Myles Straw’s time with Blue Jays likely over after flurry of roster moves

Myles Straw looks to be done as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays. Toronto decided not to pick up the outfielder’s option earlier today (Monday, Nov. 2) and Straw elected free agency. It was one of several roster moves the Blue Jays made, including the team activating seven players who spent most of 2026 on the sidelines.

The buyout on Straw’s deal was $1.75 million and thanks to the deal that originally brought him to Toronto, the Blue Jays are not on the hook for that money. The Cleveland Guardians will cover that according to Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi. The deal originally was made so that Toronto could get some cash for their international bonus pool with the hopes of landing Japanese free agent Roki Sasaki.

Straw was basically a throw in, in the deal, but the move backfired as Toronto not only failed to sign Sasaki they were now seemingly stuck with an extra outfielder old who had spent the majority of the past two seasons in the minors. Even though Cleveland was paying a majority of his salary, it didn't seem like he was going to be a fit on the roster.

However, Straw’s first season in Toronto ended up being better than anyone could have anticipated. He provided the Blue Jays with a 2.8 bWAR and appeared in 15 postseason games during their run to the World Series. He wasn't able to replicate that in 2026 though with both his offensive and defensive metrics taking a hit.

The 32-year-old had a .680 OPS in 2025, which was the second-highest of his career, and he stole 12 bases. This year his OPS dropped to .646, and he swiped just seven bags.

Defensively, Straw impressed in 2025 as he was ranked in the 90th percentile with a +9 Statcast fielding run value. He was a very useful late-game substitution for manager John Schneider. While Schneider still used him a lot in 2026 (getting into 147 games) he graded out in the 67th percentile at a +3 FRV in 2026.

According to Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet, there could be some mutual interest in a reunion between Straw and the Blue Jays. The Blue Jays will need right-handed bench options. With his glove still grading out above average and a buyout that costs Toronto nothing, a cheap return as a bench outfielder isn’t hard to picture. That $8 million price tag was certainly steep, but surely there is some common ground for the two sides to meet, if they so choose.

However, there are a lot of right-handed hitting free agent outfielders on the market who could probably come in at the same price tag and provide similar or better production than Straw. While the major names like Seiya Suzuki and Randy Arozarena will be the headline targets, there's also Taylor Ward (4.1 fWAR), Ramón Laureano (3.2 fWAR) Randal Grichuck (1.3 fWAR), and Tyrone Talor (2.2 fWAR).

Blue Jays activate seven players in addition to Myles Straw electing free agency

The Blue Jays activated seven players on Monday as well. Six of them were on the 60-day injured list: right-handers Bowden Francis, José Berríos and Cody Ponce, outfielders Addison Barger, Jonatan Clase and Anthony Santander. None of them have played a game since hitting the IL at various points of the season. But the seventh player, right-hander Jake Bloss, has been steadily working his way back and has had an encouraging fall, playing in the Arizona Fall League.

In his most recent outing, Bloss allowed just one earned run over three innings while striking out four. He allowed just two hits as well. His AFL ERA stands at 8.44 but it includes one really bad outing where he allowed seven earned runs in one inning of work. Outside of that, Bloss has allowed only three earned runs over 9.2 innings in four starts.

Toronto also sent right-hander CJ Van Eyk outright to the Buffalo Bisons. With the seven additions, the Blue Jays’ 40-man roster now sits at 37 giving them three spots in which they can add a free agent or another player via trades. However, they'll also have to make a decision on Rule 5 Draft eligible players including Nolan Perry, Gage Stanifer and Josh Kasevich.

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