Insider: Blue Jays Will ‘Definitely’ Add A Starting Pitcher; A 2nd Elite Lefty Linked to Toronto

The Toronto Blue Jays will “definitively add a starting pitcher” this offseason. That was the latest report Wednesday night from Jays insider and beat writer Ben Nicholson-Smith. With Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt potentially departing in free agency, it’s certainly an area they will address.

And according to ESPN baseball insider Buster Olney, that name could very well be top-end starter Ranger Suarez of the Philadelphia Phillies. Speaking on TSN’s First Up, Olney said that the left-hander is a natural fit for Toronto:

The guy that I looked at and thought, ‘Hmm, this guy really fits the Blue Jays is Ranger Suarez of the Philadelphia Phillies. 29 years old, converted to starter four years ago, he’s had a ton of success… I think he’d be a great fit. He’s not going to command like a $200 million contract… And he’s sort of the depth piece, if you’re the Blue Jays, that you’d love.

Not the classic modern fireballer, notes Olney, Suarez throws everything including the kitchen sink at his opponents to find success.  Be it a sinker, a change up, a cutter, he’ll use it all. And when it comes to  the playoffs, this guy is a sure thing. A 1.48 ERA in 11 appearances. And the insider suggests another good reason why the Jays would and should be all over Suarez:

“Because the Blue Jays and the Phillies essentially share the same space in spring training (Dunedin and Clearwater, Florida), there’s a hyper awareness of those two organizations of players nearby. And I’m sure that the Blue Jays have gotten plenty of looks at Ranger Suarez and have talked about the possibility at some point of adding him.”

Suarez is coming off an $8.8 million deal in his final year of arbitration in 2025, and is now an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career. Another insider, Jon Heyman, predicts that the southpaw could command a deal worth as much as $135 Million over five years.

The Phillies’ longtime hurler is coming off another fine season, going 12-8 with a 3.20 ERA in 26 starts. That followed a 3.46 ERA in 2024 with an identical 12-8 mark. For his career, he has a 3.38 ERA across 187 appearances, 119 of them starts. 

Suarez would be the second elite lefty linked to the Blue Jays so far this off-season, as another insider has predicted that they will land the top southpaw on the market as well.

Photo: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images