Former Blue Jays who find themselves with an AL East rival this season

After the trades and transactions these past two weeks, the Toronto Blue Jays and their fanbase are going to be seeing some friendly faces back in the AL East this season.

Some should be featured prominently on the active roster while some enter Spring Training as non-roster invites, looking to secure a spot for the upcoming campaign. That being said, let’s take a look at the former Blue Jays that are currently with an AL East rival and how they got there.

This article will also feature Blue Jays prospects, so some players may not have featured on the active roster but were either drafted by the organization or were with a minor league affiliate at one point in their career.

Baltimore Orioles

Bryan Baker

Acquired from the Colorado Rockies back in mid-2018, relief pitcher Bryan Baker has spent the past three seasons in the Jays organization (did not pitch in 2019 with the cancelled MiLB campaign). He spent the majority of last season with the Buffalo Bisons, crafting a 1.31 ERA through 39 appearances while earning club-high 11 saves. The right-hander posted a 0.847 WHIP and a 10.5 K/9, becoming one of the top arms in AAA. He only made one appearance for the Blue Jays, pitching a clean inning with one hit and one strikeout.

The Baltimore Orioles claimed Baker off of waivers early into the offseason and is currently on the club’s 40-man roster. A strong spring could see the Florida product break camp with the Orioles this year, as the team is projected to be at the bottom of a strong AL East division.

Conner Greene

A seventh-round pick of the Blue Jays back in 2013, pitcher Conner Greene spent five seasons in the Jays minor league organization. The highest level he pitched at with the Jays was with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats in AA back in 2017. Greene was traded alongside relief pitcher Dominic Leone to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for outfielder Randal Grichuk during the 2017/2018 offseason.

Greene spent the next few seasons in the minor leagues with the Cardinals, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Baltimore Orioles, making his MLB debut last season. Through 24 games split between LA and Baltimore, Greene pitched to a 7.11 ERA through 25.1 innings of relief. Greene recently signed a MiLB to rejoin Baltimore for the 2022 season, vying for a spot on the active roster.

Beau Taylor

Catcher Beau Taylor was picked off of waivers by the Blue Jays back in August of 2019. He spent the next month in AAA but was briefly called up to the active roster, where he had two plate appearances with zero hits. He would be designated for assignment days later.

Taylor is with the Orioles on a MiLB contract and was invited to Spring Training for the 2022 campaign.