Blue Jays: Two interesting names emerge from non-tenders

The MLB non-tender deadline passed with 56 players being non-tendered by their respective teams, however, a couple of names should be of some interest to the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Blue Jays also were involved in the action yesterday non-tendering both Travis Shaw and reliever A.J. Cole. Former reliever Ryan Tepera also saw himself let go by the Chicago Cubs amidst all the movement around the league.

There are a number of familiar somewhat unlikely names that saw themselves non-tendered including Kyle Schwarber, Eddie Rosario, Adam Duvall, Maikel Franco, Nomar Mazara, and Carlos Rodon to name a few.

However, it is outfielder David Dahl formerly of the Colorado Rockies, and pitcher Archie Bradley that Toronto should focus their sights on in the coming days. Both players still have some upside and could improve the Blue Jays 2021 contingent at their respective positions.

Dahl is just 26 and a former first-round selection, 10th overall in the 2012 amateur draft. The young outfielder battled injuries early on in his career but managed to play 100 games in 2019. Dahl hit .302/.353/.524 with 48 extra-base hits including 15 home runs and 61 runs batted in for the Rockies.

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Last season, the outfielder struggled offensively hitting just .183/.222/.247 with no homers in 24 games. His overall body of work in the majors doesn’t represent last season’s stat line, Dahl is a career .286/.334/.494 hitter with 38 home runs and a 0.9 WAR in 264 games over four seasons in the majors.

Dahl is typically a corner outfielder but does have 71 games in centrefield on his resume including 40 games in 2019. The Blue Jays have been in search of someone who can step in and take over the centrefield responsibilities on an everyday basis.

The outfielder earned $2.475 million last season and was not earmarked to hit free agency until 2024 prior to his non-tendering.

Pitcher Archie Bradley is another name that the brain trust should be prioritizing on their offseason to-do list. For some reason, the Cincinnati Reds did not want to keep the reliable reliever in their plans for 2021 and I personally don’t get it.

The 28-year old hurler has both starting and relief experience and can also close out games accumulating 28 saves in his career this far. Last season, he sported a 2.95 earned run average with six saves and an 8.8 SO/9 rate in 16 games with the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Reds.

The Reds acquired Bradley at the trade deadline last season and he posted an impressive 1.17 earned run average in six relief appearances leading to his non-tendering. The right-hander earned $4.1 million last season and would still be considered a value even with a raise for the 2021 campaign.

In 2019, Bradley went 4-5 with a 3.52 earned run average and 18 saves while fanning 87 in 71.2 innings of work for the Diamondbacks. He is still a serviceable backend of the bullpen arm who can consistently get major league hitters out.

The Blue Jays could benefit from landing either of these two talents, both have enjoyed success at the major league level and have some upside still left in the tank.