Lost amongst the Juan Soto news, two more ideal Blue Jays targets came off the board

The recent Juan Soto signing by the New York Mets had no doubt filled the news in the baseball world for past couple of days. After all, Soto was unanimously the top free agent available in the 2024-25 class this winter. The Toronto Blue Jays were certainly among all of the mayhem involved in pursuing the 26-year-old superstar. But with all the focus on Soto in recent times, the Jays may have missed out on two more ideal targets that would have significantly filled their needs this winter.

It was reported that the Los Angeles Dodgers have added two key free agent pieces by signing outfielder Michael Conforto to a one-year deal worth $17 million and re-signing bullpen standout Blake Treinen to a two-year, $22 million contract. With the Jays in dire need of outfield and bullpen help this offseason, two more prime targets have now come off the board at the hands of the reigning World Series champions.

Lost amongst the Juan Soto news, two more ideal Blue Jays targets came off the board

Conforto is coming off a decent season with the San Francisco Giants in which he compiled a .237 average, .759 OPS, along with 56 runs scored, 27 doubles, 20 home runs and 66 RBI in 130 games played. Although it has been a while since his breakout 2019 season in which he posted his career high in home runs (33) and RBI (92), at least his numbers have been steadily trending back upwards during the past couple of seasons. As a result, Conforto could be counted upon to comfortably put up 20+ home runs and 60+ RBI each season over a 162-game schedule pace. Added that he is a lefty bat, he would have fit well in the right-handed heavy Jays’ batting lineup.

As for Treinen, he was a significant part of the Dodgers’ lockdown bullpen this past season in helping the team capture their seventh championship title in their history. In 50 appearances, he amassed a 7-3 record with a stellar 1.93 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, along with just 11 walks and 56 strikeouts in 46.2 innings pitched. Treinen continued that success into the playoffs where he posted a 2-0 record with a 2.19 ERA with 18 strikeouts in just 12.1 innings of work over nine playoff appearances. In returning to the Dodgers, he will now have the opportunity to continue with the team that he has had the most success with in his MLB career thus far.

Both Conforto and Treinen would have looked good in a Jays’ uniform with their valuable veteran experience and the solid numbers that they have put up in recent years. Nevertheless, the Jays will need to get more proactive in their pursuit of free agent targets this offseason before more favourable options continue to get snatched up by prospective teams.