Toronto Blue Jays

Left-handed starting pitcher Francisco Liriano and the Toronto Blue Jays have reportedly agreed to a minor league contract, per Rob Longley of the Toronto Sun.

Liriano will be a non-roster invitee to training camp, per Longley. MLB.com defines one as follows:

"A non-roster invite (NRI) is an invitation for a player who is not on a club's 40-man roster to attend Major League camp in Spring Training and compete for a roster spot. Clubs can extend NRIs to their upper-level Minor Leaguers and also include NRIs in Minor League contracts given to free agents in the offseason."

Per Shi Davidi of Sportnet, Liriano will receive $1.5 million plus performance bonuses if he makes the Jays.

Liriano has taken the field for 14 seasons (2005-2006, 2008-2019) on six teams. He started his career with the Minnesota Twins in 2005 and took the league by storm in 2006, going 12-3 with a 2.16 ERA and 144 strikeouts in 121 innings. He finished third in the American League Rookie of the Year voting and made the All-Star team.

Unfortunately, Liriano missed the entire 2007 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. He has gone 99-109 with a 4.28 ERA and 1.39 WHIP ever since.

Liriano has enjoyed some very good seasons in his career, which includes time with the Twins, Chicago White Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates (two stints), Blue Jays, Houston Astros and Detroit Tigers.

He finished 11th in the AL Cy Young voting in 2010 for Minnesota and ninth in the National League Cy Young voting in 2013 for Pittsburgh. The latter year was arguably his finest since 2006, as he went 16-8 with a 3.02 ERA and 163 strikeouts in 161 frames.

Liriano's last MLB action occurred as a Pirates reliever in 2019, when he went 5-3 with a 3.47 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and 63 punchouts in 70 frames. He opted out of the 2020 MLB season amid the COVID-19 pandemic despite having "multiple guaranteed offers" on the table, per Robert Murray of FanSided.

Now the door is open for a potential return to Toronto, where Liriano played during the 2016 and 2017 seasons.

The Toronto Blue Jays continued establishing themselves as a major contender in the American League on Tuesday, signing Marcus Semien only days after inking outfielder George Springer to a six-year, $150 million contract, per The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal. 

According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, Semien's deal north of the border is for one year, $18 million, though he instantly joins one of the most exciting infields in baseball. Rosenthal noted it's likely he'll line up at second base to begin the year.

Here's how the roster looks after Tuesday's news.

  

Toronto Blue Jays Depth Chart

C. Danny Jansen, Alejandro Kirk

1B. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Rowdy Tellez, Cavan Biggio

2B. Marcus Semien, Cavan Biggio

3B. Cavan Biggio, Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

SS. Bo Bichette, Marcus Semien,

OF: Lourdes Gurriel Jr., George Springer, Randal Grichuk, Teoscar Hernandez, Derek Fisher, Jonathan Davis

DH: Teoscar Hernandez, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Alejandro Kirk, Marcus Semien

SP: Hyun-Jin Ryu, Nate Pearson, Tanner Roark, Robbie Ray, Tyler Chatwood, Trent Thornton 

RP: Kirby Yates, Jordan Romano, Anthony Kay, Ross Stripling, Rafael Dolis, Jacob Waguespack, Ryan Borucki, T.J. Zeuch, Patrick Murphy, A.J. Cole, Thomas Hatch, Shun Yamaguchi, Julian Merryweather

   

Outlook

Even on a one-year deal, there's no question Semien makes Toronto a World Series threat. 

The shortstop slashed .223/.305/.374 with 23 RBI and seven home runs over 53 games last season, a down year for a player who finished third in AL MVP voting in 2019. Before 2020's truncated schedule, Semien's batting average had only dipped below .250 just twice since becoming an everyday player. 

Add that to the slugging prowess of Valdimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette and Springer and the Blue Jays have built a lineup relatively devoid of easy outs. 

There's also no question this isn't a gamble for the former Oakland Athletics star. Semien will once again be playing for his future as he prepares to test out free agency in a potentially post-pandemic market in 2022. As long as his play resembles what he did in 2019 more so than what he did in 2020, Semien should have no trouble winning this one. 

The Blue Jays will happily reap the benefits of watching him try. 

Marcus Semien agreed to a one-year, $18 million contract with the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.

ESPN's Jeff Passan reported on Dec. 14 that Semien looked likely to resolve his future soon. Interested suitors also viewed him as a cost-effective solution ahead of the 2021 offseason:

"Although the 30-year-old Semien is unlikely to command the kind of deal that will take him deep into his 30s, one executive said he appreciates Semien for his steadiness, versatility, makeup and, yes, price point. What he meant: Semien isn't going to cost nine figures like the shortstops in the mega-class of 2021-22. Some teams are already preparing for the shortstopalooza of next offseason, which, barring extensions, will feature Javier Baez, Carlos Correa, Francisco Lindor, Corey Seager and Trevor Story—five All-Stars, all of whom will hit free agency at 28 or younger."

After winding up third in the American League MVP voting in 2019, Semien took a step backward in 2020. He finished with seven home runs, 23 RBI and a .223/.305/.374 slash line in 53 games, and his slugging percentage was 121st among qualified hitters.

The Oakland Athletics won the American League West by seven games but lost to the Houston Astros in the AL Division Series. Semien acknowledged he started wondering in the previous round, when Oakland was one loss away from elimination, whether his time in the Bay Area was drawing to a close.

"I thought about that in the wild-card series," he said, per Shayna Rubin of the Mercury News. "I'm pretty logistical. I understand what's going on with everything and our backs were against the wall a couple of times … I took the field in the bottom of the eighth thinking, 'Is this my last time playing shortstop for this team?' I don't know."

Semien didn't get to profit too much from his monster performance two seasons ago. Under team control for one more year, he re-signed with the A's for $13 million to avoid arbitration, a figure that was lowered to $4.8 million because of the prorated pay structure of the 60-game regular season.

Because of the pandemic, another MVP-caliber campaign still might not have been enough to secure him a big long-term payday. His production at the plate put another dent in his earning power.

However, Semien could prove to be a big bargain for the Blue Jays.

It's tough to judge players too harshly based on their 2020 numbers. They played far fewer games than usual, and the pandemic also curtailed spring training and limited the extent to which they could train.

Semien also suffered a minor injury in his left side in September. If the problem arose well before that, it could also help explain why he nearly set a personal low for slugging percentage. He also had a .260 batting average on balls in play, well below his career average (.294). Having better luck could do wonders for his average.

According to Baseball Savant, Semien's exit velocity (86.2 mph) was down, and his launch angle (19.3 degrees) spiked compared to 2019. That's a recipe to wind up with far more flyouts and explained why his home run-to-fly ball ratio went from 15.3 percent to 9.3 percent.

It's a good idea to view Semien's 2019 campaign as a bit of an outlier and look at his ceiling as an above-average shortstop rather than one of MLB's elite position players. Even by that standard, he's a solid addition to Toronto's infield.

          

Stats are courtesy of FanGraphs unless otherwise noted.

The Toronto Blue Jays have reportedly "been in touch" with free-agent shortstop Andrelton Simmons as they seek further roster upgrades for the 2021 season after signing three-time All-Star center fielder George Springer.

Jon Heyman of MLB Network reported the news Friday.

Simmons is already one of the best defensive players in baseball history. His 191 defensive runs saved rank second all-time behind longtime Texas Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre (202), per FanGraphs. He's also captured four Gold Glove Awards.

The 31-year-old Curacao native was a glove-only contributor for much of his four years with the Atlanta Braves to open his MLB career. He posted a lackluster .666 OPS with just 31 home runs in 499 games before getting traded to the Los Angeles Angels in November 2015.

He became a more well-rounded player during his time with L.A., which was highlighted by an eighth-place finish in American League MVP voting in 2017 after he compiled a .752 OPS, 19 stolen bases and 14 homers in addition to his typical wizardry in the field.

Simmons was limited to 30 appearances during the coronavirus pandemic-shortened 2020 season because of an ankle injury, however, and a National League scout questioned his decision to opt out of the remainder of the campaign before the Angels were eliminated from playoff contention.

"He quit on his team," the unnamed scout said in an article published Friday by Matt Gelb and C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic. "That has to be addressed."

The Jays already have rising star Bo Bichette penciled in as their starter at shortstop, so signing Simmons would lead to some lineup reconstruction.

Most likely, Bichette would shift to third base with Vladimir Guerrero Jr., a subpar defender, splitting first base and designated hitter duties with Rowdy Tellez. Teoscar Hernandez would move from DH to a timeshare at the corner outfield spots with Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Randal Grichuk.

While trying to sign an elite defensive shortstop is understandable, Toronto's financial resources would probably be better used on upgrades at catcher and in the starting rotation.

The Jays already bolstered their bullpen with the additions of Kirby Yates and Tyler Chatwood.

The Toronto Blue Jays and three-time All-Star George Springer finalized a six-year, $150 million contract Saturday. 

Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reported some key points of the deal that include an eight-team no trade clause, a $10 million signing bonus, performance incentives and annual salaries ranging from $22 million in 2021 to $28 million in 2022 before settling in at $22.5 million over each of the final four years:

Structure of George Springer's deal with #BlueJays, per source: $10m signing bonus; $22m in 2021; $28m in 2022; $22.5m in 2023-26; $150K for MVP; $50K each for all-star, Gold Glove, Silver Slugger, WS MVP; 8-team no trade.

— Shi Davidi (@ShiDavidi) January 23, 2021

The Blue Jays had been linked to virtually every marquee free agent this offseason prior to signing Springer. 

Now is the time for the organization to make bold moves. The team made the playoffs last season with a 32-28 record thanks to a roster built largely around young players who have yet to hit arbitration. 

Toronto jumpstarted its rebuild last offseason by signing Hyun Jin Ryu to lead the rotation. That deal worked out well, as the southpaw posted a 2.69 ERA with 72 strikeouts over 67 innings in 12 starts. 

Springer brings his prolific bat to an offense that already features Cavan Biggio, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Teoscar Hernandez and Rowdy Tellez. The Blue Jays finished third in the American League with 302 runs scored in 2020. 

In seven seasons with the Houston Astros, Springer hit .270/.361/.491 with 174 home runs and 458 RBI. The 31-year-old hit a career-high 39 homers in just 122 games during the 2019 season. 

Free-agent starting pitcher James Paxton is reportedly on the "radar" of the Toronto Blue Jays as they continue to seek upgrades after signing outfielder George Springer.

Jon Heyman of the MLB Network reported Paxton is just one of the starters being considered by the Jays as they attempt to bolster their rotation before the 2021 season.

Toronto's lineup features plenty of potential after bringing in Springer, who owns a career .361 on-base percentage, to serve as the likely leadoff hitter, and the bullpen was upgraded with the previous signings of Kirby Yates and Tyler Chatwood.

The rotation could still use some work, though.

Hyun Jin Ryu is capable of leading the staff, while Robbie Ray and Nate Pearson are strong bounce-back candidates thanks to their high strikeout rates. Beyond that, the Jays could use some depth to compete for the last two spots with Tanner Roark, Ross Stripling, Trent Thornton and Sean Reid-Foley.

Paxton, 32, falls into the same category as Ray and Pearson. He posted an unsightly 6.64 ERA across five starts during the coronavirus-shortened 2020 season after not making his debut until late July while recovering from spinal surgery.

His underlying numbers remained strong, however, with 26 strikeouts and just seven walks in 20.1 innings. His xFIP, an ERA estimator, was still the highest of his career at 4.47, per FanGraphs, but it was over two runs less than his ERA, and the small sample size must also be taken into account.

His career statistics—3.58 ERA and 1.21 WHIP with 829 strikeouts in 753.1 innings—paint him as a strong mid-rotation starter.

Toronto has quietly built a roster that could contend for the American League pennant, though the AL East rival New York Yankees should still be considered the favorite for the time being.

Adding Paxton, who spent the past two years with the Yanks, or another similar starter via trade or free agency could put the Jays firmly in contention with New York and the Tampa Bay Rays in the division race.

The Toronto Blue Jays took one coveted free agent off the market when they signed George Springer, but they reportedly could keep adding a star to their roster.

According to MLB.com's Mark Feinsand, the Blue Jays aren't completely out of the hunt to sign Trevor Bauer. The right-hander was crowned the National League Cy Young Award winner following the pandemic-shortened season in which he posted a 1.73 ERA and a 0.79 WHIP with 100 strikeouts through 73 innings.

The Blue Jays made a major free-agent purchase on Tuesday, signing Springer to a six-year, $150 million deal—the largest contract in Blue Jays history. 

Bauer, who spent the bulk of his nine-year career in Cleveland before parts of two seasons with the Cincinnati Reds, shed some light on what he's looking for in his free-agent fit in a video he released last week. Among the factors the California native are the opportunities to form a "partnership" and have "open discussion" with his new team, and he expects to be "fairly compensated for the value" he provides. 

"I want to be happy," the 30-year-old said in the video. "I've spent a lot of time in my life being unhappy as a person, as a baseball player, as a teammate." 

The defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers are one of the teams most recently rumored to be interested in Bauer, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan. 

In Toronto, Bauer would slot into a rotation that includes Hyun-Jin Ryu—and little else behind him. Coupled with the offensive power of Springer, signing Bauer could push the Blue Jays ahead of the rest of the AL East and make them a real postseason threat. Toronto finished third in the division last season and earned a playoff berth with their 32-28 record. 

Outfielder Michael Brantley didn't wind up with the Toronto Blue Jays after all. 

Hazel Mae of Sportsnet first reported Wednesday that the 33-year-old had agreed to a three-year deal with the Blue Jays. However, ESPN's Jeff Passan later noted there was no agreement in place, and the "Blue Jays are among the teams still in on Brantley, and a deal may eventually get done, but it is not finished."

Brantley then proceeded to sign a two-year, $32 million contract with the Houston Astros, according to ESPN's Buster Olney. 

Brantley played the first 10 seasons of his career in Cleveland, where he earned three All-Star nods and a Silver Slugger Award. He joined the Houston Astros on a two-year deal ahead of the 2019 season, earning his fourth All-Star selection that year.

He appeared in 26 games as the designated hitter in 2020, a career high, and hit .300/.364/.476 with 24 runs, five home runs and 22 RBI in addition to an American League-leading 15 doubles.

The Astros did not extend Brantley a qualifying offer, but The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported in November that the team was "trying to work out a deal" with him.

In Houston, Brantley filled the hole at designated hitter left by Yordan Alvarez, who missed most of the 2020 season. He was the odd man out in a cluttered outfield that included George Springer, Kyle Tucker and Josh Reddick.

Brantley and Springer could have been reunited in Toronto if the team had lured him away from Houston.

MLB Network's Jon Heyman reported Tuesday the Blue Jays agreed to a six-year, $150 million deal with Springer. Heyman added that Springer was doing his best to sell Brantley and Toronto "on working out a deal." 

Rosenthal reported the Blue Jays had "been in recent contact" with Brantley on Nov. 23.

Brantley has an existing relationship with Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins. Atkins served as Cleveland's vice president of player personnel before heading to Toronto, where he reunited with longtime Cleveland executive Mark Shapiro, who joined the Blue Jays as their president and CEO in 2015.

However, it appears Springer's reported encouragement and Brantley's relationship with Atkins weren't enough to lure him away from Houston.

The Toronto Blue Jays provided a major boost to their lineup Tuesday night by signing outfielder George Springer, one of the top free agents on the market, to a six-year, $150 million contract.

ESPN's Jeff Passan reported details of the agreement and noted the deal, which is the largest in Blue Jays history, will become official once Springer completes a physical.

Here's a look at a potential batting order for Toronto to open the 2021 MLB season:

• 1. George Springer (CF)
• 2. Cavan Biggio (2B)
• 3. Bo Bichette (SS)
• 4. Teoscar Hernandez (DH)
• 5. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (3B)
• 6. Rowdy Tellez (1B)
• 7. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (LF)
• 8. Randal Grichuk (RF)
• 9. Danny Jansen (C)

The Jays have quietly built one of the league's deepest lineups, which features immense power throughout, after ranking eighth in home runs in 2020. An upgrade at catcher could still happen, but the front office may instead use those resources to bolster the starting rotation.

Springer, 31, had played all seven of his MLB seasons with the Houston Astros. He's a three-time All-Star who won the 2017 World Series and 2019 American League pennant with Houston.

The two-time Silver Slugger has 174 home runs, 458 RBI and an .852 OPS lifetime. He had a career-high 39 homers, 96 RBI and .974 OPS in 2019.

The 2017 World Series MVP saved his best work for the Fall Classic during the Astros' championship season, hitting .379 and posting a 1.471 OPS with five home runs, seven RBI, 11 hits and eight runs.

He notably led the Astros to a 5-1 win in Game 7 after going 2-for-5 with a two-run homer and leadoff double, which eventually led to his scoring a first-inning run.

The 2020 regular season was not as kind to the Astros, who stumbled to a 29-31 record that was good enough to sneak into the expanded playoff field.

Springer still excelled, however, hitting 14 home runs with 32 RBI, and posting a .265 batting average and .899 OPS. He added four home runs and 10 RBI during the Astros' playoff run, which fell one win short of a World Series berth after they lost four games to three in the AL Championship Series to the Tampa Bay Rays.

Houston's loss is Toronto's gain, and the Astros must find a replacement for a franchise cornerstone.

Springer joins a young Blue Jays team with rising stars such as Guerrero Jr., Bichette and Biggio, whose fathers all starred in the big leagues.

Springer could be a veteran presence for a Jays team looking to evolve after making the playoffs last year only to bow out after a two-game sweep at the hands of the Rays in the AL Wild Card Series.

The entire starting lineup last year was in its 20s outside Travis Shaw, and another clubhouse leader could help a Jays team that must leapfrog a pair of AL East titans in the Rays and New York Yankees.

Springer should immediately play center field, and he'll be flanked by left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and right fielder Randal Grichuk.

The Toronto Blue Jays may not be done shopping.

After Jon Heyman of MLB Network reported Toronto agreed to sign outfielder George Springer to a six-year, $150 million contract, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported the American League East team is still attempting to sign free-agent outfielder Michael Brantley.

Rosenthal noted Springer and Brantley are friends who are both represented by Excel Sports Management.

Heyman provided more details:

George Springer has been selling the Jays and Michael Brantley on working out a deal so his friend and Astros teammate can join him (possibly) north of the border. @Ken_Rosenthal mentioned the tandem talk

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 20, 2021

Brantley played for Cleveland from 2009 through 2018 before suiting up alongside Springer for the Houston Astros in 2019 and 2020.

He is a four-time All-Star who won a Silver Slugger in 2014 on Cleveland when he slashed .327/.385/.506 with 20 home runs and 97 RBI. He was an offensive force even during the shortened 2020 campaign with a .300/.364/.476 slash line to go with five home runs and 22 RBI.

While Brantley turns 34 years old in May, he has shown no signs of slowing down with a batting average in the .300s in each of the last three seasons.

He could also be a veteran leader with 38 playoff games on his resume for a Blue Jays team looking to turn the corner as a contender.

The Blue Jays made the postseason last year for the first time since 2016 but lost in the wild-card round. They are also in a daunting division alongside the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays and will be hard-pressed to keep up without plenty of offensive firepower.

They will have that in spades with Springer joining Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette, among others, and Brantley would provide another impressive bat to the group.