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

During the offseason, the Toronto Blue Jays had lost several players of varying degrees of significance to free agency. Each of them had more or less some level of impact on the team’s success and failures this past season and for some, even for the years prior to 2023. Which of those now former Jays players will we be glad are no longer with the team and which ones will we end up missing the most and wished had stayed in 2024?

3 former Blue Jays we’ll be glad are gone

Adam Cimber

After coming over from the Miami Marlins via trade in 2022, Adam Cimber had been a key cog in the Jays’ bullpen, putting up back-to-back strong seasons in both 2021 and 2022. Many were expecting more of the same when 2023 rolled around. However, things didn’t go as planned as it quickly turned out to be Cimber’s worst year-long performance. In the end, he compiled an 0-2 record with an unsightly 7.40 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, giving up 17 earned runs including tying his career high of 6 home runs, 7 walks and 12 strikeouts in just 20.2 innings of work in 22 appearances.

Eventually, Cimber suffered a right shoulder injury in late June that sidelined him for most of the reminder of the season. He did get in a rehab stint in the minors in September with hopes to rejoin the club for the postseason. However, a subpar performance mirroring his stats earlier in the season in the majors put an end to that possibility. 

Steamer and ZiPS projections are both unkind to Cimber for 2024 as they predict he will not be able to regain his prior dominant form witnessed from his previous years. His ERA is expected to hover close to 5.00, his WAR will remain below 0 at -0.2, his LOB% to remain below 70%, while he will be on track to give up the most home runs of his career. In addition, taking a look at his advanced metrics from last season, not only were many of his stats littered in blue, Cimber also lost 2-3 mph off both his fastball and slider. That slight difference is actually quite significant for him since he throws only in the high 80s for his fastball and high 70s for his slider. Being in the always dangerous AL East loaded with offensive juggernauts if he stayed with the Jays, Cimber could be eaten alive when his funky delivery apparently isn’t working anymore to go along with his decreasing fastball. As a result, the Jays made the right choice in not retaining him this offseason as he ultimatelyjoined the Los Angeles Angels via free agency.

Brandon Belt

Former designated hitter Brandon Belt had a rough start in his tenure with the Jays when he struck out almost 50% of the time during the first few weeks in April last year. But being the savvy veteran that he was, he somehow managed to turn his season around quickly and ended up being one of the more consistent hitters in the lineup the rest of the way for the club. In total, he batted .254 with a strong .858 OPS, 2.0 WAR, along with 53 runs scored, 19 home runs and 43 RBI in 103 games played.

So then why would the Jays be glad that he is no longer with the team if he could provide such valuable production? For one thing, if we dig deeper into his performance stats in the clutch, Belt failed in most part to answer the bell. In 77 at-bats, he hit only .208 with a .705 OPS and only 4 home runs and 25 RBI in such situations. So he wasn’t able to come up with the big hit at the biggest moments for most of the time. More significantly, one thing is for sure, if the Jays still had Belt, Justin Turner most likely wouldn’t be a part of the team right now.

Turner has been regarded as the prime replacement for Belt at the designated hitter position for the upcoming season, as his increase in defensive deficiencies in the past few years make him a less playable option in the field. With Turner, he provides much greater plate discipline and quality at-bats than Belt, as his career batting average is 27 points higher than Belt, along with a career strikeout rate of 15.3%, which is almost 10% lower than Belt’s. More importantly, despite both players reaching up there in age, Turner has in general remained more healthy than Belt, averaging close to 142 games played per year in the past three seasons, compared to Belt who has only managed to average 93 games of action each year over the same time frame. On top of that, Turner batted .338 with a .943 OPS, 9 home runs and 77 RBI with RISP in 2023 for good measure. With all those factors taken into consideration, the departure of Belt could actually end up helping the Jays for the 2024 season.

Hyun Jin Ryu

Hyun Jin Ryu needs to be commended for his valiant effort in stepping in to provide quality starts down the stretch last year. Especially when you take into consideration the fact that he was coming off a year-long layoff due to Tommy John surgery. In 11 starts, the left-hander amassed a 3-3 record with a solid 3.46 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, giving up 20 earned runs along with 14 walks and 38 strikeouts in 52 innings pitched. He helped stabilize the Jays’ back end of the rotation and provided enough length in the final two months to get the team into the playoffs.

So for someone that played a key role in helping the Jays in 2023, along with once being the ace of the pitching staff in 2020, why should we be glad that he won’t be with the team in 2024? Well outside of his Cy Young-calibre performance in his first year with the club and his heroics at the end of the season last year, Ryu’s tenure had been rocky at best in much of his other years with the team. His inconsistencies flared up during the 2021 and 2022 seasons when he sported ERAs over 4 and 5, respectively, despite a winning record. More importantly, he was getting hit hard by the long ball, with his HR/9 averaging close to 1.5 the past three years when he was averaging close to just below 1 throughout his career. For a pitcher that is almost 37 that focuses mainly on finesse pitching, that is certainly a worrisome stat as Father Time catches up to him.

On top of that, Ryu recently signed a huge eight-year contract to go back to Korea and pitch for the Hanwha Eagles in the KBO league. The deal would take him all the way into his mid-40s. Given his recent injury history and decline in dominance in recent years, the Jays cannot afford to give him a multi-year contract, even if the term is considerably shorter than the one he got with the Eagles, and expect it to age well. So despite the tremendous impact Ryu had on his teammates and the organization as a whole, it was of the Jays’ best interest to move on from him to give the team the best chances at winning this season and in the long run.

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.