Blue Jays: Last offseason interests and how they are doing so far this year

Corey Seager

Signed a 10-year, $325 million contract with the Texas Rangers

A bit of shocking revelation was made when Corey Seager decided to sign with the Texas Rangers. Not only were the Blue Jays interested in the premium shortstop, but the club was reportedly far along in discussions with the former Dodgers star before he signed with Texas.

It makes sense that Toronto was not willing to match the Rangers’ 10-year offer but it was interesting to see the Jays willing to talk with one of the top free agents on the market this offseason, confirming the front office was given the green light to spend if the opportunity arose.

If the Jays did bring Seager to Toronto, Bo Bichette would most likely be moving to second base to accommodate. Signing the North Carolina product would have also put financial pressure on the front office to extend Guerrero Jr. and Bichette, as both players will need hefty raises in the near future with other contracts like Jose Berrios, George Springer, and Kevin Gausman on the books for another five seasons.

However, Seager decided to head to the AL West and so far, the lefty batter is putting up some average stats that fair better than his counterpart Marcus Semien but falls short of a $300 million dollar man. Through 42 games, Seager sports a .700 OPS and 12 extra-base hits on the year. He is finding more power in the bat in Texas, already sporting eight home runs on the season when his previous career-high was back in 2016 when he belted out 26. He is also sporting a -2 bDRS on the left side of second base and has five errors on the year for a .969 fielding percentage.