When will the next Toronto Blue Jays player get into the Hall of Fame?

With no slam dunk cases it could be a while for a former Blue Jay to get the call to the Hall

ALCS - Cleveland Indians v Toronto Blue Jays - Game Four
ALCS - Cleveland Indians v Toronto Blue Jays - Game Four | Elsa/GettyImages

In the last ten years there have been six players and one manager who have made it to the Hall of Fame, who once spent parts of their careers with the Toronto Blue Jays, and they are:

  • Frank Thomas (Inducted in 2014; played for Toronto from 2007-08)
  • Bobby Cox (Inducted as a manager in 2014; managed Toronto from 1982-85)
  • Jack Morris (Inducted in 2018: played for Toronto from 1992-93)
  • Roy Halladay (Inducted posthumously in 2019; played for Toronto from 1998-09)
  • Fred McGriff (Inducted in 2023, played for Toronto from 1986-90)
  • Scott Rolen (Inducted in 2023, played for Toronto from 2008-09)
  • Dave Parker (To be inducted in 2025, played for Toronto in 1991)

Parker helped the Blue Jays win the AL East in 1991, and with induction it could be a while now before there is another former Blue Jay who joins this hallowed hall. Two guys who are currently on the ballot are Mark Buehrle and Omar Vizquel, but neither is trending very well for very different reasons. Buehrle received 45 votes (11.4%) this year, which is an uptick in his votes from 2024, but still a long way off. As for Vizquel, he will likely never get in with the domestic abuse allegations against him.

But looking ahead to some future ballots, there aren’t any slam dunk Hall of Fame cases for former Blue Jays coming up. Among the eligible inductees, we recognize the names Edwin Encarnacion (2026 ballot), J.A. Happ and Joakim Soria (2027), David Price (2028), Josh Donaldson (2029), and Kevin Kiermaier (2030 ballot) as former Blue Jays.

When will the next former Blue Jay get into the Hall of Fame?

Is there a strong case to be made for any of them? The only ones that seem to stand out would be Encarnacion, Price and Donaldson.

Edwin's 424 home runs could get some love. That’s 54th on the all-time list, but among players he played with and against (from 2005-2020) he ranks third on that list behind Albert Pujols (502) and Miguel Cabrera (442).

Price might have a shot with enough years on the ballot, but it is going to be tough. He doesn’t have eye popping numbers at first glance, but there could be a case to be made that in his era he was one of the best pitchers for a good stretch of time with the tenth best WAR between 2008 to 2022.

For Donaldson, there was a nine year stretch between 2013 and 2021 where he was arguably the second-best player in the league. His 43.9 WAR during that time trails only Mike Trout’s 65.0 and he led all qualified third basemen with a 141wRC+ (12th among all hitters). But that’s where Donaldson’s case ends. That nine-year stretch between his age 27-35 seasons was pretty much his whole career as he only played 13 seasons.

There are some very notable names on the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee ballot for 2026 including former Blue Jays; Roger Clemens, Jeff Kent and Carlos Delgado but they will need to make the cut from a current list of 14, down to eight and from there it gets whittled down even further. The Committee will meet for the first time in two weeks, so it’s still to early to get excited about those former Blue Jays potentially going to the hall.

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