MLB insider believes Blue Jays will make ‘monstrous offer’ to starting pitcher after Soto whiff

Another offseason of hope brought another offseason of disappointment once again for the Toronto Blue Jays. After begin in on Shohei Ohtani last year but coming up just short to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Jays have become the bridesmaid for a second time this year in the Juan Soto sweepstakes as he signed a massive 15-year, $765 million deal with the New York Mets.

But rather than throwing in the towel to settle for some lesser lights for the rest of their offseason moves like they did the last time, it could be a completely different, and much more optimistic, story this time around. In the most recent Fair Territory podcast, MLB insider Ken Rosenthal stated that he believes the Blue Jays will make a ‘monstrous offer’ to the best available pitcher in the free agent market after missing out on Soto. That pitcher, of course, is none other than Corbin Burnes.

MLB insider believes Blue Jays will make ‘monstrous offer’ to Corbin Burnes

Burnes has been one of the top pitchers in the league for pretty much the past five seasons. As a four-time All-Star and former NL Cy Young winner, he would instantly become a game-changer for any contending team that he ends up joining this offseason. In 199 career starts, Burnes has compiled a stellar 60-36 record with a 3.19 ERA, 128 ERA+, 1.06 WHIP, along with 1051 strikeouts in just 903.2 innings pitched. More importantly, he is a proven winner, as he had helped his team reach the postseason in three of the past four seasons.

Burnes would automatically slot in as the Jays’ No. 1 starter, while moving everyone else down a slot. So in essence, Toronto would have a starting five consisting of Burnes, Kevin Gausman, José Berríos, Chris Bassitt and likely Bowden Francis that could match up against any of the best starting rotations in the league. More importantly, the addition of a marquee player like Burnes could do wonders on the team’s overall focus and mentality on success and winning going forward.

As a result, as devastating as it might be for the Jays in failing to reel in the big fish in Soto, to quickly pivot and reel in the next best offseason free agent piece in Burnes would certainly be an awesome consolation prize. There’s no doubt that the Jays will likely need to overpay to beat out its main competitors. But if it enables the team to return to the promised land, the money would be money well spent nonetheless.