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By Patrick McAvoy
Contributing Sports Writer
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The Toronto Blue Jays have already proven this year that they are a force to be reckoned with.
In 2024, the Blue Jays finished in last place in the American League East with a 74-88 record. In 2025, they completely turned things around and nabbed the top spot in the division with a 94-68 record. Talk about a tale of two seasons, huh?
Now, the Blue Jays are in the World Series and will try to prevent the Los Angeles Dodgers from becoming back-to-back champions. The perception around the organization has quickly shifted from a team that some said should blow up the roster and rebuild, to now clearly having a wide-open championship window with this core. Adding even more pieces is the most obvious way forward and MLB.com's Mark Feinsand called the Blue Jays a potential fit for Houston Astros two-time All-Star Framber Valdez in free agency after the World Series.
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"No. 9: Framber Valdez, LHP, Astros (age 32)," Feinsand said. "Valdez was on track to be the top starting pitcher in this year’s free-agent class, going 11-4 with a 2.62 ERA through his first 21 starts and striking out 141 batters over 134 innings. A lackluster finish to his season -- he was 2-7 with a 6.05 ERA over his final 10 starts -- and a highly publicized cross-up incident in which he (intentionally?) hit his catcher in the chest with a fastball following a home run have raised some questions, but his track record as a workhorse should put him in good position to land a healthy deal. Potential fits: Astros, Blue Jays, Cardinals."
Valdez arguably is the top pitcher heading to free agency with a career 3.36 ERA over the last eight seasons. If the Blue Jays could add a talent like that after already making a run to the World Series this year, there's no reason why this team couldn't follow up with another deep run next year.
Valdez wouldn't come cheap, that's for sure. Spotrac currently is projecting his market value to be over $199 million across six seasons. That's a high price, but arguably makes sense if it could help Toronto continue the momentum into 2026.
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