The best Canadian-born Blue Jays in franchise history

From Fergie Jenkins to Joey Votto, throughout its history, MLB has had some incredible Canadian-born players. Some of these players have had the opportunity to play in their home country with the Blue Jays, so I’ve created a list of who I think the five best to ever do so are. I’ll be considering both peak and longevity when ranking these players, and the only criteria for being on this list is that you were born in Canada.

Jordan Romano

Originally a 10th round pick in the 2014 draft by the Blue Jays, the Markham, Ontario native took an unorthodox path to the majors, at one point even getting selected by the White Sox in the Rule 5 Draft and traded to the Texas Rangers before being sent back to Toronto.

Over the past two seasons though, Romano has become a shut-down reliever for the Jays and took over as the closer during this past season. In 2020 and 2021, Romano has just a 1.97 ERA over 77.2 innings pitched, and proven to be one of baseball’s top relievers, finishing second in MLB in win probability added in 2021 (per Stathead). Although he’s represented Italy in the World Baseball Classic, he’s still a Canadian citizen.

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Brett Lawrie

This may come as a surprise, but Brett Lawrie has the highest WAR of any Canadian-born player in Blue Jays history (per Stathead). The Langley, BC native played 345 games for the team from 2011 to 2014, mostly at third.

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The majority of his WAR was acquired in the field, where he was one of baseball’s best gloves, ranking 8th in defensive WAR among American Leaguers during his time in Toronto. Lawrie also gets bonus points for being the centrepiece in the package that brought 2015 AL MVP Josh Donaldson to the Jays.

Paul Quantrill

In the current landscape of Canadian MLB talent, I think that Paul Quantrill tends to get forgotten. He played for the Blue Jays during the playoff drought amidst a stretch of post-World Series mediocrity. Despite this, following a failed 1996 season as a starter, Quantrill became one of baseballs’ most reliable bullpen arms.

From 1997 to 2001, the London, Ontario native posted a 3.05 ERA in 383.1 innings and had the best ERA among all MLB relievers with at least 380 innings pitched. He may have never been a closer or a big-name pitcher, but Quantrill is the best Canadian-born pitcher in franchise history, and it isn’t particularly close.

Honourable Mentions

Before we get to number one, there’s are a couple of guys that I think deserve a quick mention. Saint John, New Brunswick native Matt Stairs was the best hitter on the 2007 Blue Jays with a 138 OPS+. Paul Spoljaric from Kelowna, BC provided a solid bullpen arm in 1996 and 1997, with a 3.14 ERA over 86 innings.

Finally, “Captain Canada” Michael Saunders of Victoria, BC, had an elite first half of the 2016 season. He posted a 147 OPS+ and was named an Allstar before falling off in the second half of the year, but was still an integral part of the Blue Jays playoff run, with a 1.017 OPS in 14 postseason plate appearances.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

This should come as no surprise to any of you. Although he grew up in the Dominican Republic and would likely represent them in international play, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was born in Montreal and is a Canadian citizen. In just his third season in the majors, Vladdy led MLB in home runs and won the American League Hank Aaron Award as the league’s best hitter.

He also posted the 4th highest OPS+ by a Blue Jay in a single season as well as the second most homer runs (per Stathead). He may have only been born in Canada because his father played for the Expos, but at this point, he may as well be a national hero, and I expect by the end of his career, they’ll be an even more significant gap between him and whoever is in second.

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