Blue Jays should be calling Angels for spare outfielder after Jorge Soler trade

On Thursday, the very first day of the 2024-25 MLB offseason, the Angels and Braves lined up on a trade that sent DH Jorge Soler to L.A. in exchange for promising starting pitcher Griffin Canning. The two clubs wasted absolutely no time throwing this deal together practically as soon as the offseason opened.

While the deal on its own is a bit of a head-scratcher, there's also a Blue Jays angle worked into this. The club could use another bat for the upcoming season, so it's worth wondering whether Angels outfielder Taylor Ward could be of interest to Toronto on the trade market.

Arte Moreno and the Angels are once again insisting that 2025 is their year to return to contention. With the club just finishing this past season at 63-99, the odds of that big of a turnaround feel ... pretty low. So if the Blue Jays came calling with an offer the Angels couldn't refuse, it feels like there's a deal to be made here.

Angels outfielder could entice Blue Jays in offseason trade talks

As of right now, the Blue Jays' Opening Day outfield will consist of Nathan Lukes, Daulton Varsho and George Springer from left to right (at least, according to FanGraphs' Roster Resource). This leaves Jonatan Clase, Joey Loperfido and Steward Berroa on the outside looking in for playing time. Addison Barger could also factor into this picture, but he has third base as a fallback option next season.

But this also highlights the fact that the Jays desperately need another bat to add into this mix. The only lock to produce anything noteworthy at the plate is Varsho, and even his bat can be a bit unreliable at times. Otherwise Springer is aging and on the decline and all of the other names are question marks.

Ward, 30, has gone from scarcely used bench piece on the Angels to an everyday option in the outfield. He's got a bit of experience at all three spots on the grass and has become quite the power hitter in recent years.

In 2024, the seven-year vet hit 25 home runs with 75 RBI, a .748 OPS and a 111 OPS+, which puts him 11 percent above league-average offensively. He played all of his defense in left field in 2024, finishing in the 84th percentile in Outs Above Average and 72nd in Arm Strength. Defense has never been his strong suit, but these are respectable numbers.

Even if Ward isn't quite the defender that Varsho, Clase or Berroa are in the outfield, it's painfully obvious that now is the time for the Blue Jays to try and sacrifice some of that defensive prowess in favor of adding some thump back to the offense.