3 former Blue Jays we’ll be glad are gone in 2024 and 2 we’ll wish stayed

2 former Blue Jays we’ll wish stayed

Jay Jackson

For one of the feel good stories in 2023, reliever Jay Jackson came out of nowhere to provide a steady presence in their bullpen last season for the Jays. After starting the year in the minors, Jackson’s superb performances earned him several stints with the big league club and he certainly delivered whenever called upon. Over 25 total appearances, he compiled a solid 3-1 record with a stellar 2.12 ERA, 202 ERA+, 0.91 WHIP, giving up just 7 earned runs all season, along wth 27 strikeouts in 29.2 innings pitched. More impressively, he only yielded runs in 4 of his 25 outings overall.

However, despite his outstanding performances compared to some of his counterparts, he somehow failed to stick with the team throughout the year, which baffled many of the Jays’ faithful and probably even Jackson himself. But being the pro that he was, he was always able to bring out his best stuff each time out, even with his opportunities being quite sporadic. More surprisingly though was when he was designated for assignment at the end of the season and left off completely from the postseason roster. That type of decision-making by management totally did not make any sense at all. There’s no doubt Jackson could have made a difference if called upon in the playoffs, just like he did during the regular season.

As expected, since the Jays didn’t value him enough to include in the postseason, he was let go to free agency this offseason. He eventually joined the Minnesota Twins on a one-year, $1.5M contract, something the Jays could have easily matched. For someone that could have provided quality innings out of the bullpen at a value deal, the Jays somehow missed the boat as they watch some of their current relief corps solutions being lit up during spring training. As a result, Jackson will be one of the ones they wished they didn’t let go.