This may not sound like an exciting player pool to shop around in, but there are some intriguing talents that could make important contributions. The Blue Jays know as well as anyone that seemingly small steps can pay off big. Their 2025 pennant-winning team had no shortage of star power, but it also featured players whose acquisitions weren't a big deal at the time:
This cohort greatly complemented the Blue Jays' core, pitching 254 innings of 2.90 ERA ball and producing a slightly above-average .269/.321/.397 line in 1,499 plate appearances with excellent defense.
All this is to say that the players who became available on Friday may not seem interesting at first glance, but they have the potential to surprise. Here are a few that could make sense for the Blue Jays:
Team 2025: Houston Astros
2025 statistics: .241/.297/.384 line in 391 PA with 11 HR for 1.1 fWAR
Fits: Judging by the Blue Jays' roster, the team needs another infielder. If Bo Bichette doesn't return, Urias could fill something similar to the role Isaiah Kiner-Falefa filled for Toronto in the first two rounds of the playoffs.
Urias lacks Kiner-Falefa's defensive abilities, but he plays the same positions and offers much more attack. The 31-year-old has a career WRC+ of 104, and in 2025 that number dropped below 98 in a season for the first time. The Veteran generally provides a solid offense with a small number of group and neutral squads, making him useful in most matchups.
He's not someone you'd put in an Opening Day lineup, but he could be a reliable everyday player for a few weeks if an injury were to strike, which is more than can be said for most types of utility infielders.
The risk with Urias is that his offensive struggles in 2025 will be the start of a trend rather than an anomaly. His defense is generally rated below average (though Statcast rated it highly last season) and needs to hit shots to provide value. It's fair to expect a rebound given his past consistency and the fact that his 2025 batting velocity and exit velocity are in line with his career norms. This suggests he hasn't completely lost what made him a good hitter back in 2024.
Team 2025: Los Angeles Dodgers
2025 statistics: 9.53 K/9, 3.18 BB/9, 0.00 HR/9 in 5.2 IP for a 0.00 ERA, 2.22 xERA and 2.08 FIP.
Fits: The Blue Jays could use some help in the bullpen, and it makes sense to turn to a player who posted a 2.21 ERA in 179 innings from 2022 to 2024, ranking sixth among all relievers in fWAR (4.6).
Phillips also has extensive experience playing the closing position for the Dodgers. His outstanding record is impeccable, considering he hasn't missed a try in 15 playoff matches.
The catch here is that the veteran right-hander underwent Tommy John surgery in June and won't be available until the latter stages of the 2026 season. It's entirely possible that he's missing it entirely.
That doesn't mean he isn't worth pursuing, especially on a creative, multi-year deal that ensures Phillips is well compensated to rehab in 2026, but the team can secure his services at a relatively low price in 2027 (and possibly beyond).
Pursuing Phillips aggressively would be risky. He could give the Blue Jays high-end leverage at a relatively low cost or force them to relive the Chad Green experience.
Team 2025: New York Yankees
2025 statistics: 10.06 K/9, 3.17 BB/9, 0.93 HR/9 in 48.1 IP for a 4.84 ERA, 3.72 xERA and 3.52 FIP
Fits: Typically, you don't typically bring back pitchers who posted a 13.50 average in their first stint with their team, but Leiter has come a long way since starting eight games for the Blue Jays in 2018.
More recently, he has become one of the most consistent misses in the game. Since the start of 2023, his 11.44 K/9 ranks 22nd among 195 relievers with at least 100 innings pitched in the last three years. His ERA in that span (4.22) is less impressive, but he may have been a little unlucky. His xERA was below four in each of the last two seasons, and in 2025 his hit rate and average exit velocity were in the 90th percentile or above.
Leiter has a terrible splitter that has thrown 102 strikeouts over the past two seasons and a developing curveball that has hit above 50 percent in each of those years. In 2025, he also experienced a significant jump in velocity on his sinker, going from a below-average 91.5 mph to 93.7 mph.
Although Leiter has had a hard time avoiding hits on the board in a Yankees uniform, his fundamentals are strong. There's a reason FanGraphs' Steamer projection system sees him cutting his ERA entirely in 2026 to 3.84.
Team 2025: Pittsburgh Pirates
2025 statistics: 6.31 K/9, 5.61 BB/9, 1.40 HR/9 in 25.1 IP for a 7.01 ERA, 5.70 xERA and 5.86 FIP
Fits: Holderman is coming off a truly dismal year. There's no way around it, but that doesn't mean it's not intriguing.
While 2025 was a disaster, the 30-year-old managed a 3.52 ERA in 107.1 innings from 2023 to 2024, taking a ton of at-bats along the way (9.56 K/9).
Holderman has a power sinker that averaged 97.4 mph last season, which helps him keep the ball on the ground, and he has triple-digit velocity on the radar at times.
His shooting percentage has topped 50 percent twice in his four-year career, and he's topped that mark in every season except 2024. He also has a surprisingly broad arsenal, using six different pitch types in 2025.
There are certainly some interesting ingredients here, even if they just didn't come together last season. A change of scenery and new pitching coaches could give him the reset he needs. The Blue Jays probably won't be able to turn him into a bench ace, but he's the kind of player who could likely be dealt on a minor league deal and provides a little more upside than the average bench player.
