Report: Blue Jays interested in Marlins’ Christian Yelich

Shi Davidi joins Jeff Blair to discuss the next steps of the Toronto Blue Jays, believing that the two most recent trades have laid a framework for what the franchise will do going forward.

The Toronto Blue Jays are among several teams that appear to have some interest in Miami Marlins outfielder Christian Yelich, reports Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.

The Marlins, who began to tear down their roster and shed payroll by dealing Giancarlo Stanton and Marcell Ozuna this off-season, have seen more clubs enter the mix for Yelich over the past week, according to Cafardo.

The 26-year-old left-handed hitter has tallied nine wins above replacement over the past two seasons combined and is under team control through the 2022 season.

It will likely take a huge haul to acquire Yelich, but the Braves, Giants, Nationals, Phillies and Rangers are all teams with reported interest.

 
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Lorenzo Cain sweepstakes

Free agent outfielder Lorenzo Cain continues to draw interest from the Blue Jays, Cafardo notes, adding that the club would move the centre-fielder to right field, if it signed him.

Kevin Pillar, a Gold Glove finalist in 2017, has manned centre for the Blue Jays across the past three seasons. However, the defensively gifted Cain, 31, was considered a top-five outfielder in the game last season, according to Statcast’s Outs Above Average metric.

He hit .300/.363/.440 with 15 home runs, 26 stolen bases and 27 doubles in 2017 and would instantly inject a heavy dose of speed to the top of Toronto’s batting order.

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