3 Blue Jays veterans who should join Jose Abreu after surprising Astros release

At long last, the Toronto Blue Jays are finally making moves to shore up their big league roster. At 33-36, 15.5 games out of first place in the AL East, it's been apparent to many for a while now that the current group of 26 players just isn't getting it done.

Earlier this week, the Blue Jays promoted red-hot prospect Spencer Horwitz from Triple-A and designated long-time infielder Cavan Biggio for assignment. He was eventually traded to the Dodgers for minor league pitcher Braydon Fisher.

The surprising DFA of Biggio signaled that the Blue Jays were no longer waiting to cut bait on struggling players, regardless of how long they've been employed by the team.

On Friday, the Jays once again made it clear that the time for change is now, when they promoted Addison Barger from Triple-A and elected to designate Daniel Vogelbach for assignment. Vogelbach is a popular figure in the clubhouse and it's obvious the Blue Jays tried for as long as they could to keep him around, but his lack of defensive flexibility and cold bat made him expendable as well.

What's frustrating for followers of this team is the fact that the Blue Jays should not be done when it comes to cutting bait with scuffling players. The problems go much deeper than just Biggio and Vogelbach, although cutting ties with both of them was a good call to make.

Elsewhere around the league, the Astros made headlines when they released Jose Abreu, who was only in the second of a three-year deal in Houston. Abreu, a former AL Rookie of the Year and MVP, has struggled mightily this year and is statistically one of the very worst players in baseball.

This prompts the question: should the Blue Jays consider following suit? If the Astros were able to release Abreu and eat some of his contract, surely the Jays can do something similar to prove they're serious about this whole contention thing.

Here are 3 aging Blue Jays veterans who should join Jose Abreu on the open market.

Kevin Kiermaier

It's tough to say that Kiermaier doesn't have it anymore, but he doesn't have it anymore. He joined the Blue Jays last year via free agency and immediately became a fan favorite, showing off durability, speed on the bases, A-plus-plus defense and a surprisingly strong bat along the way.

In total, the long-time Tampa Bay Ray had 35 extra-base hits with 36 runs driven in and 58 more runs scored. He also stole 14 bases, had a .265 batting average, .741 OPS and 103 OPS+, all of which were the highest marks he had had in a single season since all the way back in 2019.

This, of course, earned him another one-year deal once he hit free agency this past offseason. There were a few teams that seemed like fits on paper, but Kiermaier had said that few came forward with any real offers, thus a return to the Blue Jays was born.

Even with Daulton Varsho on hand as an internal Kiermaier replacement, the Jays were comfortable keeping him in left field while allowing KK to take back over center field. The two form one of the top defensive duos we've seen in recent memory.

But Kiermaier's bat has completely fallen off a cliff this year. Through his first 50 games, the 12-year veteran has hit just .200 with a .565 OPS. If the season ended today, these both would be the worst marks of his entire career by a comfortable margin.

Always prone to striking out, Kiermaier has seen his K% spike from 21.1 last year to 30.8 this year. He's also drawing less walks, hitting less home runs and has seen his Hard-Hit% drop from 33.7 in 2023 to just 27.7 this year.

Again, Varsho is already on the roster as an immediate internal replacement. Nathan Lukes could be recalled to fill the void that Kiermaier leaves, as he's once again been a strong run producer down in Triple-A. Defensive prowess be damned, it just seems that Kiermaier no longer has anything left in the tank.

George Springer

This one is a bit more complicated, as Springer is not exactly on an expiring contract, but the concept is the same. Still owed around $63M until the conclusion of the 2026 campaign, Springer's seen his offensive numbers drop off in a dramatic fashion this year.

Springer, 34, has 62 games under his belt in 2024 and has easily been the worst offensive player of his 11-year career so far. He's got only five home runs and 14 RBI, along with a .197 batting average and .580 OPS. His 69 OPS+ suggests that he's a whopping 31 percent below league-average at the dish this year which is completely unacceptable from someone who's supposed to be one of the top run producers in this lineup.

Its been a difficult fall-off for Springer, who has been an above-average hitter in each of his first three seasons as a Blue Jay before the current one. He's hit over 20 home runs each year and has been able to maintain an OPS+ above 100 (league-average) on a consistent basis.

However, like Kiermaier, Springer's bat is just no longer the threat it once was. Kiermaier can at least hide behind the fact that he's never been that great of a hitter, but Springer was at one point one of the best offensive outfielders in the game.

Large contract aside, the Blue Jays would be wise to cut bait on the struggling veteran, even if they won't necessarily do so. Springer is hugely popular amongst Blue Jays fans and his teammates love him, but again, if the club is serious about staying as close to contention as possible, why keep trotting someone out there that is hitting under the dreaded Mendoza Line?