As you know, the Toronto Blue Jays now have an opening in the outfield after trading Teoscar Hernandez.
As I explained, the transaction that sent Teo to Seattle is the start of something bigger in Toronto.
If the club manages to sign a left-handed outfielder in the medium/long term, the club will have acquired a reliever and will have replaced Teoscar with an outfielder who will fill a need in the longer term.
Remember that Teoscar, like Lourdes Gurriel Jr. on the left, will be free in a year.
What the Blue Jays have acquired, at the same time, is financial flexibility. In recent years, the club has demonstrated that it has not been afraid to spend.
And now outfielders who are courted by the Blue Jays see the club’s need in the field and that may help them consider the Queen City option.
Note also that George Springer, who sometimes needs days as the hitter of choice, is open to playing on the right if a center player wants to come to town.
All this opens the door to a guy like Brandon Nimmo, who would fill needs in Toronto.
But the outfielder is a coveted man who has already started meeting teams. Will he want to leave the United States to play in Ontario? It is not certain.
The Mets are also in the thick of the race. The club has seen the impact it has on others and clearly money is not an issue there. His teammates also want to see him again.
Presumably these are the two teams most interested in his services.
In fact, according to Mike Boboa, who has covered the Mets in the past, it is precisely the Mets and the Jays who would be at the height of the race.
Also according to the former journalist, who still has antennas in major league baseball and who had released the news of Gausman in Toronto last year, the Blue Jays will not back down. After all, as I said, the club needs a guy like him… and the market isn’t the biggest.
Nimmo’s state of health sometimes poses a problem… and Springer’s too. Together, could they play 162 games?
We know that Springer and Kevin Gausman have all been at the heart of a debate between the Jays and the Mets for 24 months. Both times the Jays won.
But this time, with Nimmo coming from New York, is Steve Cohen going to let it go? The escalation could mount quickly.
