Most overpaid players on the Blue Jays roster for the 2024 season
The Blue Jays probably wish these players weren't making as much money as they are.
The 2023 offseason wound up being an incredibly disappointing one for a Toronto Blue Jays team that entered it with high expectations but wound up making no major moves. The best player they brought in was Justin Turner. Really good player, but not great. Their biggest contract was given to Yariel Rodriguez, a talented pitcher who might not even begin the season in the majors.
The offseason was especially disappointing because who knows how much longer this core has left to win? Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the team's two cornerstones, are under team control through the 2025 season. Kevin Gausman, the team's best pitcher, is on a very team-friendly deal but is already 33 years old.
The Blue Jays should've done more than they did, and it's a safe assumption that these four contracts are part of the reason why they didn't make the necessary moves to put them in the same class as teams like the Orioles and Yankees in the AL East. All contract values are according to Spotrac.
4) Chad Green, RP
The Blue Jays made what looked like a savvy signing, inking Chad Green to a two-year deal ahead of the 2023 campaign as he was recovering from Tommy John Surgery. Green was expected to miss most of the first season, which he did, but he returned in September and wound up making 12 appearances for the Jays down the stretch. The problem is, those appearances didn't exactly go so well.
The right-hander had a 5.25 ERA in 12 innings of work, allowing at least one earned run in five of his 12 outings. Not at all what the Jays had in mind.
With a healthy offseason to prepare for the 2024 campaign, there's every reason to believe Green will be better, the question is how much better. He was once one of the better and more versatile relievers in all of baseball pitching for the Yankees, but he's thrown a total of 27 appearances in the last two seasons.
Green's $10.5 million salary for this season (and next) is very expensive for a reliever, and makes him a player who must factor in as a key contributor in a Blue Jays bullpen that already lost Jordan Hicks this offseason. This isn't to say Green isn't capable of looking like the reliever he was in the past, but he has to be that dominant arm for this contract to be worthwhile.