Absence from recent rankings list proves Blue Jays have deeper needs than offensive ones 

When the Toronto Blue Jays expressed that they would be looking into the free agent market for starting pitching help a few weeks ago, it may have caught many by surprise. Especially when most later found out that they were even after elite, front-end starters. After all, with all of their flaws from the past season such as their bullpen and their inept offense, there were many more areas that they should actually prioritize in addressing this offseason.

However, after the recent release of the rankings of the top 25 starting pitchers of the 2024 MLB season by Joel Reuter of the Bleacher Report, it has made a lot more sense now. Of the twenty-five candidates that made the distinguished list, not a single Blue Jays pitcher found themselves among the group.

To be fair, José Berríos, Kevin Gausman and even Yusei Kikuchi were are listed as honourable mentions. But that still doesn’t take away from the fact that Toronto did not have even one pitcher that was viewed to be one of the best in the league last season, one that could dominate in a way so that they had a chance of winning each time out.

Absence from recent rankings list proves Blue Jays have deeper needs than offensive ones 

No wonder the Jays have shown serious interest in the likes of Max Fried and Corbin Burnes this free agency season. Fried was ranked 20th on the list after coming off a solid 2024 campaign in which he posted a 3.25 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, with 166 strikeouts in 174 1/3 innings pitched. More importantly, as Reuter pointed out, Fried’s 19.1 WAR trailed only that of Zack Wheeler (25.4) and Gerrit Cole (19.9) since the 2020 season. Therefore, he could prove to be a huge difference maker for the Jays.

As for Burnes, a strong 15-9 season with a 2.92 ERA, 1.10 WHIP with 181 strikeouts in 194 1/3 innings pitched earned him the No. 8 ranking on the list. With the ability to slot in as the ace of any starting five, he has the potential to be a game-changer for the Jays if they manage to land him. In fact, both pitchers have the ability to push the entire starting rotation back a rung, making the entire pitching staff that much stronger.

Not having a top 25 pitcher in all of baseball isn’t the end of the world, but without one to anchor a fluctuating pitching staff that we saw from the Jays last season could make their task of renewed success in 2025 that much more difficult. So as much as Toronto has been currently going after top offensive juggernauts such as Juan Soto, Alex Bregman and company in free agency, they certainly have the right mindset to target high-end starting pitching at the same time this winter to give the team the best chance at winning going forward.