Toronto Blue Jays: Liam Hendriks rumors evolve into a visit

Liam Hendriks spent his Monday visiting with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Could the Toronto Blue Jays be on the verge of converting all of their “connections” and rumors into actual contracts? Not quite yet, but free agent reliever Liam Hendriks was in Dunedin, Florida today taking a visit with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Shi Davidi of Sportsnet was first to report Monday’s meeting, with multiple other outlets confirming the report. As reported by FanSided’s Robert Murray, the Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers also remain “aggressive” on the former Oakland closer who has been near lights out over the last two seasons, but an actual visit with the Blue Jays signals something more than just “interest” from Toronto.

After a mountain of reported rumors surrounding every big-name free agent on the market, the Toronto Blue Jays just might be ready to buck their current financial trend and lock down the top reliever on the market, greatly aiding in their push for an American League East title in 2021.

Since being traded from the Blue Jays to Oakland after the 2015 season, Hendriks has posted a 3.08 ERA (2.59 FIP) with 332 strikeouts across 263 innings with the A’s.

He’s served as the organization’s closer over the last two seasons, earning an All-Star nod in 2019 and finishing 9th in Cy Young voting in 2020 after going 3-1 with 14 saves, a 1.78 ERA, 0.67 WHIP and a 37/3 K/BB ratio in 25.1 innings pitched.

Toronto’s bullpen ranked 11th in terms of Wins Above Replacement last season (1.8), but they posted the seventh-highest ERA (4.71) and owned the 24th-highest strikeout rate (22.8%) and fifth-highest combined walk rate (12.1%).

Hendriks has stuck out between 37-40% of hitters in each of the last two seasons, with a sub-5% walk rate, and was worth nearly just as much as the entire Toronto bullpen in 2020 (1.4 fWAR). Needless to say, Hendriks is quite elite.

While landing Hendriks would be a statement move to the rest of the AL East, the Blue Jays will need to be equally as aggressive in upgrading their starting rotation. Japanese standout Tomoyuki Sugano is in the United States now, reportedly set to make his decision on where to pitch in 2021 within the next day or two (January 7th deadline to sign with an MLB team), with the Blue Jays reportedly being a possible landing spot.

The Jays have also recently been in contact with 2020 Cy Young winner Trevor Bauer, the prized free agent pitcher current on the market.

With multiple teams still heavily pursuing Liam Hendriks, his visit with the Toronto Blue Jays doesn’t mean a reunion is a done deal, but maybe, just maybe, the Blue Jays will be turning words into actions soon.