Blue Jays need to be in on this inexpensive former ace just in case Burnes falls through

At the start of the offseason, the Blue Jays were in on the top two free agents. GM Ross Atkins made a hard push for Juan Soto that eventually crashed and burned. But before the battle was lost, Atkins had already started the wheels in motion on plan B. The Blue Jays contacted star pitcher Corbin Burnes. For a while, they remained heavy favorites to land the stellar ace. However, the Giants entered the fray with a bang and quickly flipped the Burnes sweepstakes on its head.

Now, after initial reports claimed the Giants were the favorites, a growing consensus placing the Giants as frontrunners began to take hold. If Atkins loses out on Burnes, the result may be another lost season. But Atkins can’t be bothered with reports at a time when his club is in crisis. Right now, he needs to do two things: pursue Burnes like the Jays’ 2025 season depends on it (because it just might) and put a suitable plan C into motion. If Burnes passes on the Blue Jays, there could be one last hope that can salvage a potentially disastrous season.

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Walker Buehler can still be an ace

Walker Buehler hasn’t thrown many games in recent years. Since the beginning of 2022, the former Dodgers’ stud has logged just 140.1 innings. Injuries have effectively prevented him from pitching the past three years. Buehler missed all of 2023 and his 2022 and 2024 performance was nothing spectacular. He posted ERAs of 4.02 and 5.38 those two seasons respectively.

These numbers are a far cry from the 2021 season where Buehler posted a 2.47 ERA in workhorse fashion throwing 207.2 innings. It was only one of three brilliant seasons in his young career. Buehler has finished in the top 10 in the Cy Young race twice and came in third for the 2018 Rookie of the Year honors. However, with his recent poor performances, Buehler’s ace-status in in question. But if there’s one thing we learned from last postseason, it’s that he’s still got it.

In the 2024 postseason that saw his team, the Dodgers, win the World Series, Buehler shined. All damage against him was limited to one inning where he surrendered six earned runs against the Friars in the second inning of his one NLDS start. Besides that one inning blowup, Buehler finished the postseason having thrown 14 clean innings. This includes shutouts against the Mets and Yankees as well as taking the final inning of the World Series in his one relief appearance this past postseason. Buehler maintains a 3.04 career postseason ERA and a phenomenal 0.47 career World Series ERA (been to the World Series three times).

Given his extensive injuries, a deal with Buehler will be very cheap. For the Blue Jays, this means they can nab Buehler without negatively impacting their pursuit of Burnes. If they choose to, they can easily snag both Burnes and Buehler with their unspent Juan Soto money.

Whether or not they land Burnes, Walker Buehler can deliver the Blue Jays with an ace performance at a low cost. Besides Burnes, he has the potential to be the best arm left on the market. He is an injury risk, but he may be the Blue Jays’ best bet if they can’t ink Burnes.