3 Blue Jays moves from last offseason that worked out better than expected

Jeff Hoffman, Anthony Santander and Max Scherzer were three of the bigger names on the free agent market last offseason and the Toronto Blue Jays brought all three players into the fold ahead of the2025 campaign.

All three guys were expected to play big roles for the Blue Jays and while Hoffman and Scherzer certainly left their mark on the team, Santander left a lot to be desired. However, they weren't the only players who the Blue Jays added to the team in the offseason. In fact the Blue Jays made three other transactions before the season began that ended up paying off in a big way.

3 Blue Jays moves from last offseason that worked out better than expected

December 13, signed Eric Lauer to a minor league contract with a Spring Training invite.

It was a move that many felt would barely move the needle, but it in fact may have saved their entire season. Veteran lefty Eric Lauer was inked to a minor league deal which was said to pay him a modest $2.2 million if he made it to the big leagues. Nobody foresaw the kind of season the 2016, 17th round draft pick of the San Diego Padres was about to deliver. Especially after he spent the previous season with the Kia Tigers of the KBO.

Lauer didn't make the team out of camp, but was called up at the end of April and made two bulk relief appearances within his first three outings. He then made two spot starts in the middle of May to mixed results before going back into the pen. On June 11, Lauer got the start against the Cardinals in St. Louis and it marked the beginning of a remarkable run.

Between June 11 and August 16, Lauer started 12 games and the team went 10-2 in those contests. He struck out 63 hitters across 62 innings, with an ERA of 3.05 and FIP of 3.39. He was one of the Blue Jays most consistent starters over that stretch while helping the Blue Jays stabilize the back end of the rotation. He didn't allow more than three earned runs over those 12 outings, and in 10 of the 12 games he started, he allowed two runs or less.

November 18, signed Braydon Fisher to a minor league contract.

The Blue Jays originally acquired Braydon Fisher at the 2024 trade deadline in a deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers that sent Cavan Biggio to the eventual World Series champs. Fisher had yet to make his major league debut, so when they signed the 25-year-old to a minor league deal, there wasn't much expectation that he would have any major impact on the team.

But for a period of time, Fisher was one of the most reliable arms in the bullpen. In his first full season in the majors, Fisher got into 52 games and produced a 1.4 bWAR by compiling a 2.70 ERA with 60 strikeouts in 50 innings pitched. The Blue Jays have longed tried to find players that have swing and miss stuff that can play out of the 'pen and Fisher was found money in that regard. His 11.9 K/9 rate was the second best on the team among pitchers who got into at least 25 games.

January 17, traded a player to be named later for CF Myles Straw and cash considerations.

Myles Straw was supposed to be a precursor to the Blue Jays landing Roki Sasaki. Toronto picked up Straw from Cleveland along with some international bonus pool money which insiders believed they would spend on the Japanese pitcher. The reports were that Sasaki had met with the Blue Jays and that the two sides were really going to find some common ground and the Blue Jays gave themselves the wiggle room necessary to make the deal happen.

It didn't happen. Sasaki went to the Dodgers and people felt GM Ross Atkins not only got played by the free agent pitcher, but also used up some valuable cash resources on an outfielder that spent most of 2024 in the minor leagues.

However, Straw became an integeral member of the Blue Jays bench. He was relied upon to play tremendous outfield defence late in games, while also covering for some key injuries throughout the season to players like Daulton Varsho and Anthony Santander. Straw was worth 2.9 bWAR and managed a respectable .262/.313./367 slash line while getting 70 hits in 137 games.