MLB free agency: Three possible destinations for Masahiro Tanaka

Will Masahiro Tanaka stay in the American League East?

Perhaps the Los Angeles Angels do elect to be aggressive in free agency when it comes to pitching but miss out on a Trevor Bauer and have to settle for Tanaka. Maybe any of the other NL East organizations jump in on the Tanaka sweepstakes. But there’s one other team out there who is ready to spend money this offseason and be aggressive in curating their roster for a playoff run in 2021.

That team is the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Blue Jays have their core group of hitters which includes Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Bo Bichette, Cavan Biggio, and Teoscar Hernandez, and they gave a big contract to Hyun-Jin Ryu to convince him to lead their rotation. That moved paid off well as Ryu went 5-2 with a 2.69 ERA and is a finalist for the AL Cy Young Award.

Toronto is entering their window of contention and can be real challengers in the AL East with the Red Sox and Orioles not in a place to contend right now and the Yankees going up against rotation questions and an aging lineup. You never count out New York, but if there’s a time to strike, it seems like 2021 will be that time.

The Rays will continue to be the Rays and Toronto went 4-8 against Tampa Bay this year, but an improved pitching staff will help.

There aren’t very many high-quality options available and if Toronto is looking to add another frontline starter, the trade route may a more viable option, but with a proven arm in Tanaka there for the signing, keeping him in the AL East makes a lot of sense.