Top 5 Short-Term Stints in Blue Jays History

Dave Winfield

Winfield arrived to Toronto in 1992, and was part of the group that brought the first World Series to Canada. On a team covered in star players, the 40 year-old slugger ranked fourth in WAR for the club that year, being worth 4.1 wins above replacement. He played a pivotal role in an offence that was fourth in the AL in batting average, and second in home runs, runs, and hits.

Over 156 games played in 1992, Winfield managed a 138 OPS+. This figure actually led the team, the next closest being Roberto Alomar’s number at a 130 OPS+. He did all of this while primarily acting as the team’s designated hitter. Out of 156 games payed, 130 of them came as the DH, the remaining 26 he saw action in right field. Every single one of his at-bats came out of the number four spot in the order.

Winfield clubbed 26 home runs and had 108 RBI. This production was a driving force towards the Blue Jays winning their first ever World Series. He had a productive Division Series against Oakland, hitting two home runs and driving in three runs. His Fall Classic performance wasn’t too inspiring, however. He managed to drive in three more runs, but his .227 batting average over the six games left a bit to be desired. Granted, during this series the Blue Jays did see both John Smoltz and Tom Glavine.

Nevertheless, the 40 year old Dave Winfield was a perfect fit in 1992. The DH role worked seamlessly, and Winfield’s single year in Toronto really couldn’t have gone much better.

Robbie Ray

Ray is now a Seattle Mariner. This is still something I’m working through, so please be delicate. His short tenure with the Blue Jays was nothing short of remarkable. He arrived to the Jays in a trade from the Arizona Diamondbacks, and Ray was no doubt struggling when he arrived. The version of Ray that was in Arizona was a pitcher with great stuff. However, this stuff was rarely controlled in the strike zone. This resulted in a staggering 7.8 BB/9. Ray had shown potential earlier in his career, being an All-Star in 2017. Regardless, Ray was an inconsistent pitcher to this point in his career.

He did his best to provide a beleaguered pitching staff with innings and consistency. When the bullpen was costing the Blue Jays games, Ray was someone you could confidently expect to work into the sixth inning with regularity. This meant a lot to a fringe playoff team full of young, talented players who were scoring runs on a daily basis.

Then came 2021. Ray re-signed with the Blue Jays on a quick $8 million, 1 year contract. Under the tutelage of Pete Walker, Ray started pounding the zone while using predominantly two pitches. Fangraphs shows that he used his fastball 59.8% of the time and his slider 31% of the time. This simple pitch selection wielded fruitful results, as Ray had a 11.5 K/9 with his BB/9 being at a lowly 2.4. This unprecedented improvement in strike zone management led to his Cy Young award, and eventually his new 5-year deal with Seattle. This short term stint with the Blue Jays was no doubt transformative and impactful. I wish Robbie the best, and truly wish it could’ve been a longer stay.

Marcus Semien

Semien’s time with the Blue Jays lasted an entire 162 games. During his tenure he was the epitome of class. He was a leader, an All-Star, a Silver Slugger, a Gold Glover, and an absolute steal of a free agent signing. He turned the one year, $18 million deal into a seven (!) year deal with the Rangers. Alas, lets review his season, as I truly believe this was one of the best short tenures in team history.

2021 saw Semien club 45 home runs and drive in 102 runs. He didn’t miss a single game, playing 147 of them at second, 21 of them at shortstop, and serving as the DH for a single game. His time at second earned him a Gold Glove, the first of his career. He also mixed in 15 stolen bases for good measure. This well rounded season accumulated a 7.3 WAR. This is quite the figure, as this number managed to even best Vlad’s 2021 WAR (6.8). Semien’s WAR is tied for the fourth best single season mark in team history. Lloyd Moseby and Carlos Delgado recorded a similar number in 1984 and 2000 respectively. Semien’s leadership and consistency helped the Jays to their 91 wins in 2021, and they truly could not have done it without him.

Semien is now gone to Texas. His third place finish in MVP in 2021 earned him a massive payday. As a baseball fan, you have to love watching hard working players flourish. Semien earned every cent of his new deal, and he will no doubt be very missed.

Paul Molitor

Molitor took over for Winfield as the Blue Jays’ DH following the 1992 season. Before his time north of the border he had been a perennial All-Star and MVP finalist, and had been a Milwaukee Brewer for 15 years. He signed a three year deal with the Blue Jays beginning in 1993. His Blue Jays tenure mostly saw him as the DH, with some time playing first base.

He was an integral part of the repeating World Series champion 1993 Blue Jays. You couldn’t have WAMCO without Molitor. Between White, Alomar, Carter, and Olerud, he had the second highest OPS+ amongst them at 143. He trailed only Olerud, who had an historic season himself. Looking at the rest of the league, he led in both plate appearances and hits. This success didn’t end with the regular season, he was a menace in the postseason. He hit .391 in the Championship Series while driving in five runs. He followed this with a World Series MVP winning performance. During the Fall Classic he hit two home runs and drove in seven runs to the tune of a .458 batting average and a 1.452 OPS. These are team-carrying numbers, and he truly had one of the most impactful single seasons in club history.

The two years that followed were par for the course. In the shortened 1994 season he played in all 115 games and hit .341 with a 138 OPS+.  The Blue Jays stumbled into that season’s labour strike at a 55-60 record, despite Molitor’s best efforts. The following 1995 season wasn’t much better. A 56-88 record and a fairly pedestrian season from Molitor concluded his time as a Blue Jay. His OPS+ in 1995 sat at 101, a point above league average.

Nevertheless, his time as a Blue Jay was impactful. A World Series MVP, two All-Star games, an OPS+ of 128, 51 home runs, and 54 stolen bases over the course of 405 games in three seasons (one of them being full) is a remarkable stat line. Molitor left his mark in a big way, despite only spending three seasons in Toronto.

Roger Clemens

Whatever your opinion on Roger Clemens is, he was a generational talent and the best pitcher in baseball during his time as a Blue Jay. The Jays gave him a four year deal heading into the 1997 season. What followed was two years of pure domination, awards, disappointment, and a trade.

During his first season in Toronto he was the league leader in almost every pitching category and took home a Cy Young award, the fourth of his career. His Baseball Reference page is covered in bold. His 21 wins, 2.05 ERA, 2.25 FIP, nine complete games, three shutouts, 292 strikeouts, and 1.03 WHIP all led the league. His 11.9 WAR from this season is the highest single season mark from a pitcher in franchise history. Despite this brilliance, the Blue Jays finished 5th in their division with a 76-86 record.

The following season saw a second consecutive Cy Young award. He again led in a variety of pitching statistics. His WAR finished at a total of 8.1. This year wasn’t quite as good as his last, but it was still ridiculous. An ERA of 2.65 and a K/9 at 10.4 both led the league, again. He also won 20 games. There was nothing Clemens couldn’t do, and the fact he was in a Blue Jays jersey was nothing short of surreal. The only thing that didn’t happen however, was a playoff appearance. The Blue Jays finished third in the division with a record of 88-74-1. While this was an improvement, Clemens wasn’t enjoying himself.

After the 1998 season Clemens requested a trade. He didn’t feel like Toronto would be competitive enough and he wanted a World Series ring. He would be traded to New York where he went on to have continued success and win two rings with the Yankees.  Despite the unceremonious ending, Clemens mark in Toronto was definitely felt. Although he only played two seasons, he ranks 19th (!) in all time Blue Jays WAR at 20.1. For reference, this is more accumulated WAR than Russell Martin, Adam Lind, Shawn Green, Joe Carter, Josh Donaldson, Fred McGriff, and other long time Blue Jays. Clemens was just SO good in his two seasons that he was statically more valuable to the team than these other great, all-time players.

This written piece was meant as a reflection of players that were here for a good time, not a long time. Let’s not lament the loss of Semien and Ray, instead let’s appreciate their time here. I truly hope the best for them. Nevertheless, 2022 should be a fun year to be a Blue Jays fan.