Blue Jays could still be in on Bauer despite Springer signing?

Could the Blue Jays still land Trevor Bauer after signing George Springer and Michael Brantley? David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports

Blue Jays could still be in on Trevor Bauer despite George Springer signing?

By Erin Walsh | Last updated 1/20/21

The Toronto Blue Jays were able to land one of their biggest targets of the offseason, reportedly signing George Springer to a six-year, $150 million deal. They've also been linked to Michael Brantley. However, it appears the franchise isn't out on one of the biggest free agents this winter because of the Springer signing.

According to MLB.com's Mark Feinsand, the Blue Jays are not out of the market for Trevor Bauer despite signing Springer to a massive deal.

Toronto's signing of George Springer would seemingly take the Blue Jays out of the market for Trevor Bauer, but I'm told that might not necessarily be true. If Toronto gets Bauer to lead its rotation, the Jays would be a tough team for the AL to deal with in 2021.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) January 20, 2021

The Blue Jays have been in contact with Bauer, who says location is not a major factor in his decision of where to sign. That's a good sign for Blue Jays fans because Toronto usually struggles to lure big fish due to location. On top of that, the Blue Jays aren't even sure if they'll be able to play in Toronto next season due to Canadian COVID-19 restrictions.

A number of teams across Major League Baseball are interested in Bauer, including the New York Mets, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers, among others.

Bauer spent last season-and-a-half with the Cincinnati Reds. In 21 starts with the franchise, the right-hander went 7-9 with a 3.76 ERA, 1.036 WHIP and 168 strikeouts in 129.1 innings. He won the Cy Young award during the pandemic-shortened campaign as the National League's best pitcher.

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