15 Blue Jays minor leaguers become unrestricted free agents

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While the majority of the focus is on Shohei Ohtani, Cody Bellinger, Blake Snell and the rest of the big leaguers who recently reached free agency, there is much more movement on the minor league side of things.

Per the transaction logs of all 30 MLB teams, a whopping 573 players - a number that is still rising - reached minor league free agency on Tuesday. There is no difference between traditional free agency and minor league free agency, but since these players were all down on the farm, that's the label their status is given.

As far as the Toronto Blue Jays go, 15 players officially became free agents on Tuesday. Let's dive into the list and break them all down.

Blue Jays minor leaguers hitting free agency

Stevie Berman - C

Berman, 28, re-upped with the Blue Jays after spending most of last year in the organization as well. He is a light-hitting backstop who is more 'minor league filler' than anything else, but teams could do worse than him behind the plate in the high minors.

Jamie Ritchie - C

Ritchie is another catcher who has little-to-no bat to speak of. However, he has an incredible eye at the plate (38 walks against 39 strikeouts) and is strong defensively. I've heard that the 30-year-old has interest in returning to the Blue Jays on a new contract and that Triple-A pitchers loved working with him this past season.

Lyle Lin - C

Somehow, Lin has even less of a bat than Berman and Ritchie do. The 26-year-old made it into 28 games for the High-A Vancouver Canadians in 2023, hitting .214 with a .619 OPS. He is regarded as a strong defender who can also line up at first base if needed.

Abiezel Ramirez - INF

Ramirez, 23, spent the first six years of his professional career in the farm system of the Tampa Bay Rays. He was brought aboard on a minor league deal by the Blue Jays in April of this year and spent time on four different affiliates during the regular season. He hit .218 in a total of 58 games, striking out in 39 percent of his at-bats.

Rafael Lantigua - INF/OF

Losing Lantigua is going to be a major blow for the Blue Jays. The 25-year-old was Rule 5 eligible and with multiple players on the Blue Jays' 40-man roster with similar traits to his, he was deemed expendable. I've heard that a reunion is being explored, but there is going to be interest from other clubs. Lantigua hit .305 with 40 doubles, 12 home runs, 28 stolen bases and an .893 OPS in 129 games this past season.

Paul Fry - LHP

Fry made it in to 48 games this year but had a hard time keeping runners off the bases. The 31-year-old southpaw had a 4.37 ERA but walked over 5 batters per nine innings and ultimately never showed enough consistent command to earn a shot in the big leagues. His track record in The Show suggests that he'll find a new home this offseason, but he'll need to prove that he's worth a spot on a big league roster moving forward.

Rowan Wick - RHP

Brought aboard in August, Wick made 20 appearances for the Buffalo Bisons down the stretch. In 21 innings of work, he notched 5 saves while striking out over 16 batters per nine innings(!!!). Walks have been an issue for him in the past, but he has almost 150 games of big league experience under his belt, so there will be interest in him this offseason.

Matt Peacock - RHP

Peacock is yet another arm the Jays had stashed in Triple-A with previous big league experience. This year, he had a 6.20 ERA across 21 outings, walking 17 and striking out 22 in just under 25 innings of work. He needs to work on his command and developing a true "out pitch", but he'll serve as minor league filler for a club in need of some additional depth in 2024.

Gabe Klobosits - RHP

Klobosits, a 6-foot-7 right-hander, made eight appearances in Indy Ball to start the year before earning the attention of the Blue Jays' decision makers. He made 14 appearances for the Bisons, posting a 4.74 ERA in 19 innings of work. He walked 12 and struck out 12 along the way.

Diego Linares - RHP

The 21-year-old Linares spent the majority of the 2023 season either unemployed or injured. He was released by the Phillies in April and did not latch on with the Blue jJays until the end of June. From there, he made just three appearances with 9 strikeouts and 2 walks in 7 innings of work before being placed on the 60-day IL at the end of July, ending his season.

Joe Jones - RHP

Jones was released by the Red Sox in July after posting a 3.86 ERA across 11 outings to kick off the year. Just four days later, the Blue Jays picked him up and assigned him to Double-A New Hampshire. He made 14 appearances for the Fisher Cats but struggled; posting a 5.89 ERA with 12 earned runs and 12 walks in 18 innings of work.

Matt Wisler - RHP

Easily the most decorated player on this list, Wisler signed a minor league deal with the Blue Jays back in August. He made 54 appearances this year split between the Tigers and Jays organizations with a 4.60 ERA and 73 strikeouts in just under 63 innings. 2023 was the first year since he debuted in 2015 that he did not make a single appearance in the big leagues.

Roither Hernandez - RHP

The 25-year-old Hernandez has not made a single professional appearance since back in 2021. When healthy, he's shown some glimpses of promise at times, but that's been the exact issue - he can't get healthy.

Jol Concepcion - RHP

Concepcion, 25, made just 4 appearances this year and they were not pretty. In 5.1 innings, he walked 6 and surrendered 7 earned runs on as many hits. He spent the majority of the year on either the Development List or 60-day injured list and could conceivably be brought back on another deal when healthy.

Zach Thompson - RHP

Thompson came over to the Blue Jays via trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates this past offseason. He was on the Jays' 40-man roster for a while, but lost his spot during the season and had his fair share of struggles down in Buffalo. The 6-foot-7 righty made 25 starts in the minors this year, going 6-6 with a 4.49 ERA in 108 innings. He is a solid depth piece and should easily be able to find a new home this offseason on any team looking for depth starters.

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