6 former Blue Jays fan favourites still without a job heading toward spring training

When it comes to fan favourites for any sports team, whether it was the way they played the game, or how their attitude and personality stood out while they were with the team, they often left a lasting impression in the minds of the fans. In doing so, very often they continued to receive the current fans’ support and well wishes even after their departure from the current team to catch on with other teams in the league to continue their careers.

In the case of the Toronto Blue Jays, they have certainly had their fair share of fan favourites in recent memory over the past decade. Even though some may have moved on from the ballclub, whether it be in recent times or for over many years, they will always receive the loudest cheers and graceful applause whenever they come back to town for a visit. Being able to witness their play and excellence once again in front of their own eyes ultimately brings back great memories for the Jays’ faithful to relive and relish.

However, with spring training approaching just around the corner in about a month’s time, it is kind of disheartening to learn that there are actually a fair number of former Blue Jays that were once fan favourites that have yet to secure a job heading into the 2024 season. Here, we take a look at six of these players along with the potential reason why they have not found a home just yet, where applicable.

Josh Donaldson

For the “Bringer of Rain” Josh Donaldson, he certainly made his mark with the Jays during his prime years when he came over to the ballclub via a blockbuster trade with the Oakland Athletics. Not only did he take home AL MVP honours in a Jays’ uniform, the beloved icon was instrumental in leading the team on two unforgettable postseason runs during the 2015 and 2016 seasons.

Overall, the three-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger batted .281 with a .931 OPS, along with 331 runs scored, 116 home runs and 316 RBI in 462 career games with the Jays. Things may not have ended as smoothly when it came time for Donaldson’s departure from the ballclub. Nevertheless, the fans will never forget all the heart and effort that he gave out during his time in Toronto.

Since moving on from the Jays, Donaldson may not be producing at the MVP level he once did, but he has still managed put up some solid seasons with the Atlanta Braves and Minnesota Twins. However last season, Donaldson had his worst ever year in his career when he combined to hit .152 with a .667 OPS, 18 runs scored, 13 home runs and 26 RBI in 50 games played with the New York Yankees and Milwaukee Brewers. Things got so bad to the point that the Yankees released Donaldson prior to the end of August, with the Brewers picking him up on a minor league deal to finish off the season. Sad to say, but at age 38, along with his rapid regression of both his bat and defence in the past couple of years, we could be seeing the beginning of the end of Donaldson and his illustrious 13-year MLB career as interest in the veteran third baseman this offseason has been almost non-existent. But one thing is for certain, the Bringer of Rain himself wouldn’t mind coming back for another go with his former team for one more shot at glory.

Randal Grichuk

Randal Grichuk joined the Jays’ organization in 2018 when he was acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for reliever Dominic Leone and pitching prospect Connor Greene. Equipped with a heartwarming smile and a relentless work ethic, Grichuk became a main cog in the Jays’ outfield for the following four seasons, spending the majority of his time in both center field and right field. Averaging close to 27 home runs and 79 RBI per season over a 162-game schedule pace, he provided decent yet steady run production for the ballclub. However, he was prone to the strikeout, which led to a low batting average of .243 and on-base percentage of .289 during his tenure with the Jays.

He did provide some solid defence in the field by committing just four errors across his four years with the ballclub. However, a net DRS of -6 along with just an average arm limited his overall effectiveness. With the outfield picture becoming crowded with George Springer, Teoscar Hernández and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. all in the mix, Grichuk was eventually deemed expendable and dealt to the Colorado Rockies during the 2021 offseason for Raimel Tapia and prospect Adrian Pinto.

Grichuk actually put together a strong hitting season last year when he posted a career-high .308 batting average with the Rockies in 64 games played. His impressive performance made him a hot commodity at the trade deadline. In the end, he caught the eye of the Los Angeles Angels, as they traded for the outfielder to bolster their roster for the postseason run. However, Grichuk would revert to his usual hitting habits of all ow batting average and high strikeout rate with the Angels as they eventually flamed out in the end to disappear from the playoff picture completely. Nevertheless, Grichuk still put together a solid season overall, hitting .267 with a .779 OPS, along with 65 runs scored, 31 doubles, 16 home runs and 44 RBI in just 118 games played. Surprisingly, at just the young age of 32, his market has been progressing at a slower pace than expected so far this offseason. Perhaps the Jays could take a flyer in bringing him back as an extra outfielder for depth if they don’t pursue any higher-end free agent outfielders for the rest of this offseason.

Kevin Pillar

For the one they called “Superman”, Kevin Pillar sure left an unforgettable, lasting impression during his seven-year tenure with the Jays between 2013 to 2019. Pillar would provide the fans and the ballclub with dazzling defence, chasing down balls left and right on a daily basis in helping the team stabilize their outfield defence for over half a decade. Surprisingly, despite constantly maintaining a fielding percentage above .984 while putting up multiple seasons of double-digit DRS, including an astounding 24 in 2015, Pillar failed to capture a single Gold Glove award during his time with the team.

At the plate, Pillar managed to put up some solid numbers, as he compiled a respectable .260 batting average with 303 runs scored, 156 doubles, 55 home runs, 231 RBI and 69 stolen bases in 695 career games with the Jays. However, he often swung at pitches that were way out of the strike zone that often drew the ire of the fans. Nevertheless, his astonishing plays in the field made up considerably for his faults at the plate and instantly became a big time fan favourite in the process.

Last year, Pillar got into 81 games as a part-time player in the outfield with the Atlanta Braves. He hit a miserable .228 for the second-lowest mark of his career, along with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of almost 8.5:1. However, he still showed some power by belting 9 home runs and some solid run production with 32 RBI. With defence being his main selling point, gone are the days of Pillar making those breath-taking spectacular plays. But on the good side of things, he has been able to still provide steady defence overall in maintaining a high fielding percentage and a positive DRS this past season whenever he was called upon to play. At aged 35 along with a regressing bat, Pillar will be in tough to secure a regular starting role in the near future with any ballclub, but could still provide valuable outfield depth as an extra outfielder off the bench, in particular for those looking for ideal defensive replacements late in games.

Jay Jackson

For well-travelled journeyman Jay Jackson, he finally got his chance to shine at the ripe age of 35 this past season with the Jays. Jackson managed to piece together a strong season with the ballclub despite being moved up and down between the minors and majors on multiple occasions throughout the course of the year. But whenever he was called upon by the big league club, he confidently delivered with flying colours.

For 2023, Jackson compiled a solid 3-1 record with a stellar 2.12 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, along with 27 strikeouts in 29.2 innings pitched. More impressively, he yielded runs in only four of his 25 overall appearances with the ballclub. On top of that, he was able to accomplish it in a professional manner while having to deal with personal issues with his newborn at the same time, showing how spectacular a feat it actually was.

Shockingly, despite his outstanding performance all year, Jackson was designated for assignment near the end of the season and was not included on the Jays’ postseason roster. Ultimately, it ended his tenure with the ballclub as he entered free agency during the offseason. It would seem like a no-brainer to bring back an effective Jackson on a low-risk, friendly deal that he would most likely accept, but nothing has transpired as of yet from that front, making the chance of a reunion more and more unlikely. Hopefully, he will get his opportunity to catch on with a ballclub prior to the start of the 2024 season to give him the chance to prove once again that he is indeed an MLB-calibre pitcher.

Brandon Belt

Finally, we have the mysterious case of Brandon Belt. Belt was signed by the Jays in the previous offseason to help fill their designated hitter role, along with adding a strong power, left-handed bat to help balance their right-handed-heavy lineup. Things didn’t start off pretty when Belt was mired in the worst slump of his career when the season began. Striking out almost 50% of the time while constantly hitting below the Mendoza Line, he quickly became the Jays’ scapegoat as the fans began to lose patience with the potential big bust signing.

However, a drastic turnaround by Belt beginning in May helped change things quickly as from there onwards, he compiled a solid .271 batting average with a stellar .924 OPS, along with 48 runs scored, 19 doubles, 18 home runs and 38 RBI in his remaining 86 active games of the season. That huge bounce back helped changed the attitude of the fans from wanting him to leave to truly appreciating his impact, as well as his leadership on the ballclub. And if that didn’t catch the fans’ attention, his astute humour certainly did when he explained why he was snubbed for the All-Star game.

Nevertheless, towards the end of the 2023 regular season, Belt had brought up the possibility of retirement during an interview on Foul Territory. He expressed he was unsure of his future on whether he will be continuing his career, or rather be spending more of his time with his family. With the almost absolute silence so far this offseason coming from Belt’s camp, it is becoming more and more likely now that he may be leaning towards stepping away from the game than continuing to pursue the game he loves for another year. If we have indeed seen the last of Belt in the major leagues, at least the Jays’ faithful got to witness his excellence for his swan song.