The Blue Jays are among those clubs showing interest in Justin Turner, according to MLB Insider Jon Heyman (via Twitter). The Blue Jays are kicking the tires on just about every top free agent available in an effort to supercharge their rebuild and turn their playoff team from 2020 into a legitimate contender the American League East.
As of now, the Jays have been linked to Brad Hand, Liam Hendriks, Ha-Seong Kim, Mike Fiers, Marcell Ozuna, DJ LeMahieu, Kolten Wong, George Springer, Garrett Richards, J.T. Realmuto, Michael Brantley, J.A. Happ,and Kevin Gausman before he accepted his qualifying offer. They’ve also been linked to Francisco Lindor, Steven Matz, and Jean Segura via trade. I’m sure there are there are others I’ve missed. Point being, Toronto is active in free agency.
Turner brings a little more intrigue because of the fit at a wide open third base position in Toronto. The Blue Jays recently non-tendered incumbent Travis Shaw, and while Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has expressed an interest to claim the position for himself, it makes as much sense to find a replacement outside the organization for the hot corner if there’s a viable solution. Turner would certainly qualify. Of course, Heyman notes that there are multiple teams expressing interest in Turner at the present.
Blue Jays are intrested in everyone
Indeed even though is my city no the team I root for, I’ve got to admit that. I’ll be surprise if they walk away with two or three of all those names.
I’ll be content with Springer, Hand, and a trade for Lindor though. Not too much to ask isn’t ?
Curious on what you think the Jays would offer the Indians to land Lindor.
Hopefully the deal never happens. Jays do not need Lindor that badly. He’d be nice to have but not a necessity.
I’m a Jays fan and I would try and push Gurriel Anthony Kay and TJ Zeuch…. but it most likely would be Jordan Groshans and Gurriel
Either trade scenario is a loss for the Jays. Let Bo have one more shot at SS and go after Lindor or Baez or Correa or Story or others in free agency a year from now.
It’ll depends who’s involved in the deal aside Lindor. They’re willing to trade MacKenzie as well.
I would say a package of;
Lourdes Jr., Teoscar, Groshans, Kirk, Wood-Richardson, Manoah among some others….for Ramirez, Lindor (1yr), and MacKenzie.
Awful trade idea for the Jays. Lose two power hitters, top hitting prospect, top catching prospect, top pitching prospects after Pearson among others?? All for 1 year of Lindor, a young arm and Ramirez?
Hell no. Sign a free agent. Toronto has money.
The best offensive free agent, the second best bullpen arm and the best shortstop in the game isn’t too much to ask for?
@Ully
“Blue Jays are intrested in everyone”
We know. This is not news. It gets pointed out a dozen times with every Blue Jays rumor article, just as if none of us have noticed. Well, we’ve all noticed. We don’t need to be told one more time. Ever. Thanks for piling on.
@moRivera and this concludes our public comments time for our meeting. Next order of business the universal DH.
For a HOF pitcher, with 100% vote, you sure are a crabby person
Pretty much the Jays and the Yankees are attached to just about every player available. Every year it seams like it is the Yanks and one other team. This year the Jays are that other team.
LOL I was going to post the exact same thing!
Literally
That would be the better article…Heck, at this point, they should just start a running spreadsheet for the Blue Jays potential free agent signees…lol
Totally why not when you got an empty 18 wheeler to kick tires on? They price shopping every one atm like “price check on prune juice bob, price check on prune juice!”
Great, now that freakin’ goofball Turner can go break COVID protocol up in Toronto now
He’s got a stupid beard anyway
That’s world series champion goofball to you sir
I am not a sir I afraid
Pinkerton that beard is the only reason…. Never mind lets just call him redbeard!
You forgot to at “feakin'” before world series champion :)
Still with the Covid thing, Pinkerton? Give it a rest, fanatic. His teammates clamored for him to come back out and not one player got the virus from his 15 minutes on the field.
He should’ve gotten punished in some way
fox471:
While I agree the covid thing is old news, the fact that none of Turner’s teammates or anyone else in the celebration, contracted the virus, is no excuse. Knowing that he’d tested positive, he went out not knowing that he would not infect others. He easily could have, and he was rightly censored for his behavior. But I do agree that that should be it, and it’s time to move on.
I can’t wait for covid to get the frick outta dodge
Agreed Fox. Time to move on. His teammates seemed fine with him celebrating so we should be fine with it too.
It wasn’t his teammates who had to be cool with it. MLB had to ring in. They did, and now that story is over.
Anyone that argues his celebration in winning the WS is either an Indians or Giants fan…
Others were at risk but 90% of all there post-game were exposed the 7.5 innings prior to his removal from the game and all knew what was going on at the time of celebration
We are not all victims so please stop acting like it and protect yourself if you are concerned in catching the virus…
Remember Muncy can play 3b as well, opens up a lot if we are only replacing a bat at 1 of 2 I corner IF positions. Alex has a plan and Turner will retire in Blue, even if he has a stop elsewhere first.
His teammates are all that matters seconds after winning a World Series.
This story should be over, but then something like this comes out of the wrong end of a horse. Just let it go already, will ya?
Huh? I never had a problem with Turner and that whole situation. You with the mask can’t let it go. Easy there.
Yea, like you would have stayed in the locker room.
Blue Jays are playing MLB Pokemon: Gotta catch ’em all!
God, just sign someone already. This is not even news.
Indeed!
I mean, you are at “MLB Trade Rumors”, not “Signed MLB Deals”
Bauer has to go first and then it all starts tumbling
“Point being, Toronto is active in free agency.” More accurately they’re actively window shopping. To my knowledge they haven’t actually signed anyone except Robbie Ray. Correct me if I’m wrong.
One signing is still more than about 27 other teams so far this offseason. Perhaps an exaggeration, but point is they signed Ray while there are a multitude of teams that haven’t signed anyone at all
Oh no, they’ve only signed one of the… 3 free agents who have signed even moderate deals so far?
What jerks for misleading you
“Price check on prune juice bob, price check on prune juice!”
There it is!!
but vlad is going to be a 3rd basemen, according to all the fans he’s gonna lose 100 pounds this offseason and suddenly learn defense
It’s not impossible, really. Guys do that, the defense part at least. They come back the next season and suddenly want the ball hit to them, not away
Albert Pujols got better and better defensively from when he started playing first base rather than 3rd base or outfield. Vlad Jr I would think would have the same type of results if he played first. Prince Fielder also comes to mind.
What about Tustin Jurner?
If he’s a free agent I’m sure the blue jays are in on him
Would be a good vet to have and he can still swing the bat. 2-year deal would be fine. With all the names the Jays have been linked to it’s tough to take anyone serious at this point.
This one feels more important than the majority of those other connections
There’s a clear positional opening and Turner would instantly jump into a 2017-2020 re-do roll for a young up and coming juggernaut
This also feels like an agent calling a reporter as soon as he got a phone call… confirm that link. Haha
-ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
It’s really only news when the Blue Jays AREN’T interested in somebody.
Exactly
If this were a normal year this would be the worst winter meetings in the history of winter meetings
Am I the only one who wants Vlad to get another chance at 3rd? He’s so much less valuable at 1st as there are so many above average hitters that we can sign for cheap at 1st. However, turner would be a very nice addition… I wouldn’t be against it.
I think he would get his chance even if Turner was signed by the Jays. Turner would DH a fair bit, allowing Vlad to play some 3B. This would also allow Vlad to ease into the position and learn from Turner. So, yeah, I would not mind seeing Vlad get reps there.
Yes, you are the only one. What’s he come in at now- 280-290 lbs?
Down to 240 presently. Has dropped 45 pounds roughly
I desperately wish Vlad could play 3B (well, unlike how he played it in ’19) because I want Rowdy to play 1B and the DH spot to be open to rest guys in. But it doesn’t seem likely enough to build the offseason plans around.
Springer, Rosario, and a trade for Lindor!
1.Bichette 3B
2.Biggio 2B
3.Lindor SS
4.Springer CF
5.Rosario RF
6.Vladimir Jr. 1B
7.Teoscar DH
8.Jansen C
9.Lourdes Jr. LF
Doesn’t hurt to dream a bit, and while still very possible and realistic because of the payroll flexibility and prospects available to pull off a trade, I’ll be definitely happy with that line up.
Add to that low cost guys in Kluber, Walker, and Hand if he’s willing to slash his anual venue a bit…..and the Jays are in business barring any major set backs or any major injuries………fingers crossed
I’d rather have Tellez over Rosario. Lourdes would not bat 9th either. That slot belongs to Jansen. Jays need Bauer and that should be there #1 focus.
There’s no way they acquire Lindor without including Gurriel anyway, so where he bats is kind of moot.
Perhaps. But Lourdes has a Top 10, if not Top 5 contract in baseball. Why the Jays would give that up for 1 season of Lindor is insane. Gurriel is controllable, affordable and continues to improve on both sides of the ball.
I don’t think there’s any chance they trade for Lindor without a high degree of confidence that they can sign him to a long term extension.
I’d rather take the chance that the Jays can sign one of the very many free agent SS’s a year from now rather than give up Gurriel. To make it worth the Jays while I think Cleveland has to throw in a starting pitcher with Lindor to get Gurriel and more. Jays aren’t pursuing Bauer which means they will continue to lose games unless they acquiring pitching through trade.
I was thinking about whether the Jays could package Gurriel and Grichuk to try and land both Lindor and Carlos Carrasco (who I think is the only starter Cleveland would be willing to trade).
It’s a good question, I wonder also. Truth be told, I think Cleveland would be better off calling the Mets. I think they have what the Indians want; an OF bat and a SS to replace Lindor.
Cleveland won’t want Grichuk and his contract. I also hope that the Indians do not trade Carlos Carrasco. I think it would be a mistake to trade the leader of their locker toom. Carrasco has signed two team friendly deals and wants to stay in Cleveland. It sends a terrible message to others. Every club needs a solid veteran to lead a young team.
Nobody wants the Grichuk contract except the guys who thought of the idea and offered it to Grichuk’s agent.
Cleveland’s days of contending are over and they should hit the reset. Only a matter of time before KC and Detroit push them to last place. Indians should blow it up. Or spend on bats, which we know they won’t.
Cleveland has outstanding controllable starting pitching and a strong, improving farm system that will help support the major league club. The Indians have no reason to rebuild.
They aren’t contenders either. Medium fish in a weak pond. It’s why your team gets detonated in the postseason by more talented and deserving teams.
You really are dreaming. None of those acquisitions you mentioned will happen
Haha, even the writers here are joking about the Jays ‘showing interest’ in everyone. That second paragraph is hilarious.
The Blue Jays and Mets are going to sign every free agent. Before it was the Yankees and Dodgers are going to sign every free agent.
Someone in the Toronto organization has loose lips. I’m sure over 15 teams have ‘checked in’ on all the FA listed above just like Toronto has but for some reason, Toronto wants to wear their ‘interest’ as a badge. I guess any press is good press…
When your company (Rogers) owns both a sports network and a baseball team, it never hurts to circulate rumors about the team for your network to report on. They ARE the press, so rumors are part of how they make their money to spend on the free agents (admittedly a very small part).
Good for the Blue Jays. While their interest in everyone has a become a running joke that has since run past cleverness, I admire their proactive approach. Fans of other teams, including me, would be lucky to have a team pursuing every available option, like the Jays.
I’ll join your train of thought once I see the rumor of “Blue Jays interested in Trevor Bauer”. They need him.
It’s all a devious plan by Atkins to pit every free agent against each other to see who will break and rush to sign with the Jays first for a lower rate. Bold strategy. Let’s see if it pays off.
I agree.
To be fair though, the Blue Jays may have $50M or more to spend, (in a depressed market) so it’s a strange situation. In a sense, they should be keeping their options open, and seeing what comes their way.
And also, they have like 4 areas they need to improve on at least (batting average/strikeouts, starting pitching, closer, CF defence, infield defence off the top of my head).
So it’s definitely something where they will have 5 different needs multiplied by 6 options at each position equals 30 targets as a guesstimate.
And then you have fallback options (in case those don’t sign or you run out of money), so add another 15.
That adds up to about 40 targets in total.
I’m not surprised.
Also their offensive output at C needs addressing. Kirk looked good in small sample size, so Realmuto is a possibility as well. Then one or two of Jansen, McGuire, and Kirk can be traded to address one of those other areas
Trade for Contreras, Moreno will be ready when Contreras becomes a free agent.
This is the part where I wish the Braves would offer Turner a 2 year contract. Problem is, at 2 years I imagine plenty other teams would be interested as well. I imagine he has already gotten 2 year offers.
I guess a silver lining for FAs this year is that no matter your caliber at least 1 mlb team will be interested in you. On another note, anyone know if the city of Toronto is gonna boot the jays out like they did the raptors for the upcoming season? Wonder if that factors into some decisions from a FAs perspective
Unless Americans have a sudden quick mass attack of compassion for fellow citizens, it seems likely that the border won’t be open to start the season in Toronto… but they’ll probably be able to play at least half the season in Toronto.
This just in Blue Jays have reached out to Frank Thomas, Ken Griffey, and Dennis Eclersly.
Would have been funny, if you came even close to Eckersley.
The Blue Jays are linked to every free agent and every possible trade scenario! The truth and reality is that no players what’s to play in Canada other than Canadian ball players! So all these articles linking players to the Blue Jays is pure fantasy!
That’s not truth nor is it reality. There have been plenty of players who have loved playing in Toronto, and there will continue to be in the future.
opranger, Are you the same poster who stated last off season that Ryu would stay in LA as it was closer to South Korea? Who said there was absolutely no chance he would sign with the Jays a Canadian Team?
OK I don’t see how in the world Justin Turner is going to want to leave the West Coast for any reason he just won a World Series and he lives in LA so the Blue Jays can be interest at all they want I guess
Four years ago we heard much the same talk about Turner and he ended up where he ended up. Probably the same this year.
This is really starting to remind me of the Anthopoulos era, where agents would leak that the Jays were “in” on their clients to make it seem like there was more interest than there really was, knowing that the Jays wouldn’t say anything to contradict those reports.
Turner would be great in a Jays uniform. Two years max though, he won’t be useful for longer than that.
One problem, it ain’t happening. All this PR noise is a deliberate effort from the Jays to market the brand. Shapiro and Atkins won’t be signing Turner.
Justin Turner bears a striking resemblance to former Expos mascot Youppi.
That photo makes him look like Gritty’s little brother.
My dad has a Gritty ‘pop’ figure and it looks so much like JT!
Heard rumors that the Jay’s are interested in Mike Trouts son. They provided no source
One of the Blue Jays/Dodgers gets Turner, the other trades for Arenado.
As a Blue Jays fan, this would make me so happy.
Both are extremely special players.
Turner would fill the leadership/veteran void on a young team. And Arenado, OMG.
Will Turner stay healthy? He will be 36 next year and hasn’t played a full season in five years…..
My magic eight ball says “Ask again later.”
I think we should start getting articles on who the Blue Jays aren’t interested in
Kidding aside, Turner in Toronto as a DH wouldn’t be a terrible move but Turner in Toronto (when they are actually in Toronto) on the turf is probably a bad idea
Dammit
Would have loved Turner, you’re probably right.
Sorry bub, Toronto has had a dirt infield for 2 seasons now, there is no turf at 3rd, SS, 2nd or 1st base.
What 1977 said. Clay dirt infield and the AL has a DH spot for Turner to rake for 4 or 5 at bats a day or two per week.
Even though I’m a Dodger fan, Turner is a tough sell. 36 and declining. He’ll be fortunate to get a 1 year deal wits mutual option for a 2nd.
Show me the evidence of Turner’s decline. You won’t find it in his bat, and you sure as hell won’t find it in his glove work. Somebody will give him two guaranteed years, no question. I hope it’s the Dodgers. Unless they are planning on trading for Arenado they could not possibly do better at that position.
How does this guy play in 2021? I like the guy but he put multiple people’s lives at risk. He should loose months if the season.