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Blue Jays: Former pitchers that are currently on the MLB Free Agent market

By Tyson Shushkewich

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 16: Pitcher J.A. Happ #33 of the Toronto Blue Jays pitches during a interleague MLB baseball game against the New York Mets on May 16, 2018 at CitiField in the Queens borough of New York City. Toronto won 12-1. (Photo by Paul Bereswill/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** J.A. Happ
NEW YORK, NY - MAY 16: Pitcher J.A. Happ #33 of the Toronto Blue Jays pitches during a interleague MLB baseball game against the New York Mets on May 16, 2018 at CitiField in the Queens borough of New York City. Toronto won 12-1. (Photo by Paul Bereswill/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** J.A. Happ /
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TORONTO, CANADA – JULY 2: Drew Hutchison #36 of the Toronto Blue Jays looks in before delivering a pitch in the seventh inning during MLB game action against the Cleveland Indians on July 2, 2016 at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /

A.J. Cole

Cole technically spent last season with the Jays (which is something I was trying to avoid with making this list) but made more of an impact in 2020 through his 24 appearances where he posted a 3.09 ERA. He was limited to just six appearances last year after missing a large portion of the season with an oblique strain, electing free agency at the end of the year

J.A. Happ

Another player that had two separate stints with the Jays, southpaw J.A. Happ is one pitcher featured on this list who ranks high in terms of appearances/innings. Through six seasons with the Jays, Happ has amassed a 3.88 ERA through 745.1 innings with 691 strikeouts, a 1.277 WHIP, and one All-Star appearance.

Happ split the 2021 campaign between the Minnesota Twins and St. Louis Cardinals as he was traded to St. Louis at the deadline. Combined, the Illinois product earned a 5.79 ERA through 30 starts with 2.8 BB/9 and a 7.2 K/9. He enters the 2021/2022 offseason at 39 years old and has made no indication of hanging up the cleats.

Drew Hutchison

A former 15th round pick of the Blue Jays, Drew Hutchison spent parts of four seasons with the Jays organization from 2012 to 2016.

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

His best season with the club came in 2014 when he made a career-high 32 starts and posted a 4.48 ERA. Following the 2015 season, Hutchison struggled to find a spot on the active roster and would eventually be traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for Francisco Liriano, Harold Ramirez, and Reese McGuire at the trade deadline.

The right-hander spent last season with the Detroit Tigers and was limited to just nine outings while being optioned back and forth between the Major and Minor Leagues. Hutchison would finish the year with a 4.64 ERA through 9 outings with the Tigers while posting a 4.28 ERA through 19 starts with their AAA affiliate. This appearance in the Major Leagues was his first since 2018.

Daniel Norris

Drafted by the Blue Jays in the second round of the 2011 MLB Draft, Daniel Norris only pitched in ten games for the club between 2014 and 2015 before being shipped off to Detroit as part of the David Price trade.

A former Jays top prospect, Norris struggled with the Tigers and was never really able to cement himself a spot in the starting rotation, eventually switching to a relief capacity in 2020. The southpaw would be traded at the 2021 deadline to the Milwaukee Brewers and finished the year with a combined 6.16 ERA through 56 relief appearances (career-high) and one save.

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