The Blue Jays have plenty of work to do after finishing with baseball’s worst offense in 2026, and not every fix has to come from the splashiest names on the market. Toronto sat last in runs with 648, last in home runs with 152, and second-worst in team OPS at .691. That’s the kind of production that forces a front office to look everywhere - including the cheaper corner-outfield options who might not grab headlines but could still help.
Three right-handed bats stand out as possible fits: Randal Grichuk, Ramon Laureano and Tyrone Taylor.
Grichuk is the most familiar name of the group, and he also just put together the strongest offensive season. The former Blue Jays outfielder helped a younger White Sox club reach the playoffs for the first time since 2021, and in 117 games and 280 plate appearances he hit .287/.314/.566 with 15 homers, 46 RBIs, a 139 wRC+ and 1.7 fWAR.
There are obvious caveats. He’s 35, so another 15-homer season may be asking a lot, and that .314 on-base percentage leaves something to be desired.
But he absolutely punished left-handed pitching, going deep 11 times and posting a .327/.371/.655 slash line with a 1.025 OPS and a 181 wRC+ against southpaws. If Toronto views him as a bat-first corner option rather than a table-setter, he could make a lot of sense on a one-year deal.
Laureano is the swing-for-the-fences name here, but in a different way. His 2026 season in San Diego was rough - 53 games, a .203/.286/.374 line, seven home runs, and a season that ended on June 2. That stands in sharp contrast to 2025, when he split time between Baltimore and San Diego and hit .281/.342/.512 with 24 homers and 76 RBIs.
That’s the question with Laureano: which version shows up? If the Blue Jays buy into the 2025 production, they’d be getting a cheap power bat with a plus arm in the corner outfield.
If they believe the 2026 line is the real one, they should stay away. At 32, he may be headed for “prove-it” offers anyway, and his profile still offers some upside - maybe 10 to 20 homers in a platoon role, plus value on the bases.
He has never stolen more than 13 bags in a season, but his sprint speed has consistently landed in the high-50th to mid-60th percentile. He also has never played more than 132 games in a season, which points toward a role alongside Addison Barger or Nathan Lukes.
Taylor is probably the cleanest fit if Toronto wants a fourth outfielder. In 2026, he posted the best offensive season of his career across 97 games, hitting .279/.325/.502 with 11 home runs, 38 RBIs, a 127 wRC+ and 1.5 fWAR.
His season came in pieces: .241/.290/.503 with 10 homers for the Mets, then .351/.390/.500 in 30 games after an Aug. 3 trade to the Cubs. He also hit .318/.348/.573 with six homers against lefties, and he can handle all three outfield spots. He’s not the answer in the middle of the order, but he brings plus defense, a 17% strikeout rate and speed that ranked in the 92nd percentile in 2026.
Toronto just declined its $8 million option on Myles Straw, and Straw and Taylor are close in age heading into 2027. That makes this a question of price and projection. If the Blue Jays believe Taylor can provide more for less than the $3.8 million he made in 2026, he could be the smartest of the bunch.
The Blue Jays need more than one big move to repair this offense, and the shorter, cheaper tier may be where they can add meaningful depth.
In Other News...
Blue Jays Could Face A Tough New Roster Decision Soon
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For Toronto, the timing matters because a rule like this could move up the point at which certain players become available on the open market, changing the calculus on extensions, roster construction and even trade value. The Blue Jays have several players whose timelines could be affected if the proposal ever becomes reality, and that kind of shift can quickly turn a manageable front-office detail into a tougher decision than it looked a year ago. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jays Suddenly Face An Anthony Santander Problem Beyond Baseball
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For Toronto, the issue is especially awkward because Santander is not just another roster piece. He is also dealing with injury concerns, and the financial commitment attached to him makes the situation far less straightforward than a simple disciplinary matter. While the front office continues sorting through roster details elsewhere, including a new option year for Jake Bloss and some encouraging prospect news in the Arizona Fall League, the Santander situation is the one that now hangs over the organization. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jays Are Being Linked To A Risky October-Changing Bat
The Blue Jays are at least doing their homework on one of the more intriguing bats in this winters market, with Randy Arozarena surfacing as a possible free-agent fit. Toronto has been hunting for ways to deepen its offense, and Arozarena makes sense as the kind of player who can change the tone of a lineup when he is locked in. He also arrives with a recent season that showed he can still produce at a high level, which is why he figures to draw plenty of attention once the market opens.
The appeal is obvious, even if the fit comes with some risk. Arozarenas postseason track record gives him a reputation as a player built for October pressure, but the glove has not always matched the bat, and that makes him a more complicated investment for a club trying to balance upside with reliability. For the Blue Jays, the question is whether they want to pay for the kind of impact that can swing a playoff series, knowing the rest of the profile is not quite as clean. [Read more 🡒]