MLB Rumors: Oli Marmol's hot seat, Tim Anderson dark horse, are the Jays done?
- Oli Marmol is on the hot seat in 2024
- Tim Anderson has received a contract offer from an NL East team
- The Toronto Blue Jays' chances of making another move.
By Scott Rogust
Are the Blue Jays done after latest free agent signing?
The Toronto Blue Jays made it to the postseason, but still don't have a series win since 2016 after suffering a two-game sweep against the Minnesota Twins in the Wild Card Round. This offseason, the Blue Jays were looking to improve their roster, notably in the running for two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani. Ultimately, Ohtani signed a $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Despite missing out on Ohtani, the Blue Jays did make a plethora of moves. They retained center fielder Kevin Kiermaier, signed infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and added a new designated hitter in Justin Turner. The team was far from done at the start of spring training.
FanSided MLB insider Robert Murray first broke the news of the Blue Jays signing former New York Mets and Los Angeles Angels infielder Eduardo Escobar. The contract is a minor-league deal, per Sportsnet's Shi Davidi.
Free-agent infielder Eduardo Escobar is moving toward a deal with the Toronto Blue Jays, according to sources familiar with the situation.
— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) February 16, 2024
With this move, are the Blue Jays done making moves?
Toronto still has players like Matt Chapman and Whit Merrifield on the open market. But with Escobar, this is yet another infielder who could, hypothetically, play either of their positions. He is currently listed as the backup third baseman behind Kiner-Falefa and the fourth option at second base behind Cavan Biggio, Davis Schneider, and Santiago Espinal.
Merrifield is expected to make a decision on where he'll play in 2024 by this weekend, per MLB Network's Jon Morosi. As for Chapman, it appears likely that he'll be heading to another team.
Based on general manager Ross Atkins' comments, he appears happy with the roster they currently have.
“We feel good about the team that we have,” Atkins said, h/t The Athletic. “Feel good about the work that’s been done over the last five offseasons, the last four trade deadlines and now coming into another trade deadline, we’ll have another opportunity, I hope, that we’re in a strong position to add to that team (and) I know that we will.”
From what it sounds like, the Blue Jays are fine with the team we have heading into spring training and Opening Day.