Late on Tuesday night, the New York Yankees re-signed first baseman Anthony Rizzo, eliminating one more suitor for free agent first baseman Freddie Freeman. That makes the chances of Freeman signing with the Toronto Blue Jays a bit better.
Freeman also has dual citizenship in Canada and the United States, making a move for Freeman easier as well and if he wants to be on a contending team, the Blue Jays check that box as well.
Part of the reason why they are contenders is because of their stacked lineup. With Freeman, it would be one of the best lineups in recent memory. So, even if just for giggles if Freeman doesn’t sign with the Jays, let’s look at their hypothetical starting lineup.
The Toronto Blue Jays lineup with Freddie Freeman would be stacked
Leading off for the Toronto Blue Jays would be center fielder George Springer.
Springer is one of the best players in the sport. From 2017 through 2020, he was an All-Star three times, won two Silver Slugger Awards, and was in the top 15 in AL MVP voting twice.
In 2021, he still played really well but he struggled with injuries, as he only played in 78 games. He still played exceptionally well, though, as if he played 162 games, he was on pace for 46 homers, 104 RBI, and 39 doubles. He had a slash line of .264/.352/.555 and an OPS+ of 143. Not bad for a leadoff guy.
Bo Bichette would hit second and play shortstop. In 2021, he hit .298/.343/.484 with an AL-leading 191 hits, 30 doubles, 29 homers, 102 RBI, 25 stolen bases, and an OPS+ of 123. He was an All-Star and came in 12th in AL MVP voting.
Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. would hit third and he would also play third base for the Toronto Blue Jays. Guerrero played first base in 2021 and it would be odd moving the guy that was the runner-up in AL MVP voting, but Freddie Freeman only plays first and Guerrero has played third base before.
Guerrero also has expressed that he is willing to play third base so the Jays could move him there.
In 2021, he led the majors in runs (123) and homers (48). He also had 111 RBI, hit .311/.401/.601, and had an OPS+ of 169, the last three of which led the AL.
Hitting cleanup would be Freddie Freeman. He has been in the top 10 in NL MVP voting in each of the last four seasons. In 2021, he led the NL in runs (120) and he had 31 homers, 83 RBI, 25 doubles, and a slash line of .300/.393/.503, and an OPS+ of 133.
Hitting fifth would be the DH, Teoscar Hernández. In 2021, Hernández hit .296/.346/.524 with 32 homers, 116 RBI, and an OPS+ of 133. He was an All-Star, won a Silver Slugger Award, and came in 19th in AL MVP voting.
Lourdes Gurriel would play in left field and hit sixth. He hit .276/.319/.466 with 21 homers, 84 RBI, 28 doubles, and an OPS+ of 111 in 2021.
Randal Grichuk would be in right field and hit seventh. Throughout his career, Grichuk has been very streaky but he has been very good in even years since 2016 and bad in odd years since then.
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/16/2022.
Cavan Biggio and Santiago Espinal would platoon at second base and hit eighth.
Biggio would play against righties since he is a left-handed hitter. In 2021, he dealt with injuries as he only played in 79 games in the majors when he hit .224/.322/.356 (86 OPS+) but if he hits like he did in 2019 or 2020 (113 and 122 OPS+), he might actually move up to sixth in the lineup.
Espinal hasn’t played second base in recent years but he has played in 124 total games at second base in the minors and played the position as recently as 2019.
In 2021 in 92 games, he hit .311/.376/.405 with two homers, 17 RBI, and 13 doubles with an OPS+ of 114.
Catcher Danny Jansen would round out the lineup. In 70 games in 2021, he had 11 homers, 28 RBI, 13 doubles, a slash line of .223/.299/.473, and an OPS+ of 106.
With the exception of Biggio (due to injuries), every single player in the lineup had an OPS+ of at least 106 in 2021. The Jays already had the top offense in the majors in 2021, as they had a team OPS+ of 115 … but adding Freeman would make it absolutely phenomenal.
The Jays already added some to their pitching staff (but lost 2021 AL Cy Young winner Robbie Ray) so if their pitching can hold up and they sign Freeman, the Toronto Blue Jays will be one of the best teams in all of baseball in 2022.