Blue Jays Rumours: Garrett Richards garnering offseason interest

The Toronto Blue Jays continue to leave no stone unturned as they look to improve their starting rotation for the 2021 campaign.

According to Ben Nicholson Smith and Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet, the Blue Jays also have a perceived interest in free agent pitcher Garrett Richards which should surprise nobody. The 32-year old right-hander spent last season with the San Diego Padres making 14 appearances including 10 starts for the Friars.

Richards went 2-2 with a 4.03 earned run average while fanning 8.1 batters per nine innings and accumulating a 1.0 WAR in the shortened season. The hurler has a decade of MLB time under his belt between the Los Angeles Angels and the Padres but has struggled to consistently remain healthy.

MLB Trade Rumors ranked Richards as the 24th best available free agent just behind former Blue Jays hurler Taijuan Walker. The site also predicted that Richards would land a two year/ $16 million dollar deal with the Philadelphia Phillies. The veteran hurler earned $8.5 million in 2020 with the Padres.

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The Blue Jays have been linked to a plethora of available players thus far this offseason and are reportedly in the market for starting pitching. They have also been linked to Kevin Gausman, Jake Odorizzi and have already resigned Robbie Ray.

Richards could be a serviceable option on a short-term pact and would be an upgrade over Tanner Roark or Chase Anderson who had his team option declined earlier this offseason. Roark is still in the fold for 2021 but had a disastrous campaign last season and has no business anywhere near the rotation of a contender.

The issue with Richards always seems to revert back to his inability to remain on the field. The former first-round selection has just one season of 30 or more starts and has missed nearly three seasons combined throughout his career due to injury.

Ross Atkins has been diligent in his search to improve the current roster this offseason although there is no telling how serious these talks are progressing or if the interest is merely due diligence.