5 former Blue Jays we would love to see return in free agency

LHP Matthew Boyd

Similar to Hoffman above, Matthew Boyd also became part of a trade deadline blockbuster package in 2015. This time, it helped brought David Price to the Jays to significantly bolster their rotation down the stretch. In the deal, the Jays had sent Boyd, along with Daniel Norris and Jairo Labourt to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for the former Cy Young winner. However, unlike Hoffman, at least Boyd had the chance to make his debut with Toronto prior to being dealt. However, in two forgettable starts, he compiled an 0-2 record with a 14.85 ERA, 2.40 WHIP, giving up 11 earned runs on 15 hits including five home runs in just 6 2/3 innings of work.

Boyd would go on to spend the next seven years in the Tigers’ organization following the trade as a part of their starting rotation. He would amass a 37-60 record while struggle immensely to maintain an ERA below four during that time frame until his final season in 2021. From there on out, injuries began to take a toll on Boyd, as various ailments ultimately limited him to just 10 relief appearances with the Seattle Mariners in 2022 and 15 starts in his second stint with the Tigers in 2023. If things couldn’t get any worse, he would end up undergoing Tommy John surgery in June of 2023, keeping him out of action right through more than half of the 2024 MLB season. During that time, he also became a free agent as Detroit decided to not retain him while he recovered from his surgery.

Surprisingly, the Cleveland Guardians took a chance on Boyd by signing him to a major-league contract in June of 2024. That turned out to be a brilliant move in the end as Boyd eventually returned to action in August. In doing so, he was a rock for the Guardians down the stretch in helping them secure a spot in the postseason. He posted a solid 2-2 record with a 2.72 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, while striking out 46 in just 39 2/3 innings of work over eight starts. More importantly, he showed no signs of ill-effects from his recovery from major elbow surgery. Boyd continued his dominance in the postseason when he compiled a stellar 0.77 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, yielding just one run with 14 strikeouts in 11 2/3 innings pitched over three playoff starts for the Guardians.

With hopes that he has officially put his injury woes behind him, at just age 33, Boyd would be a valuable back end of the rotation/sixth starter depth option for the Jays. Given that his salary last season was just $740,000, Toronto should be able to grab this potential low-risk, high-reward pitching stud at a fair value this free agency season.