The Blue Jays need to add one more starting pitcher to round out their offseason
So in terms of the Jays’ offseason checklist, they now have their outfield power bat in Santander and their trusted anchor in the bullpen in Jeff Hoffman. They have also added speed and defense in the lineup with Giménez. If they also manage to boost their infield with the star option mentioned above, that would leave them with just one area left to address, which is starting pitching. With that, it would officially round out what began as a truly disastrous offseason into quite a successful one.
With respect to the Jays’ starting five, they may only appear to be set with ace Kevin Gausman, followed by José Berríos, Chris Bassitt, Bowden Francis and Yariel Rodríguez for the upcoming 2025 campaign. However, the team should relish having the flexibility of moving Rodríguez to the bullpen to strengthen their relief corps while adding a pitcher that can definitely move the needle to their rotation in the process. Added to the fact that Bassitt’s contract will set to expire following the end of the 2025 season, securing another solid arm for their rotation would provide the much-needed insurance for the pitching staff going forward.
As for potential candidates that the Jays should consider, Jack Flaherty without a doubt is one of the top starters remaining in the free agent market. Despite his extensive injury history, Flaherty actually showed great promise this past season when he rediscovered some of his prior dominant form back when he was a member of the St. Louis Cardinals. In the end, he was able to help the Los Angeles Dodgers capture the World Series title as he became one of the only three key starters they deployed throughout their run. Moreover, at just the young age of 29 and heading into his prime years, Flaherty should have the most promise and potential of all of the big-name starters currently still in free agency.
Other notables in the market include veterans Kyle Gibson, Max Scherzer, and even the legendary Clayton Kershaw. However, their best years may already be behind them at this stage of their careers. But if the Jays were to look at the long-term picture for the team, they would be better off to pursue those that could actually provide significant contributions for multiple years going forward. In that case, the likes of Andrew Heaney or Mike Clevinger would be the more suitable options.
Regardless on the actual name(s) then end up targeting, Toronto should try their best to at least land one of the better remaining starters after missing out on the biggest ones in Blake Snell, Max Fried and Corbin Burnes earlier.