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Blue Jays: Three best January free agent signings in franchise history
We are into the quiet days of the baseball offseason as we are still about a month out from pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring Training, but also enough time has passed when teams were making significant changes to their rosters. But just because the big changes have already happened does not mean clubs like the Blue Jays won’t go out and make another key signing to improve their chances for the upcoming season.
In years past, the Blue Jays have had some of their own free agents hit the open market, test it and in January decided their best opportunity was to come back to the Blue Jays. In 1987, both Ernie Whitt and Jim Clancy went to the open market, but signed back with the club two days apart in January. The same happened with Mark Eichorn as hit the open market after the 1992 World Series, but signed back on January 6 and became one of the best relief pitchers in baseball that season that helped the club to back-to-back World Series. The most recent example of this was the contract drama surrounding José Bautista after he hit free agency he waited until mid-January before signing back for the 2017 season.
With a lull in the free agent signing, I thought I’d look at the three best January free agent signings the Blue Jays made. For clarification, none of these players were returning players from the season before.
3. Tony Castillo - January 11, 1993
After starting his career in the Toronto Blue Jays organization as a 20-year-old in 1983, Tony Castillo was traded away in 1989 to the Atlanta Braves. After stops with the New York Mets and Detroit Tigers, Castillo signed back with the Blue Jays for the 1993 season. His 1992 season was a forgettable one for the left-handed pitcher as he was unable to make any major league appearances and as such the Blue Jays were able to sign him to a one-year deal worth just $185,000.
The signing worked out very well for both sides as Castillo returned to health and made 51 appearances out of the bullpen. Castillo was dominant against left-handed batters as he held them to a .206 batting average and a .517 OPS as he surrendered just three extra base hits to 67 plate appearances on the season. Castillo would earn an additional one-year contract that earn him a 135% raise on his 1993 salary. In 1994, Castillo increased his innings and his ERA dropped to 2.51, which led to a two-year deal where he continued to be an effective reliever.
The January signing of Castillo led to three and a half seasons of a valuable lefthanded reliever as he pitched in just over 200 games and had a 3.35 ERA in that time frame. This would go as an under the radar great signing.
2. Marcus Semien – January 30, 2021
It took until the very end of January in 2021, but the Blue Jays signed former AL-MVP finalist Marcus Semien to a one-year deal worth $18M. Semien had spent the majority of his eight-year Major League career with the Oakland Athletics and after finishing the 2019 season with 33 home runs, 92 RBI and a slash line of .285/.369/.522 he had some struggles in the 2020 COVID-shortened season. Semien saw his batting average drop by 62 points and his OPS slide from .892 to .679.
The Athletics decided to move on from Semien and did not even qualify him which made him a free agent for any team to sign without having to give up any type of compensation. Because of his drop off in 2020, Semien was not getting any lucrative offers, so Instead of seeking a longer-term deal with a smaller amount of money, he decided to bet on himself on the short-term deal with the Blue Jays.
During his time with the Blue Jays there had been a lot of talk about the impact the veteran infielder had on the younger players in terms of preparation and professionalism he brings to the game. On the field, Semien was an absolute superstar with the club as he again finished as a finalist for the AL-MVP, along with taking home both the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Awards for the AL second base position. Semien also set the Major League record for most home runs in a single season by a second baseman when he finished with 45.
There was hope from fans that the team could bring him back on a long-term deal, but Semien signed a seven-year deal worth $175M with the Texas Rangers. The silver lining on Semien signing elsewhere, was since the club qualified him they received a compensation pick. The Blue Jays used that selection to take infielder Tucker Toman who is currently listed by MLB.com as the club's fourth-best prospect.
1. George Springer – January 23, 2021
A week prior to the organization signing Semien, Rogers Communications opened the bank vault up to sign George Springer to the largest contract in team history when they gave him $150M paid over six seasons.
The three-time All-Star, two-time Silver Slugger and 2017 World Series MVP was known as one of the best leadoff hitters in the game and provided a unique skillset to the role. Unlike many players that hit in the leadoff spot, Springer has a lot of power and prior to the start of the 2023 season he sits fourth all-time in career leadoff homeruns. Throughout his playing years, Springer had averaged 35 home runs over 160 games.
In his first season with the Blue Jays, Springer suffered from several injuries and played in just 78 games, but was still able to collect 22 home runs and 42 extra base hits, while knocking in 50 runs. In his second season, Springer was able to stay healthy more frequently and was able to get into 133 contests, collecting 51 extra base hits, which included 25 home runs and being named to his fourth All-Star Game.
Heading into the 2023 season Springer will be entering the third year of the six-year deal and it appears as he will be shifting to right field permanently. This move will hopefully help to keep the now 33-year old healthy for the season. If he can stay on the diamond, Springer will likely move past Craig Biggio and Alfonoso Soriano for second place in that leadoff home run category.
Next. Blue Jays announce five minor league signings. dark