Report: Blue Jays remain interested in Framber Valdez

It’s worth noting that Toronto’s brass expressed interest in Valdez before signing Cease earlier this off-season, and even met with the left-handed starter and his camp at the GM Meetings in November, according to Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith.

Based on the Blue Jays’ surplus of starters, though, other competitors will likely be more aggressive and desperate to land the 32-year-old southpaw before this season begins. The Baltimore Orioles, for example, could be atop that list, as many industry executives consider them the favourites in this market, per USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.

The Blue Jays don’t necessarily need to sign Valdez, given the current strength of their rotation, which is already seven starters deep between Cease, Ponce, Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber, Trey Yesavage, José Berríos and Eric Lauer. Doing so, however, would construct a super rotation capable of matching the Los Angeles Dodgers’ star-studded staff.

Signing Valdez, who’s a qualified free agent, would cost the organization its third- and sixth-round selections in this summer’s draft, further depleting their 2026 draft capital. They’ve already forfeited their second- and fifth-round picks for signing Cease — plus $1 million from their ’27 international signing bonus pool — and will have their first-rounder pushed back 10 places for exceeding the luxury tax by at least $40 million last season.

Still, despite those penalties, Toronto’s brass has an opportunity to land the best two free-agent starters from this winter’s market. And with Gausman, Bieber and Lauer all free agents next off-season, acquiring Valdez on a short-term, high-AAV contract could provide additional certainty for this year and next season.

The ground-ball specialist, whose 61.6 per cent clip leads all major-league starters since 2021, has also been a model of consistency in terms of his availability, logging the second-most innings pitched (767.2) over the last four seasons — behind only San Francisco’s Logan Webb (820).

Valdez would be a significant addition for any contender this late into the off-season. For the Blue Jays, however, it might require subtracting from their current depth before Opening Day, unless an injury or two arises throughout spring training.