The Toronto Blue Jays are feeling the pressure to fill the gap left by 2022 DH Brandon Belt. With the Milwaukee Brewers signing DH/1B Rhys Hoskins to a 2-year, $34 million deal, DH Joc Pederson seemed to be the main focus for Atkins and the Front Office. However, the Arizona Diamondbacks swooped in and signed Pederson to a 1-year, $9.5 million deal. With only a few quality options left in free agency, the Blue Jays have a very short window to sign a difference-maker to their offensive attack.
What Other Options Are There in Free Agency?
The short list of free agent DHs that are yet to find a home are as follows:
- DH Jorge Soler (31-years-old, .853 OPS in 2023)
- DH J.D. Martinez (36-years-old, .893 OPS in 2023)
- DH Carlos Santana (37-years-old, .747 OPS in 2023)
- DH/OF Austin Meadows (28-years-old, Has only played 42 games since 2021)
- DH Daniel Vogelbach (31-years-old, .742 OPS in 2023)
With the majority of the options being in their early-to-late 30s, it is more than likely that the Blue Jays would sign one of them to a 1-3 year deal.
The Impact of Jorge Soler
There have been many rumours surrounding Jorge Soler, and frankly, that would be the best option for the Blue Jays in my personal opinion. Soler is still a quality MLB player at age 31. One of the major issues throughout his career have been his strikeouts, but he decreased his K% by about 5% from 2022 to 2023. Soler also took more walks in 2023, increasing his BB% by 1.3% from 2022-2023. The Blue Jays were bottom-15 in HardHit% in 2023 with a 38.8% in the category. Soler’s HardHit% was a whopping 48%. He would be a welcome addition to the lineup.
Do The Jays Have Any Internal Options?
Spencer Horwitz has been a compelling player throughout his career in the minor leagues and his short stint with the Blue Jays in 2023. The young DH/1B put up a decent .726 OPS in his 15 games with Toronto. In 2023 AAA with the Buffalo Bisons, Horwitz had more walks than strikeouts. He’s not a power bat, as his MiLB career high in HRs is 10 in a single season, but he can definitely get on base at a high level. If Vladimir Guerrero Jr., George Springer, and others can return to their slugging forms, Horwitz’s playstyle can be utilized at a high level and he can turn solo shots into 2-run dingers.