The Blue Jays can sign the perfect Genesis Cabrera replacement this offseason

On Monday night, the Toronto Blue Jays announced a ton of roster moves that shook up their 40-man roster in a big way. A new player joined the club via waivers, one was lost to the Mets on waivers and three more were sent packing.

Once the dust settles, it seems that the biggest loss in this all will be Genesis Cabrera, who led the club in relief appearances in 2024. The 28-year-old made a whopping 69 appearances for the Blue Jays this past season, posting a 3.59 ERA with 50 strikeouts and 29 walks across 62.2 innings on the mound.

When you dig a little bit deeper, Cabrera's under-the-surface numbers tell a different story, and could very well be the exact reason(s) the Blue Jays cut bait. His xERA was 4.31, his FIP was 5.13, his xFIP was 4.74 and his SIERA was 4.58. If the Jays have serious intentions of returning to contention in 2025, these numbers simply won't cut it.

So Cabrera enters the free-agent market. Since there aren't a ton of quality left-handed relievers available, he's sure to land a big league contract this winter.

Tanner Scott is probably the best-available southpaw reliever this offseason, but there's another one that could bring a ton of value to the Blue Jays: A.J. Minter.

Blue Jays should sign A.J. Minter to replace Genesis Cabrera

Once the World Series ended, players all over the league officially hit the open market. Minter, 31, was one of them. A career-long member of the Atlanta Braves, it seems that Minter's tenure in Atlanta will come to a close after eight seasons in their 'pen.

During that time, he filled a ton of different roles included lefty-specialist, setup man and even closer. That kind of flexibility is always appealing to the Blue Jays (see: the acquisitions of Erik Swanson and Chad Green), and the fact that Minter is left-handed increases his value and appeal to the Jays, as they don't have a solid lefty on their projected 2025 roster outside of Brendon Little.

Across Minter's career, he's posted a 3.28 ERA and dazzling 2.89 FIP through 384 outings and 348.2 innings. He's consistently a high-strikeout arm and he typically doesn't get bit too bad by the free pass either.

In 2024, he posted a 2.62 ERA and 160 ERA+ across 34.1 innings of work. It's worth noting that he had some of the same ERA vs. FIP discrepancies that Cabrera had this past season, but Minter's got a much longer track record of success than Cabrera. It's also worth mentioning that Minter's season came to a close in August, so he may very well have been pitching injured towards the end there.

With Cabrera and Tim Mayza both having left the organization, the Blue Jays could use some left-handed help out of their relief corps. Little was another oft-used hurler this past season and could very well be in 2025, too, but there's obviously room for another arm. Minter is experienced and has a lengthy track record of dominating the opposition. Since the Jays have the capacity for multiple bullpen upgrades, this move feels like a no-brainer.