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Blue Jays: Three free agent arms who could solidify the rotation

By Clayton Richer

TORONTO, ON - MAY 8: James Paxton #65 of the Seattle Mariners picks up the baseball off the turf before beginning to pitch the second inning with his maple leaf tattoo on his right forearm during MLB game action against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on May 8, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** James Paxton
TORONTO, ON - MAY 8: James Paxton #65 of the Seattle Mariners picks up the baseball off the turf before beginning to pitch the second inning with his maple leaf tattoo on his right forearm during MLB game action against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on May 8, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** James Paxton /
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 15: (NEW YORK DALIES OUT) Taijuan Walker #00 of the Toronto Blue Jays warms up before a game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on September 15, 2020 in New York City. The Yankees defeated the Blue Jays 20-6. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 15: (NEW YORK DALIES OUT) Taijuan Walker #00 of the Toronto Blue Jays warms up before a game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on September 15, 2020 in New York City. The Yankees defeated the Blue Jays 20-6. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

Taijuan Walker

The offseason chatter surrounding Taijuan Walker has been surprisingly non existent among potential suitors. Walker is surely to benefit from a weak free agent pitching class and is presumably waiting for Trevor Bauer to come off the board before he gets a true gauge of his value on the open market.

For me, a healthy Walker brings a ton of potential to the table and seems to have barely scratched the surface following his cup of coffee with the Blue Jays last season. The 28-year old was finally healthy and the results transcended into his 2020 stat line.

In 11 starts with the Mariners and Blue Jays, Walker went 4-3 with a 2.70 earned run average while fanning 50 in 53.1 innings. The right-hander was lights out following his trade to Toronto in late August posting an impressive 1.37 earned run average in six starts. Walker allowed just four earned runs in 26.1 innings of work in a Toronto uniform.

Walker earned a modest $2 million last season and will undoubtedly multiply that number ten-fold. I would be all for the Blue Jays offering Walker a two-year/ $24 million dollar deal to return to the Blue Jays.

Walker has spoken publicly a few times about his time in Toronto and just how impressed he was with the organization, fans and pitching coach Pete Walker. It doesn’t seem like it will be a tough sell for the Blue Jays if they are willing to throw a competitive offer in his direction.

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