Blue Jays Need To Act Fast If They Want To Add An Impact Arm

This years pitching market was a weak one to begin with. With Snell and Darvish now off the market, the Blue Jays will have to act quickly if they want to add a impact arm.

It’s safe to say that San Diego Padres GM A.J Preller got tired of waiting for the offseason to get moving and decided to take matters into his own hands by trading for 2018 Cy Young award winner Blake Snell and 2019 Cy Young runner up Yu Darvish.  These are two block buster moves that will bolster the Padres rotation and help close the gap between them and the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

These two moves are huge, not only for the Padres, but for the rest of baseball as well.  Snell and Darvish were two of the top arms available this offseason. With their names off the board, teams like the Blue Jays that are in need of pitching are going to have to pivot and find other options if they are going to land a top of the rotation stater this winter.

The Jays have a huge need for starting pitching, and not just inning eaters like Tanner Roark or Chase Anderson.  They need impact arms who can pitch at the top of their rotation and go deep into ball games.

There really aren’t too many guys like this available on the free agent market, as the only “impact” arm is Trevor Bauer, and with his reported price tag and questions surrounding his consistency, it would be better if the Jays steer clear of him and look for other options.

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The trade market had some more high-end options, but after San Diego’s latest moves, it’s thinned out as well leaving few options for the Jays.  The front office prides themselves on not overpaying for players in both free agency and in trades.  They have certain values on every player and typically won’t go over that in either money or prospect capital.

With there being few options left, Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins may have to leave his comfort zone and overpay a little to acquire a guy like Luis Castillo, Sonny Gray or Kyle Hendricks via trade.  This definitely wouldn’t be ideal, but if you are able to acquire an elite arm with multiple years of control on a reasonable contract, then I think overpaying a little is alright.

If the Blue Jays keep their current philosophy and stick to their value system, they run the risk of getting left behind and missing out on adding an impactful arm via free agency or trade, which would be a huge let down this offseason.