The Toronto Blue Jays were just one win away from capturing the World Series last season, but it was the Los Angeles Dodgers who ultimately found a way to win their second consecutive title. There were many ups and downs for the Blue Jays throughout the series, but a controversial call in Game 6 may have cost Toronto a chance to win it all if it had gone differently.
“The fact this is ruled a ‘lodged ball’ but then the CF has no problem picking it up and throwing it in is dumb. He didn’t even make an effort to grab it right away. Blue Jays might have gotten screwed,” SI’s JD Andress posted.
Even after the heartbreak of the World Series, the Blue Jays believed they were in a strong position to land top free agent Kyle Tucker. In the end, however, it was the Dodgers who secured him.
“Kyle Tucker, the consensus best player available in free agency, agreed to join the Dodgers on Thursday, sources told ESPN, a little more than a month after star closer Edwin Diaz did the same. Tucker’s deal is for four years at $240 million and includes opt-outs after the second and third seasons, sources told ESPN’s Jeff Passan and Jesse Rogers,” ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez wrote.
The Blue Jays can still make a major splash in free agency. FanSided’s Zachary Rotman believes Toronto could sign Framber Valdez.
“A rotation featuring Valdez, Kevin Gausman, Dylan Cease, Shane Bieber and Trey Yesavage would be absurdly good, and they’d have a ton of quality depth on top of that. Again, the Jays would have one of the best rotations in the AL without him, but given the fact that they’re one of the few teams who’d realistically meet a high asking price, it’d be foolish to rule them out completely. We know how badly the Jays want to win, and even if they don’t really need him, Valdez would make them even scarier,” Rotman wrote.
Signing Valdez would give the Blue Jays one of the filthiest rotations in all of baseball, capable of going toe to toe with the Dodgers. At that point, the main focus would be keeping the rotation healthy.
This would be an excellent recovery after missing out on Bo Bichette and Tucker. Adding another arm to the rotation is never a bad idea, and it could be exactly what Toronto needs to get back to the top.
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