The Toronto Blue Jays have been fairly active this offseason, with their most recent move coming last Friday when the team traded outfielder Ben Revere to the Washington Nationals for reliever Drew Storen. The latest rumors indicate they're still looking to add another starter.
Toronto has been in contact with Yovani Gallardo's representation this week, according to Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca. The Blue Jays were among a number of MLB teams linked to Gallardo this offseason, but perhaps they're getting closer to signing the right-hander.
After all, new president/CEO Mark Shaprio said Gallardo is "the kind of guy" that could help the Jays. Shapiro has already acquired Jesse Chavez from the Oakland Athletics and signed Marco Estrada and J.A. Happ in free agency. A team can never have enough pitching nowadays.
Then again, after Toronto acquired Storen last week, FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal reported the team had limited financial flexibility after the move (even though the dollars evened out). Gallardo is projected to fetch a deal in the $50 million range. After the team settles its arbitration-eligible players, the payroll could reach $141 million, according to Baseball-Reference.
If they're unable to add to the payroll without subtracting, then perhaps the trade rumors surrounding R.A. Dickey are indeed true. After the Blue Jays signed Storen a report surfaced that the team was looking to move Dickey, who will earn $12 million in 2016 before hitting the open market. General manager Ross Atkins said the team wasn't actively exploring deals involving the right-hander, but there's still plenty of time for unexpected trades to go down.
It's difficult to forecast since Toronto may want its rotation to get younger. Now that they have the opportunity to see if Roberto Osuna or Aaron Sanchez can be stretched out to become effective starters, it wouldn't too much sense to add another veteran at a higher cost. Right now, Marcus Stroman is the only non-veteran projected to earn a spot in the team's starting rotation. Drew Hutchison could earn a spot, but his performance the past two seasons suggests the others will out-perform him in spring training.
Whatever the case, Gallardo would be a helpful acquisition for the Blue Jays. The 29-year-old went 13-11 with a 3.42 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 121 strikeouts in 33 starts (184-1/3 innings) with the Texas Rangers last season. He also had a solid outing against Toronto in the ALDS.
Based on the previous rumors/reports regarding their personnel and financial situations, it looks like the Blue Jays will have to make room if they really want to sign Gallardo. The team is under new management, so there's likely a lot of new ideas floating around that front office. Don't rule anything out as long as Gallardo is still a free agent.