SAN DIEGO – Day three of the winter meetings opened with mixed news on multiple fronts for the Toronto Blue Jays, as the division rival Boston Red Sox lost out on Jon Lester while the relief market was thinned out with Luke Gregerson and Pat Neshek moving off the board.
Lester, who will get $155 million over six years from the Chicago Cubs, was a key target for the Red Sox, who have loaded up offensively with Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez but are in desperate need of help for their rotation.
While Max Scherzer and James Shields remain free agents, and they still have money to spend and assets to deal for one of several starters available, bringing back the left-hander was clearly a key part of their off-season plan, and now they must regroup.
As positive as that development was for the Blue Jays, less beneficial is that Gregerson and Neshek are the latest relievers to find homes, joining David Robertson and Andrew Miller in finding new teams.
The Houston Astros landed the steady Gregerson for $18.5 million over three years while Neshek gets $12.5 million over two years, slotting in behind the $46 million over four Roberston got from the Chicago White Sox and $36 million over four the New York Yankees handed Miller.
How involved the Blue Jays were on either Gregerson or Neshek was unclear, although one source said the team has “a lot of irons in the fire.”
Whatever the case, the signings take most of the upper-tier relievers off the market, leaving the Blue Jays to shop among those who are coming off down years, are looking to bounce back, or are recovering from injury.
Their internal options are limited, but Aaron Sanchez, expected to win the No. 5 spot in the rotation, could always return to the closer’s role if the Blue Jays acquire another starter.