The best Blue Jays are made of unqualified players

It may not seem like an exciting player pool to shop for, but there is some interesting talent that could play a major role. The Blue Jays know and everyone knows that small moves can pay off handsomely. Their 2025 pennant-winning squad didn’t lack star power, but it also featured players whose acquisitions didn’t make waves at the time:

That cohort complemented the Blue Jays’ core significantly, delivering a 2.90 ERA in 254 innings of ball and a 269/.321/.397 line in 1,499 plate appearances while providing a slightly above-2.90 average with excellent defense.

All of this is to say that the players that became available on Friday may not seem exciting at first glance, but may have the potential to surprise. Here are some that could make sense for the Blue Jays:

2025 Team: Houston Astros

Figures for 2025: .241/.297/.384 line with 11 HR in 391 PA for 1.1 fWAR

fit: The way the Blue Jays have made it, the team needs another infielder. If Bo Bechette doesn’t return, Uriah could take on some of the role Isiah Kiner-Falefa held for Toronto in the first two rounds of the playoffs.

Uriah lacks the defensive skills of Conner-Felfa, but he plays similar positions and offers a lot more offensively. The 31-year-old has a career wRC+ of 104, and 2025 was the first time the number fell below 98 in a season. The veteran looks to provide a strong offense with a little pop and neutral platoon distribution that makes him serviceable in most matchups.

This isn’t a guy you’d pencil into the opening day lineup, but he could be a reliable everyday player for a week at a time if an injury occurs, which can be said for most utility infielder types.

The danger with Urea is that his 2025 offensive struggles are the start of a trend rather than an anomaly. His defense is generally underrated — though Statcast thought highly of it last season — and needs to hit to provide value. It’s reasonable to expect a bounce back considering his previous consistency and the fact that his 2025 bat speed and exit velocity are right by his career standards. That suggests he hasn’t completely lost what made him such a good hitter as recently as 2024.

2025 Team: Los Angeles Dodgers

Figures for 2025: 9.53 K/9, 3.18 BB/9, 0.00 HR/9 in 5.2 IP with a 0.00 ERA, 2.22 xERA, and 2.08 FIP

fit: The Blue Jays could use some bullpen help, and it makes sense to turn to a player who produced a 2.21 ERA in 179 innings between 2022 and 2024, ranking sixth among all relievers in fWAR (4.6).

Phillips has also accumulated plenty of experience in the closing role for the Dodgers. His big-game pedigree is beyond reproach, considering he hasn’t allowed a walk in 15 playoff appearances.

The catch here is that the veteran right-hander had Tommy John surgery in June and won’t be available until the latter stages of the 2026 season. It can be understood that he loses it completely.

That doesn’t mean he’s not worth pursuing, especially on a creative multi-year contract that ensures Phillips is well compensated for a rebound in 2026, but the team gets his services for a relatively cheap rate in 2027 (and potentially beyond).

Aggressively pursuing Phillips would be a gamble. He could provide the Blue Jays with a high-end leverage arm at a relatively low price point or restore them to the Chad Green experience.

2025 Team: New York Yankees

Figures for 2025: 10.06 K/9, 3.17 BB/9, 0.93 HR/9 in 48.1 IP with a 4.84 ERA, 3.72 xERA, and 3.52 FIP

fit: As a rule of thumb, you don’t usually return pitchers who posted 13.50 in their first stint with the team, but Leiter has come a long way since appearing in eight games with the Blue Jays in 2018.

More recently, he has become one of the most consistent batting misters in the game. Since the start of 2023, his 11.44 K/9 ranks 22nd among 195 relievers who have pitched at least 100 innings over the past three years. His ERA (4.22) in that span is less impressive, but he can be a little unlucky. His xERA has been below four in each of the past two seasons, and in 2025, his strikeout rate allowed and average exit velocity were each 90 percent or better.

Leiter features a nasty splitter that has produced 102 strikeouts over the past two seasons and a developing curveball that has had a strikeout rate of over 50 percent over the years. He also experienced a significant velocity bump on his sinker in 2025, dropping his average from 91.5 mph to 93.7 mph.

Although Letter struggled to run the boards in a Yankees uniform, his fundamentals are strong. There’s a reason the FanGraphs Steamer Projection System sees him dropping his ERA to a perfect 3.84 in 2026.

2025 Team: Pittsburgh Pirates

Figures for 2025: 6.31 K/9, 5.61 BB/9, 1.40 HR/9 in 25.1 IP with a 7.01 ERA, 5.70 xERA, and 5.86 FIP

fit: Holderman is coming off a really disappointing year. There’s no way around it, but that doesn’t mean he’s not an interesting arm.

Although 2025 was a disaster, the 30-year-old managed a 3.52 ERA in 107.1 innings between 2023 and 2024, missing plenty of batters along the way (9.56 K/9).

Holderman features a power sinker that averaged 97.4 mph last season, which helps him keep balls on the ground and occasionally creep into triple digits on the radar gun.

His ground ball rate has topped 50 percent twice in his four-year career and he has topped that metric in every season except 2024. He also has a surprisingly deep arsenal, using six different pitch types in 2025.

There are undoubtedly some interesting ingredients here, even if they just didn’t come together last season. A change of scenery and some new pitching coaches could get him what he needs. The Blue Jays may not be able to turn him into a relief ace, but he’s the type of player who could potentially be on a minor league deal, providing a little more than average depth for a reliever.