Blue Jays show clear interest in starting pitching as GM meetings wrap

SAN ANTONIO – After three and a half days of information gathering, agents and executives dispersed from the JW Marriott San Antonio Country Hill Resort & Spa with more information about what might come next but not much in the way of concrete transactions.

With all due respect to Austin Hedges, who returned to the Guardians on a one-year deal as their backup catcher, and starter Kyle Hendricks, who left the north side of Chicago for Anaheim, there are much bigger moves to come. That certainly applies to the Blue Jays, who aren’t on the brink of any additions as their top executives fly back home to Toronto.

If there was a surprise to be found in San Antonio, it was the Blue Jays’ level of interest in starting pitching. They’re serious in that area, which meant gathering information about the markets for a wide range of starting pitchers that included names like Max Fried, Luis Severino and Roki Sasaki.

The Blue Jays are also looking to add offence while augmenting their bullpen and exploring trades – a long checklist. Now, GM Ross Atkins has said he’s willing to be patient, but all involved are curious to see how and where the market starts to move first.

On that front, the person with the most control over the flow of the winter might be Scott Boras, the outspoken agent who represents top free agents hitters including Juan Soto, Alex Bregman, Pete Alonso, Ha-Seong Kim, Tyler O’Neill, Michael Conforto and Josh Bell as well as pitchers Corbin Burnes, Sean Manaea, Blake Snell, Yusei Kikuchi, Nick Martinez, Matthew Boyd and Max Scherzer.

Boras was in the spotlight late into last off-season while Snell, Matt Chapman, Jordan Montgomery and Cody Bellinger lingered in free agency with varying results. Interestingly, some describe Boras as more motivated to move quickly this winter, a development that could impact the Blue Jays and other teams in the crowded starting pitching market.

Speaking at the GM Meetings Wednesday, Boras said the market for starters has been lively already.

“The great thing is you get a clear voice from the teams about how they value each starter,” Boras said. “Some we see them the same, others we place in (different) priority. We really learn the teams have opinions about what they want to do with particular players, how they value one pitcher over the other, and for other teams. It's reversed. So we we have an opportunity to learn so much about how teams think and why they think it. We're able to transfer that to the players and really know what. What team best suits each starter."

Adding to the intrigue, White Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet is believed to be available in trade. It’s also possible a pitching rich team like the Rays or Twins could listen on some high-leverage arms, whether starters (Tampa Bay) or relievers (Minnesota), and impact the market further by doing so.

Either way, Boras showed last off-season that he’s willing to let the market develop slowly. At the same time, it would certainly add intrigue for the likes of the Blue Jays if he’s a little more motivated to get things started early this time.