3 free agents the Blue Jays may regret passing on as injuries pile up early in camp

This past week, the Toronto Blue Jays were handed their first misstep of the 2025-26 offseason when they were dealt a trio of major injuries to their main roster of players. Outfielder Anthony Santander will likely be missing more than half of the 2026 season due to a left shoulder labrum injury that required surgery to repair. Shane Bieber is expected to miss the start of the regular season due to forearm fatigue. Finally, pitcher Bowden Francis will miss the entire 2026 campaign due to UCL reconstruction surgery.

The timing of their injury announcements sure came at an inopportune time, as the bulk of the elite options that could have been lurking in the free agent market have now been mostly taken. Toronto tried to address one part of these issues by acquiring outfielder Jesús Sánchez from the Houston Astros in the hopes that he could replace some of that production.

But with the benefit of hindsight we can look back on the offseason and find some players that could have helped the Blue Jays overcome some of these injury woes.

3 free agents the Blue Jays will regret not signing after recent major injury news

P Framber Valdez

The Blue Jays pitching depth definitely took a huge hit early in camp. With Francis sidelined for the upcoming season, along with the uncertainty of Bieber and his forearm fatigue issues, that's two pitchers who could have played valuable roles on this years team and someone is going to have to make up for those innings. However, they wouldn’t have had to worry about that depth affecting their rotation had they landed a second top pitching free agent in Framber Valdez, a pitcher in which they were rumored to be pursuing.

The 32-year-old veteran had been the ace of the Houston Astros pitching staff, as well as being one of the top pitchers in the entire league for much of the past few seasons. Sporting a dominant 73-44 record with a 3.23 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, along with 951 strikeouts in 973 total innings since becoming a full-time starter in 2020 for the Astros, Valdez would have helped the Blue Jays form a “super rotation” that likely no other team in the league could have competed with.

Most importantly, if Bieber ends up needing more time than expected to ramp back up, the trio of Valdez, Kevin Gausman and Dylan Cease alone would be strong enough to hold down the fort effectively for however long is needed. 

OF Cody Bellinger

With Santander now gone until at least July, the Blue Jays could have had their ideal outfielder replacement in Cody Bellinger. As a former NL Rookie of the Year and MVP, along with being a two-time Silver Slugger and one-time Gold Glove winner, Bellinger could provide just a bit of everything whenever he takes the field.

With the ability to average 97 runs scored, 32 home runs, 97 RBIs and 15 stolen bases over a full 162-games while batting a solid .261 with an .817 OPS, the 30-year-old outfielder could even outperform Santander in a good year.

Bellinger is coming off a solid 2025 campaign with the New York Yankees in which he compiled a .272/.334/.480/.813 slash line, with 29 home runs and 98 RBIs in 152 games played. Defensively, he registered an impressive 12 DRS and 6 outfield assists with reps in all three outfield positions along with getting some reps at first base.

Unfortunately, Bellinger is now back with the Yankees on a five-year contract, creating potential havoc on the Blue Jays for the foreseeable future.

OF Kyle Tucker

As the crown jewel of free agency this offseason, Kyle Tucker would have not only been the perfect addition for the Blue Jays in the wake of Santander’s injury, but for the entire franchise as a whole. After all, not only would Tucker have significantly taken out the sting caused by the departure of Bo Bichette by providing the top-tiered offensive output that Toronto desperately needed, he could have been a cornerstone along with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. that the Blue Jays could build around to form a potential legacy for the coming decade.

At 29-years-old Tucker has shown that he could be a consistent 100-run, 30-homer, 100 RBI man when healthy, with the ability to run well on the basepaths, piling up 119 career steals out of135 attempts. He would have been a tremendous add for the Blue Jays, but having now joined the NL juggernauts Los Angeles Dodgers, the path for the Blue Jays to win the World Series just got tougher.