MLB insider connects Blue Jays to World Series champ and top slugger in free agency 

The current Toronto Blue Jays offseason has been quite underwhelming, to say the least. Their main focus should've involved a major overhaul to get the team back into the contention for the upcoming 2025 MLB season, perhaps Vlad Guerrero Jr.'s final one in this particular uniform. Instead, all they have done so far is watch other teams pick up huge impact star players while they have been left mostly in the dust.

However, that may be about to change if Jays manage to make good on the latest rumors and connections. In a new-year column, MLB insider Mark Feinsand indicated that the Blue Jays are currently in the mix for both starting pitcher Jack Flaherty and slugging first baseman Pete Alonso. Both potential free agents would be significant adds for Toronto, a team that has been looking desperately for pitching and offensive help throughout this winter.

MLB insider connects Blue Jays to Jack Flaherty, Pete Alonso in free agency

Flaherty is arguably the best starter remaining in the free agent market. After struggling in recent years with the St. Louis Cardinals and Baltimore Orioles, he had a huge bounce back season in 2024 split between the Detroit Tigers and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Arguably, he doesn't have a perfect fit remaining on the market, which is where the Jays could step in after losing Yusei Kikuchi's innings to the Angels.

In rediscovering much of his prior dominant form in his early years in the league, Flaherty posted a collective 13-7 record with a solid 3.17 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 38 walks and a whopping 194 strikeouts in just 162 innings pitched over 28 starts in 2024. On top of that, the Jays would be bringing in a starter with championship pedigree and experience, as he is just coming off a successful World Series run with the Dodgers this past year. 

Alonso would be the ideal power bat that the Jays have been in search of for a long time to bolster their offensive potential. After all, he has the ability to easily put up 90+ runs scored, 40+ home runs and 100+ RBI in an average season, thus providing the much-needed elite run production in the lineup.

More importantly, Alonso has proven to be quite durable, having played in at least 152 games each season throughout his career (excluding the COVID-shortened 2020 season). For a Jays squad that was decimated with injuries this past year, they should more than welcome an iron man like Alonso to their roster.

As to where Alonso could fit in the Jays’ everyday lineup, he could either slot in as the team’s designated hitter or at his usual first base position, since Vladimir Guerrero Jr. previously expressed he wouldn’t mind going back to third base if needed.

Consequently, nabbing either, or both Flaherty and Alonso, would go a long way towards resurrecting this Toronto team back to their contending ways going forward. With spring training approaching in a little over a month’s time, the exact moment for the Jays to make an impact this offseason is now.