3 left-handed bats the Blue Jays could acquire if Cody Bellinger goes elsewhere

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By now we all know that Shohei Ohtani is off the board and the Toronto Blue Jays have been forced to look elsewhere for their next big power bat. Kevin Kiermaier was only just recently re-signed to a one-year contract, but that doesn't mean the Jays should be done by any means. Rumor has it the club is interested in Cody Bellinger, even after bringing Kiermaier back. While Bellinger can be an adequate addition for the team, there are still several under-the-radar left-handed bats that the Jays can move to, if the Bellinger sweepstakes prove too costly.

Max Kepler

Kepler has been a regular for the Minnesota Twins since 2015, and last season was one of his best and most consistent yet. Kepler slashed .260/.332/.484 with an OPS+ of 121. What makes him even more interesting is that there is seemingly no overly weak part to his game. He accrued 4 OAA in RF last season, which was 3 higher than George Springer, who also grades out as a strong defender. Kepler also consistently hits the ball hard, and has proved he is capable of reaching exit velocities up to 112 MPH throughout the years.

With Kepler's good feel for the barrel and squaring up the ball, he could pencil in at left field for the Blue Jays, as a one year rental. It seems realistic for the Twins to shop him for a more pressing need, considering all the offensive weapons they currently have like Royce Lewis, Carlos Correa, Byron Buxton, and Edouard Julien. The offense will fare well, with or without Kepler. The bigger issue is if their current pitching can hold up in 2024.

The Twins have already lost Kenta Maeda and Sonny Gray in free agency, leaving their pitching staff a little exposed. Pablo Lopez and Joe Ryan can handle the front-end of the rotation, but they need better insurance for the back-end. With the Jays current abundance in quality pitching, Yusei Kikuchi could be an ideal return in a Kepler trade, giving both teams exactly what they need to be more successful in 2023.

Ryan McMahon

The Rockies are currently in no position to compete, even moreso with the NL West getting stronger. It's most likely that they have to sell off their current core pieces, and build towards the next competitive window. Enter McMahon, who has emerged as their starting third baseman since Nolan Arenado was traded. McMahon feels like he's just on the precipice of a breakout, but has yet to show it for a full season with a 96 OPS+ over the past 3 seasons. His real value lies with his plus defense, as he posted 8 OAA and 17 DRS (7th in all of baseball). With Matt Chapman currently a free agent, McMahon could be a perfect replacement at a lower cost.

There's still a good amount to be encouraged by with McMahon's offensive profile, despite the middling numbers on the surface. McMahon has always shown a good eye at the plate, with a 10.2 BB% in his career, with above average chase rates, which raise his floor by even a slight margin. What he really excels at offensively is his SwSp% (Sweet Spot%). Hitting the baseball on the sweet spot is an indication of making solid contact, which when done with good hard hit rates like McMahon, it boosts the opportunity for extra base hits. He had a 39.4 SwSp% versus a 33.1% average for other players around the league.

The biggest crux for McMahon poses to be his K%, which spiked up this year to 31.6%. That's a 5% increase from his 2022 mark, which doesn't always bode well, especially when McMahon does not boost the power numbers to justify striking out almost a third of the time. The Blue Jays have been in the bottom 5 teams in K% over the last 3 seasons, encouraging potential that McMahon being placed in the right organization could fix some of his current flaws offensively.

Acquiring McMahon should not be too difficult, as he still has 4 years and $56 million left on his extension from the Rockies. Assuming the Rockies were willing to eat some cash remaining on the deal, an assortment of Zach Pop, Santiago Espinal, and Yosver Zulueta should be more than enough to get a deal done for the third baseman, who the Jays could have plugged in for next season and beyond.

Joc Pederson

With many bats still left on the free agent market, one of the most interesting one stands to be Joc Pederson, who just finished two years with the San Francisco Giants. Throughout his entire career, Pederson has been a proficient slugger against right handed pitchers, with a 125 wRC+, yet much more lethargic against left handed pitchers with a 73 wRC+. This makes him an ideal platoon hitter, and certainly gives him a viable role with any team including the Jays. Pederson's mobility in the outfield has always been limited, but with only 34 games played in the outfield last year, it's safe to say he's more like a full-time DH going forward.

Pederson didn't light up the board in 2023 after a pretty explosive 2022 campaign, but there is still much to be encouraged in his game. He walked 13.4% of the time last year, and has a mark over 10% for his entire career. Despite being a power bat, Pederson does not strike out very frequently, and his quality of contact is usually very positive, which is he sports a .227 Isolated Power for his career. Pederson can be slotted in the top half of the Blue Jays' lineup versus RHP, and sit against lefties, with the opportunity to come off the bench to pinch hit. There's not unlimited possibility when it comes to Pederson, but his skill set is certainly a welcome one.

The market for a platoon hitter that can't play defense won't create the most intense bidding war over an off-season, which makes Pederson a compelling plan to look to, if the Jays find themselves unenthusiastic about their other potential options. In his last run through free agency, he accepted the Giants' qualifying offer of $19.65M for one season, so the deal he can expect a year later would be something at a lower price range, but with an extra year added. Two years at around $24M seems reasonable considering what Pederson is capable of doing, without committing too much.