship from their days in Cleveland with Brantley.

The 33-year old has spent the past two seasons with the Houston Astros since leaving the Indians at the conclusion of the 2018 season. Brantley hit .300/.364/.476 with 51 hits and five homers in 46 games last season. In 2019, the outfielder hit .311/.372/.503 with 22 homers, 90 runs batted in, and a 4.8 WAR in 148 games.

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Brantley earned $16 million last season and is projected by MLB Trade Rumors to land a deal in the neighborhood of 2 years/ $28 million. The site also ranked him as the 13th best free agent this offseason and predicted he would sign with the Atlanta Braves before it was all said and done.

Turner would be an easy solution for the Blue Jays to plug in every day at third base if they were able to pry him from resigning from the Los Angeles Dodgers. Turner made headlines during the World Series for his much talked about COVIID celebrations following the Dodgers Championship victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.

The 36-year old hit .307/.400/.460 with 46 hits and four home runs in 42 games this past season. In 2019, Turner hit .290 with 27 homers and a 4.1 WAR in 135 games. The hot corner specialist earned a cool $20 million last season and is projected to pull in around the same figure as Brantley this offseason on the open market.

The Blue Jays have been linked to a plethora of high priced free agents, however, they have only landed pitcher Robbie Ray thus far.