Should the Blue Jays take a flyer on this Canadian castoff?

The Toronto Blue Jays made some drastic moves to upgrade their pitching staff at the trade deadline by adding former CY Young winner Shane Bieber and solid relievers Louis Varland and Seranthony Domínguez. It helped expand the Blue Jays’ pitching depth by pushing everyone back a rung or two, such as Eric Lauer now moving to the bullpen.

But you can never have enough pitching depth, ever, and the Miami Marlins recently placed Cal Quantrill on outright waivers. Should the Blue Jays take a flyer on one of Canada’s very own? 

Should the Blue Jays take a flyer on this Canadian castoff?

After all, Quantrill is a former top prospect in the league, as he was selected in the first round (eighth overall) by the San Diego Padres in the 2016 MLB Draft. The right hander would eventually make his MLB debut with the Padres in 2019, putting up a less-than-stellar rookie season with a 5.16 ERA and 1.30 WHIP over 23 appearances that included 18 starts.

Quantrill would finally establish himself in the league in his subsequent seasons as both a reliever and a starter. During his 2020 and 2021 campaigns, he maintained a sub-3.00 ERA while averaging close to a strikeout per inning with the Padres before being traded to the Cleveland Guardians. His best season came in 2022 with Cleveland when he registered career-highs in wins (15), starts (32), innings pitched (186 1/3) and strikeouts (128), along with a solid 3.38 ERA and 1.21 WHIP.

However, Quantrill would go on to struggle with his control and inconsistency ever since, having moved from Cleveland to Colorado and now most recently Miami, trying to rediscover his game. Since 2023, his ERA often hovered around 5.00 with a WHIP constantly above 1.38 as he ran into problems issuing too many free passes while being hit hard at the same time.

Quantrill appeared to have turned a corner earlier this season with the Marlins when he put together a string of 11 straight starts of allowing three earned runs or less between May to early July. Unfortunately, his inconsistency would rear its ugly head once again in recent weeks, and with Miami looking to shed payroll before the offseason, the Marlins place Quantrill on waivers.

Quantrill is still only 30 years old and only three years removed from his dominant 2022 campaign with the Indians. With Pete Walker at the helm of the pitching staff in Toronto, perhaps he could work some of his magic on him, much like how he ended up fixing Steven Matz and Ross Stripling in years past. Added to the fact that Quantrill can pitch as a potential swingman just like his predecessors above, he could prove to be an invaluable piece down the road with the Jays.

To top it off, his father Paul was also a fan favourite during his time in Toronto. So with the Jays being famous for having an avid collection of former MLB stars’ sons; Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, Cavan Biggio, Griffin Conine and Will Wagner to name a few, it may be time to bring Quantrill in to the family, and add another Canadian player to the roster.