Blue Jays free agent target: Bryan Abreu

The Toronto Blue Jays have been rumoured to be heading into this off-season with the intention of spending big.

While the biggest area the club needs to improve on in 2027 is the offence, adding another elite arm to an already deep bullpen could only further improve the group as they look to build on last season’s success. 

An arm who will enter free agency for the first time since becoming a major leaguer is right-hander Bryan Abreu. After being signed as an international free agent by the Houston Astros on November 11, 2013, Abreu has spent all eight of his Major League Baseball seasons with the club since debuting in 2019. 

Abreu is coming off the 2026 campaign with the Astros where he appeared in 66 games and went 6-4 with a 3.73 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. Abreu struck out 80 batters across 62.2 innings and limited opponents to a .200 average. 

While Abreu’s 3.73 ERA was the highest it’s been since the 2021 campaign when he recorded a 5.75 ERA, a large part of that is due to a poor start. Abreu allowed 13 earned runs across his first 9.1 innings pitched, which resulted in him finishing April with an ERA of 12.54. 

Over the next five months, Abreu turned in ERAs of 1.00, 4.15, 1.64, 1.84, and 2.70, much more in line with the career ERA of 2.82 Abreu has turned in during his eight MLB campaigns. 

The addition of Abreu would give manager John Schneider another late-game option to help get the game to Louis Varland for the ninth inning, while also providing an arm capable of closing games if the closer were ever unavailable. Abreu has recorded 16 saves in 23 opportunities over the past two years, including a career-high nine in 2026. 

If the Blue Jays did set their sights on Abreu, that could work as the perfect late-game replacement for Spencer Miles, who is rumoured to be moving to the starting rotation. Miles turned in a 2.73 ERA across 49 outings (eight starts), and became a major factor down the stretch, recording four holds and two saves. 

Abreu would allow the Blue Jays to give Miles a true shot at being a starting pitcher in 2027, which could result in a boost to the rotation that currently consists of Dylan Cease, José Soriano, Trey Yesavage, and Cody Ponce. 

If Miles remains in the bullpen, Schneider would be able to deploy him in any situation and use the trio of Varland, Abreu, and Tyler Rogers to ensure that the game’s later innings are covered. 

In his final year with the Astros, Abreu made $5.85 million, and while Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith predicts the 29-year-old to earn a two-year deal worth $30 million, that’s certainly a price worth paying for the career success the reliever has shown.