Blue Jays could pivot to adding another top-of-the-line starter

The Toronto Blue Jays may have painfully missed out on both Kyle Tucker and Bo Bichette in free agency this past week. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that they are done with their work this offseason. In fact, the Blue Jays still have an opportunity to pivot and add another top-line player from the free agent market.

However, that free agent target doesn’t have to be a positional player as in Cody Bellinger or Eugenio Suárez. According to Ben-Nicholson Smith of Sportsnet, Toronto had actually met with top pitching free agent Framber Valdez at the MLB GM Meetings prior to signing Dylan Cease. The Blue Jays may appear to be already set with their rotation for 2026, but who says that they can’t make their starting five from being one of the best to the absolute best in all of baseball.

Blue Jays could pivot to adding another top-of-the-line starter

Valdez has been one of the most consistent starters in the majors over the past six seasons with the Houston Astros. The 32-year-old left-hander finished in the top 10 in AL Cy Young voting three times, while becoming an All-Star on two other occasions during that stretch. More importantly, with a career 81-52 record, a solid 3.36 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, as well as being one of the rare MLB pitchers to have registered at least one complete game in each of the past five years, Valdez would represent one of your typical, reliable aces of a pitching staff.

In addition, he has gotten it done on the biggest stage before. During the 2022 World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies. Valdez recorded two key wins for the Astros, including what turned out to be the deciding Game 6 of the series. In total, he held the Phillies to two earned runs on six hits with18 strikeouts in just 12 innings of work. As a result, Valdez showed all the qualities of being a big-game pitcher to help Houston bring home the championship title for the second time in franchise history.

As the top pitcher remaining on the free agent market, Valdez certainly won’t be cheap. But he sure won’t cost what both Tucker and Bichette ended up scoring in free agency with their respective teams. Therefore, the Blue Jays can used that money saved to recircle back to Valdez to further bolster their pitching staff instead. Consequently, they may not sport the best offensive lineup going forward, but that would be made up by an unstoppable rotation that should enable them steamroll over the bulk of their competition with elite pitching in 2026.