3 players you forgot were on the Blue Jays (and wish they could have back)

There are some players who will always be synonymous with the Toronto Blue Jays thanks to the success they had while playing baseball in Toronto.

But that’s not the case for every player who suits up for the team. Whether it’s the length of their tenure, their performance (or lack thereof) or other factors, there are some players who just aren’t as well remembered.

But just because they're not remembered for their time in Toronto doesn't mean they wouldn't be useful on this year's iteration of the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Blue Jays bullpen is still a bit up in the air as we approach Opening Day, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that the three players picked for their exercise are all relief arms.

3 players you forgot were on the Blue Jays (and wish they could have back)

RHP Kirby Yates, Dodgers
Jays tenure: 2021

Yates never actually pitched for the Blue Jays, as he signed a one-year, $5.5 million deal with the Jays after undergoing Tommy John surgery. The Blue Jays didn't resign him after 2021, and he's gone on to 4.3 bWAR in the three seasons since. His 12.1 K/9 rate is the fifth-best mark among all relievers over the last three seasons, while his 2.21 ERA is ranks fourth in that time period.

This season the 38-year-old is with the Los Angeles Dodgers and FanGraphs projects him to be worth 0.6 fWAR while having a 3.54 ERA.

RHP Daniel Hudson, Dodgers
Jays tenure: 2019

Hudson is another 38-year-old Dodger who could help Toronto's bullpen. Hudson has put together several strong seasons since his time in Toronto, while also overcoming an injury. In 2019 he appeared in 45 games with the Blue Jays and was shipped to the Washington Nationals at the trade deadline before he secured the final out of that year's World Series.

In the last three seasons he has pitched 90 1/3 innings out of the Dodgers ‘pen even after a knee injury derailed the back end of his 2022 season and wiped almost all of his 2023 season. He was back to full strength last year and threw 63 innings with 63 strikeouts and a 129 ERA+, good for 0.5 bWAR.

FanGraphs projects Hudson to take a step back in his workload and throw only 47 innings this year, albeit with an effective 9.38 K/9 rate and a .236 batting average against. Those numbers would play very well among Toronto’s relief corps, as just three Jays' relievers are expected to have a better K/9 rate than Hudson this season.

RHP Liam Hendriks, Red Sox
Jays tenure: 2014 and 2015

Lastly, there’s Hendriks who is suiting up for the rival Boston Red Sox in 2025. Hendricks pitched a total of 78 innings in the regular season and 5 innings in the postseason in his two stints as a Blue Jay. While he was effective for Toronto in 2015, he had some of his best years later on in with the Athletics and the Chicago White Sox, topping out at a 3.7 bWAR as an All-Star closer in 2019 before leading the league with 38 saves in 2021.

Hendriks didn't pitch last year as he was recovering from Tommy John surgery and is one of the candidates to be Boston's closer this season. While his spring numbers have not been great (six earned runs in five innings pitched), his projections still show him to have a strong season in 2025.

FanGraphs projects Hendriks to throw 61 innings this year with a 10.32 K/9 rate and a 2.86 BB/9 rate. The strikeout rate would rank second among the projectons for the pitchers in the Blue Jays bullpen and his walk rate would be fourth. The 36-year-old out of Perth, Australia would have also give the Blue Jays a reliable backup closer option behind Jeff Hoffman.

Hendriks has 115 saves over his last five seasons, which is fourth most in the major leagues in that time.