Toronto Blue Jays add another rotation flyer in Matt Shoemaker
The Toronto Blue Jays added rotation depth on Friday, though it may be more questions than sure answers.
Though the risk is low, the Toronto Blue Jays may reap big benefits from the signing of Matt Shoemaker to a one-year deal with a $3.5 million base salary and up to $1 million in incentives, announced Friday.
Shoemaker makes for a good risk at that cost after the Los Angeles Angels chose not to tender him a contract in arbitration and he became a free agent. The intriguing thing is that the Blue Jays will also control Shoemaker after the 2019 season as he has one more year of arbitration left.
Injuries have derailed the past two seasons for Shoemaker, limiting him to a total of 21 starts and 108 2/3 innings. However, from 2014-2016, Shoemaker was a very effective mid-rotation starter for the Angels, putting together a 3.80 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 5.1% walk rate, and 21.6% strikeout rate, averaging 196 innings per 162 games (he bounced in and out of the rotation at times).
The Blue Jays currently have a rotation that features two potential top-of-rotation arms in Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez along with control specialist Ryan Borucki, so adding Matt Shoemaker does lengthen out the rotation and allows Sean Reid-Foley to work as a 5th starter if he can win the job over guys like Thomas Pannone.
The issue for the Jays will be that the injury and performance variance among that quintet is quite high, which could lead to an absolute mess north of the border if a few things hit the skids.
The lack of depth in the rotation for the Toronto Blue Jays is why the team will likely still be pursuing arms along the line of Shoemaker’s level in the market. It’s also why the team has been hesitant to trade the one relatively healthy pitcher they have in Stroman for anything less than a premium return.
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Other candidates for the Toronto Blue Jays
Without going into a big contract, the Jays could still find plenty in this year’s market. It may lead to seeing some former Toronto pitchers return to the fray, but guys like Marco Estrada, Jaime Garcia, and Francisco Liriano could each provide a different level of veteran option to the team.
The type of pitchers the team should be pursuing, however, should be the pitchers like Edwin Jackson (and Toronto is one of the few teams he HASN’T pitched for!), Ervin Santana, or James Shields, guys who may not be pretty, but when healthy, they are reliable veterans that can give you 175-200 innings.
Some other starters that could be of interest along the lines of Shoemaker this winter will be pitchers like Clay Buchholz, Jeremy Hellickson, Wade Miley, Drew Pomeranz, and Josh Tomlin.
Next. Jays tearing down with eye to future. dark
While that may not be a list that excites Toronto Blue Jays fans, the pitching at the lower levels of the Jays system is very impressive and should be coming in the next few years to really take the team to the next level, so for the next couple of years, guys that can simply fill in may be the best options.