Former Blue Jays who will be eligible for the 2023 Hall of Fame Ballot

Adam Lind

Originally drafted by the Blue Jays in the third round of the 2004 MLB Draft, slugger Adam Lind spent nine seasons with the franchise spanning from 2006 to 2014.

With the Jays, Lind amassed a .273/.327/.466 slash line with a .794 OPS through 3407 at-bats, collecting 519 RBI and 146 home runs, currently ranked ninth on the franchise leaderboards. His best season with the club came in 2009, where he finished with a .305 batting average and a .932 OPS while appearing in a career-high 151 games with 35 home runs, finishing the season as the AL Silver Slugger Award winner for the designated hitter position. He also is ranked 10th in franchise history when it comes to extra-base hits with 354.

During the 2014/2015 offseason, Lind was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for starting pitcher Marco Estrada and spent three more seasons in the Majors. After the Jays, Lind played one season with the Brewers and then had quick stops with the Seattle Mariners, Washington Nationals, and a minor league deal with the Boston Red Sox in 2018 but did not see any action in the big leagues that season. Following his release from the Red Sox late in 2018, Lind never formally retired but he never played again.

One of the longest-tenured Blue Jays to be eligible for the 2023 Hall of Fame, the likelihood of him getting the call to Cooperstown is very slim if he does make it onto the ballot.

Aaron Hill

A first-round pick of the Blue Jays back in 2003, second baseman Aaron Hill spent seven years on the active roster spanning from 2005 to 2011.

Heralded for his defensive ability, Hill transitioned from shortstop to second base once he turned professional where his arm and athletic ability took over and gave the Blue Jays a reliable defender on the right side of the diamond. Batting-wise, Hill posted strong slash lines early in his career but started to fade after the 2009 season, his best campaign with the organization where he earned Silver Slugger and All-Star honours with his .286/.330/.499 line and .829 OPS through a league-leading 682 at-bats.

Hill would be traded along with John McDonald to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for infielder Kelly Johnson in August of the 2011 campaign. The California product would spend five seasons in the desert before finishing out his career with pit stops in Milwaukee, Boston, and in the Bay Area with the San Francisco Giants. He would amass a .740 OPS, 162 home runs, and 695 RBI while also posting a 43 bDRS through 1210 games at second base. The righty-batter also earned another Silver Slugger Award with the Diamondbacks in 2012.

If Hill does find himself on the 2023 Hall of Fame ballot, he might garner some interest but will most likely find himself near the bottom of the list and could be a one-and-done candidate.

R.A. Dickey

Part of one of the more controversial trades in the Blue Jays history, knuckleballer R.A. Dickey joined the Blue Jays during the 2012/2013 offseason, acquired from the New York Mets alongside catchers Josh Thole and Mike Nickeas in exchange for prospects Travis d’Arnaud, Noah Syndergaard, Wuilmer Becerra, and veteran catcher John Buck.

Struggling to find reps at the Major League level from 2001-2009, Dickey joined the New York Mets in 2010 and basically turned his career around. Posting solid numbers his first two seasons in the Big Apple, Dickey churned out an incredible 2012 campaign that saw him pitch to a 20-6 record through 34 outings while posting an 8.9 K/9, 2.1 BB/9 and a 1.053 WHIP through a National League leading 233.2 innings pitched, winning the NL Cy Young Award that season.

With the 2022 Hall of Fame results released last week, we now look at the 2023 HOF Ballot and see which players have ties to the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Jays gave up two top prospects to bring Dickey North of the border, spending the next four years with the organization. Through 131 appearances with the club, the Tennessee product pitched to a 4.05 ERA with 602 strikeouts through 824.1 innings. He did win a Gold Glove Award in 2013 but he was never able to replicate his Cy Young calibre campaign with the Jays. In the 2015 postseason, Dickey found success in the ALDS against the Texas Rangers, limiting his former club to one earned run through 4.2 innings pitched, but was lit up in the ALCS against Cleveland to the tune of two home runs and four earned runs and failing to make it out of the second inning.

The right-hander would become a free agent following the 2016 campaign and spent one last year in the Major Leagues with the Atlanta Braves, pitching to a 4.26 ERA through 190.0 innings. His option would be declined by the Braves at the end of the year and he would retire later that offseason.

While he does have a Cy Young Award on his mantle, Dickey is a long shot to make the Hall of Fame considering he struggled throughout the first ten years of his career, flirting with Major League rosters while switching between the bullpen and the rotation before putting it together with the Mets.

Jason Grilli

Making his debut with the Miami Marlins back in 2000, right-handed reliever Jason Grilli joined the Blue Jays at the midway point of the 2016 campaign as a bullpen piece to help the club push for a spot in the postseason. The Jays traded prospect Sean Ratcliffe to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for Grilli.

The reliever quickly became a fan favourite amongst the Blue Jays fanbase, known for his fiery personality on the mound as well as being a dependable reliever during the 2016 season, pitching to a 3.64 ERA through 46 appearances with the club. Through five games in the playoffs later that year, Grilli was able to keep runs off the board, striking out three batters and allowing only one hit through 4.2 innings of work.

The 2017 season would not be kind to Grilli however, as the Michigan product would struggle during the first half of the season, posting a 6.97 ERA through 26 relief appearances. In late June, the club would designate him for assignment and he would be traded to the Texas Rangers in exchange for outfielder Eduard Pinto. He would finish the season with the Rangers before becoming a free agent and eventually calling it a career. Overall, Grilli pitched for nine different teams and amassed a 4.22 ERA with a  9.1 K/9 rate through 595 appearances, mostly in relief.

Grilli will also be a longshot for Cooperstown if he finds himself on the ballot but should be remembered for his personality on the mound and his charitable work off the field, receiving the Braves nomination for the Roberto Clemente Award in 2015.

Joaquin Benoit

A 16 year veteran of the Major Leagues, right-hander Joaquin Benoit spent just half a season with the Blue Jays back in 2016, a trade deadline acquisition from the Seattle Mariners to help boost the bullpen (similar to the Jason Grilli acquisition earlier in the year). Reliever Drew Storen went to the Mariners in exchange for the Dominican product.

Benoit was fantastic with the Blue Jays, appearing in 25 games and allowing only 17 hits and one earned run through 23.2 innings with the club. He also struck out 24 batters and finished four games for the Jays, earning one save in the process. Preparing to be one of the more trusted arms in the bullpen as the club inched its way towards playing postseason baseball, Benoit’s season would come to an end when he tore his calf during a bench-clearing brawl between the Blue Jays and the New York Yankees on September 26th.

The right-hander would sign with the Philadelphia Phillies for the 2017 season but would be traded at the deadline to the Pittsburgh Pirates, struggling on the mound to a 7.56 ERA through eight relief appearances with his new club. Benoit would sign with the Washington Nationals for the 2018 season but spent the entire year on the injured list and would never appear in the Major Leagues ever again.

He finishes his career with a 3.83 ERA through 764 outings with eight different organizations, striking out 1057 batters through 1068.2 innings. With relievers like Billy Wagner still on the ballot and struggling to earn their spot in Cooperstown, the going will be tough for Benoit to make the Hall of Fame if he does find his name on the ballot next year. Potential one and done candidate.

Jayson Werth

Primarily known for his seven seasons with the Washington Nationals, outfielder Jayson Werth actually began his Major League career with the Toronto Blue Jays after originally being drafted in the first round of the 1997 MLB Draft by the Baltimore Orioles.

Originally beginning his professional career as a catcher with the Orioles, Werth would be traded to the Blue Jays during the 2000/2001 offseason in exchange for pitcher John Bale and his new club decided to move him to the outfield with the organization already possessing enough catchers at the higher minor league levels. The righty-batter would make his MLB debut with the Jays as a September call-up in 2002 and would spend the next campaign split between both the minor and big league levels. As a member of the Blue Jays, Werth would appear in 41 games and would post a .681 OPS through 94 at-bats.

Werth would be traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers prior to the 2004 campaign in exchange for relief pitcher Jason Frasor and would 13 more seasons in the Majors split between the Dodgers, Phillies, and Nationals organizations. He signed a minor-league deal with the Seattle Mariners for the 2018 campaign but would retire halfway through the year after a hamstring injury put him on the IL. He would finish his career with a .267/.360/.455 slash line, 229 home runs, 799 RBI, and a .816 OPS, earning one All-Star appearance in 2008 and winning a World Series with the Phillies in 2009.

While he does have the highest bWAR of the group mentioned in this article at 29.2, Werth will most likely see his name on the ballot but it will be a very long road ahead of him if he wants to see his name in Cooperstown if he meets the five percent threshold.

Mike Napoli

Mike Napoli earns the distinction of being a member of the Blue Jays but never actually playing a game for the organization in either the Major or Minor League levels.

Originally drafted by the Angels back in 2000, Napoli suited up for four different organizations over his career, including three different stints with the Texas Rangers as well as a couple of seasons with both the Boston Red Sox and the Cleveland Indians.

The Florida-born catcher would be traded to the Toronto Blue Jays during the 2010/2011 offseason along with Juan Rivera in exchange for Vernon Wells and the remainder of his monster contract. Four days later, Napoli would be traded to the Texas Rangers for reliever Frank Francisco, ending his Blue Jays career before he even suited up in a game for the organization.

Napoli started as a catcher but would transition to first base/DH towards the end of his career, finishing with a .246/.346/.475 slash line and a .821 OPS through 4572 at-bats. An All-Star during the 2012 campaign with the Rangers, Napoli earned a World Series ring with the Boston Red Sox in 2013. He was a part of the Rangers playoff squad back in 2015 and witnessed the Jose Bautista bat flip first hand before joining Cleveland in 2016 to thump the Jays in the ALCS.

Through 12 seasons in the Majors, Napoli finished with a 26.3 bWAR and could see his name on the HOF ballot next year, although he is a candidate to be a one-and-done during his first year.