The Blue Jays held a current in-person assembly with free agent righty Corbin Burnes, MLB Community’s Jon Morosi studies (video hyperlink). Toronto was already related to Burnes earlier within the offseason, however an in-person assembly between the 2 events is of some word all the identical. Burnes is one in all a number of high-end free brokers linked to the Jays in current weeks. Toronto is, in fact, one of many remaining bidders for Juan Soto and has additionally been tied to lefty Max Fried, outfielder Anthony Santander, infielder Willy Adames and fellow infielder Alex Bregman.
There’s a pervading sense within the trade that the Jays are extremely motivated, if not determined to make a splash within the free agent and/or commerce market this offseason. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette are coming into their remaining seasons of membership management. Chris Bassitt can be a free agent subsequent winter. Kevin Gausman is barely signed by way of 2026. In the meantime, staff president Mark Shapiro is coming into the ultimate season of his contract, whereas normal supervisor Ross Atkins is signed by way of 2026. They’ve now been atop the Jays’ baseball operations hierarchy for almost a decade however haven’t gained a postseason recreation since 2016 — their first yr on the job. Hypothesis in regards to the pair’s job safety has continued to mount because the staff has underperformed.
It’s arduous to ascertain a state of affairs the place the Jays put down greater than $600MM for Soto after which flip to present Burnes would may very well be a $200MM+ deal of his personal. Extra doubtless, the Jays are laying some groundwork for contingency efforts within the occasion that Soto spurns their supply for one in all his different suitors in New York, Boston or Los Angeles. For a similar $600MM+ that Soto will command, the Jays might probably lengthen Guerrero, signal one in all Burnes/Fried and likewise signal one in all Adames/Bregman/Santander. There’s some inherent logic to diversifying the chance when speaking a few sum of $600MM+, but it surely’s additionally true that gamers like Burnes, Fried, Adames, Santander and Bregman are additionally significantly older than the 26-year-old Soto and are likelier to start declining sooner.
With regard to Burnes specifically, he’d be a transparent improve to what’s already a proficient Jays rotation. Toronto has Gausman, Bassitt, Jose Berrios within the prime three spots. Burnes, who simply pitched 194 1/3 innings of two.92 ERA ball for the division-rival Orioles, might be part of that trio and make up the most effective one-through-four combos within the sport. Proper-handers Bowden Francis and Yariel Rodriguez would then compete for the fifth spot. Rodriguez, notably, spent a portion of the ’24 season within the bullpen already. Toronto is mostly missing in skilled rotation depth, so including a sturdy workhorse like Burnes — third within the majors in innings and fourth in ERA since 2020 — ought to carry further enchantment.
Burnes — or any of the free brokers who rejected a qualifying supply — would require the forfeiture of a minimum of the Blue Jays’ second-highest draft decide and $500K of area from subsequent yr’s bonus pool for worldwide beginner free company. The Jays reportedly ducked underneath the posh tax threshold by a slender margin this season, although remaining tax calculations haven’t but been launched. In the event that they find yourself barely over the road, they’d forfeit their second- and fifth-highest picks and $1MM of worldwide bonus pool area.
The Yankees additionally met with Burnes late final month. The 2021 NL Cy Younger winner has additionally drawn curiosity from the Giants and Pink Sox. The incumbent Orioles have stated they’d like to maintain Burnes, but it surely stays to be seen if new proprietor David Rubenstein will authorize the type of spending essential to retain him. If he does signal elsewhere, the O’s would obtain a compensatory decide after the primary spherical of the 2025 draft, as a result of Burnes rejected a $21.05MM qualifying supply. They’d obtain the identical compensation if Santander indicators elsewhere after rejecting his personal QO, probably setting the Orioles up for an enormous draft in 2025.
