7 veterans the Blue Jays could sign this offseason to grant Kevin Gausman his wish

We've mentioned time and time (and time and time) again that the 2024 campaign has been a complete dud for the Toronto Blue Jays. It ... doesn't take a genius to figure that one out. On paper, the club was supposed to be a team that'd contend, but from the get-go, it became clear that that wasn't going to happen.

There have been a ton of different reasons the Blue Jays have fallen short, but one thing's for sure: they're going to need to change quite a bit from top to bottom in the upcoming offseason if they're going to try to contend one last time with the Bo Bichette-Vladimir Guerrero Jr. core. It sounds as if that's the organization's intention.

One player in particular that is on this year's staff and will be a crucial part of next year's as well is Kevin Gausman. In a recent piece penned by the Toronto Sun's Rob Longley, Gausman made some comments that, well, raised some eyebrows. Not in a bad way, either. The veteran pointed to the fact that he's not getting any younger and that he wants to see the organization capitalize on their talent while he's still around.

He also mentioned that the Blue Jays need some additional leadership on the players side. “Time will tell,” Gausman said on how GM Ross Atkins will tackle the offseason. “Obviously we’ll see what the front office does. Listen, we need some veteran players, no doubt about that. We’ve got some young guys who can really play, but we need some veterans to kind of show ’em how to do things and be there because even our established guys are still young."

That's a loaded quote for sure, and he's got a point. Gausman went on to say that Justin Turner, who the Blue Jays traded at the deadline, is the exact type of player they need more of. Turner is a multi-time All-Star, he's got a ton of postseason experience and he's very well-respected around the league.

Gausman wants some veteran leadership brought aboard this offseason; that much is clear. Let's take a look around the 2024-2025 free agent market and identify some of the potential targets the Blue Jays could pursue that'd fit this bill. We won't count any players that aren't in their 30s and, well, the older the better. If a player can make it around or to their 40s in the big leagues, it means they're doing something right.

Let's dive into seven veterans the Blue Jays could sign that'd grant Gausman his wish.

Seven veterans the Blue Jays should target this offseason

The Blue Jays have quite a few items on their offseason to-do list, starting with their pitching staff. They don't really need another starting pitcher, but they got caught with their pants down a few times this year when they didn't have any backups to fill in in their starting rotation. Remember, at one point Bowden Francis was struggling and got optioned, Yariel Rodriguez wasn't up in the big leagues yet and Alek Manoah was still trying to find his way and then got hurt.

Matthew Boyd

That brings us to our first player here, which is a veteran starting pitcher that's not far removed from a Tommy John surgery. Boyd, 33, landed a mid-season contract with the Cleveland Guardians and looked sharp in a small eight-start sample size.

The 10-year veteran is a familiar face here, as he broke into the big leagues with the Blue Jays all the way back in 2015. He made two uninspiring starts for the club before he was flipped to the Tigers for David Price. Boyd had a long and (mostly) successful eight-year run in Detroit before hitting free agency this past offseason.

Over the years, Boyd has mostly been a starting pitcher but he's also got 14 relief appearances under his belt. He could give the Blue Jays a sixth starter that they give frequent starts to while also filling an important multi-inning role that they don't currently have addressed for next season.

Boyd's never been an All-Star, he's never received Cy Young votes and he hasn't put up more wins than losses in a season since 2016. However, he's a well-respected veteran who can eat innings and provide the Blue Jays with a reliable, low-cost option. What's not to like?

Elias Diaz

While we're going to spend more time talking about the pitching staff than anything else, the Blue Jays are also going to need themselves a second catcher. The club traded long-time backstop Danny Jansen to the Red Sox at the deadline and has since relied upon the likes of Brian Serven and Tyler Heineman to back up Alejandro Kirk.

All due respect to those two, but that's not going to cut it in 2025. The Blue Jays could pursue a reunion with Jansen, which would certainly go over well with the clubhouse and the fans. Or, they could go after a cheaper option that's got an All-Star Game and 10 years of experience under his belt.

To be clear, there's no wrong answer between Jansen and Diaz. Both player would enter a 50-50 time split with Kirk, who's really held his own since being handed the full-time starting catcher's role. Strictly financially speaking, Diaz would be cheaper than Jansen, and he's also got a longer track record of durability, which is really important here.

The 2024 season has been a lost one for Diaz, who's made it into 95 games between the Rockies and Padres and done nothing to really stand out above the rest. However, he's got a bat that's steadily improved in the power department over the years and in most years, he's an extremely solid option defensively behind the plate.

The Blue Jays need veterans and they need help behind the plate. Jansen, Diaz, take your pick, but signing the cheaper one and getting the same amount of value for less money will help the Jays spend money on pitching upgrades.

Daniel Hudson

Let's turn our attention to the bullpen, which is where we'll be for the majority of the rest of this list. If the Blue Jays are looking for experienced veterans who have been there and done that, Hudson should be one of the relief-pitching targets that tops their list.

Hudson, 37, is wrapping up his 15th big league season and fourth with the Dodgers. The 2024 campaign has been good to him, as he's registered 65 appearances (10 saves) with a 3.00 ERA and 129 ERA+ through 63 innings of work. His strikeout numbers were down a bit from years past, but he's remained a rock-solid option that can fill a variety of different roles out of the bullpen.

Hudson, another former Blue Jay (2019), has a ton of mileage on his arm, but he's also got experience in two different postseason runs (the Dodgers also made it this year, so make that three), including a handful of appearances in the 2019 World Series with the Nationals that earned him a ring.

David Robertson

The oldest and longest-tenured member on this list, Robertson struggled in the second half of last year but bounced back in a big way with the 2024 Rangers. The 39-year-old has 67 appearances under his belt this year, posting a 3.04 ERA, even more impressive 2.63 FIP and a 130 ERA+ to go along with it.

He's no longer the shutdown closer that he once was on the Yankees, but that could work out well for the Blue Jays, who already have Jordan Romano and Chad Green on hand as potential closers on any given night.

Robertson, a 16-year veteran, is certainly at the end of his career, but as of right now he hasn't announced that 2024 will be his last. He's continued to show that he can defy Father Time and since he's already up there in age, he shouldn't break the bank for the Blue Jays. He's not going to be the answer to all their problems, but he'll give them a cheap, talented veteran who can easily be a leader in this clubhouse.

Christian Walker

Skipping back over to the position player side of things (it's an alphabetical list, cut me some slack), Walker would be an excellent fit on the Blue Jays as long as he's got a clear cut role on their roster.

With some shifting parts, there could be a fit. Walker, a 10-year veteran who's going to be wrapping up a successful eight-year stint on the Diamondbacks, could play a ton of first base (where he's excellent defensively) and fill in as a designated hitter as needed. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has expressed interest in making a more permanent move to third base, so this could play into the Jays' favor if they have Walker on their list of players to sign.

One of the best defensive first basemen in the league who is also a legitimate power threat at the plate, there's no real downside to bringing Walker aboard. He can pick it with the best of them at first, he's hit 25 or more home runs in four of the past six years and he's also an above-average hitter against both right- and left-handed pitching.

Even if Guerrero doesn't make a move back to the hot corner, Walker could fit onto this roster. It may come at the expense of someone like Spencer Horwitz, who has faked it at second base a lot this year but isn't a long-term piece there, but Horwitz could always be dangled in trade talks to upgrade the roster this offseason so it all works out in this hypothetical scenario.

Kirby Yates

Another older player who is in the midst of an incredible season, Yates has dominated the opposition this year in what's going to be his first and only one with the Rangers. The 10-year veteran is 37-years old but he's pitching like a player in his mid-20s and in his peak.

Yates made the second All-Star Game of his career this year and has been the primary closer for the defending champions. He's another well-respected pitcher who's bounced around a bit but been popular at every stop along the way.

This year, the right-hander has 60 appearances under his belt, notching 32 saves while posting a sparkling 1.19 ERA, 2.52 FIP and 334 ERA+. That ERA+ suggests he's been 214 percent above league-average this year which ... is pretty solid.

Yates is at the tail-end of his career, but he's got a few consecutive seasons of above-average play to his name so he could either be a high-dollar, one-year deal or even a two-year deal depending on how long he wants to continue playing. Either way, the Blue Jays could use all the help they can get, so bringing him aboard with one or more of the players mentioned before him here would be a great way to go.