In what has become an all-too-familiar story, the Toronto Blue Jays were “in the mix” for a coveted free agent, only to have them sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The most recent case is reliever Tanner Scott, who signed a four-year, $72 contract with L.A. over the weekend. 

The Blue Jays haven’t stood pat on improving their bullpen this winter, adding Nick Sandlin (via trade), Yimi Garcia, and Jeff Hoffman to bolster the bullpen, but Scott would have been the biggest addition of the group, cementing the back end of the relief corps. It remains to be seen how interested the Jays were at the end of the day but the Dodgers continue to get better.

As predictable as this latest signing is, the franchise has little option but to continue trying to improve the roster, and at least one more bullpen arm, possibly two, will still be needed. With that in mind, here are some available relievers on the open market that the Jays could pivot to depending on how much salary room they have left to spend after their most recent signing of Anthony Santander.

Estévez is now the highest-rated relief pitcher on most teams’ big boards of available free agents. While he’s not a left-hander such as Scott, he could be a viable option to join the back-end of the Blue Jays bullpen.

He’s earned that distinction as he’s been a go-to option for his managers in any situation over the past three seasons. Pitching for the Rockies, Angels, and Phillies, the right-hander has made 179 appearances since 2022, the majority being high-leverage spots, while pitching to a 3.30 ERA.

His best stretch of play came in 2024 when the Dominican native saved 26 games with a 2.45 ERA and a 0.90 WHIP split between the Angels and Phillies, producing a +9 pitching run value. Estévez uses three different offerings – a four-seam fastball, slider, and changeup – to pound the strike zone, authoring a 2.0 BB/9 through 55 innings last year and each pitch worked for the 32-year-old. None of the pitches in his arsenal produced a negative value in terms of run value last year and no opposing hitter produced a batting average over the Mendoza line across all three.

Combining Estévez with the recently signed Jeff Hoffman would give the Jays two legitimate options to close games and provide some additional support around Garcia, Erik Swanson, and Chad Green down in the Jays bullpen. The Jays have also been tied to Estévez this offseason.

If recency bias plays a part in the selection process here, Hill could be the favourite to be signed. The former 32nd-round pick has had ups and downs over his seven-year MLB career, and after experiencing both extremes last year, the left-hander could be in the market for a lower-term value deal as the offseason wears on.

Entering the 2024 season, Hill had amassed a 16-14 record with a 4.16 ERA in 255.1 innings. The Southpaw chose to sign with the Chicago White Sox in free agency, and like most things on the Southside last season, it just didn’t work out. After a rough three-month stint in the windy city, Hill was released. The New York Yankees signed him as a free agent a couple of days later, and Hill was clutch down the stretch, throwing 44 frames for the Yanks with a 2.05 ERA and continued that stretch into the postseason, allowing just one earned run through 8 1/3 innings with three strikeouts. He finished the year with a collective 3.36 ERA and a 3.57 FIP through 67 innings pitched – a career-high.

The Blue Jays did miss out on a couple of big potential signings over the weekend, but that doesn’t mean there are not some quality pieces out there that can help the squad, especially in the bullpen department.

He may not have the buzz surrounding Scott this offseason, but Brooks Raley might be the best lefty reliever remaining on the market. However, there is a catch.

He’s coming off a season that saw him limited to just seven innings pitched after an elbow injury cut his season short last year, but that could make him a perfect candidate for a one-year “prove-it” type of contract (depending on when he can return) or a structured deal similar to Chad Green’s when he was returning from Tommy John surgery with multiple options at his disposal. The expectation is that he will not be ready to go until mid-summer.

The 36-year-old will be eager to prove that he can stay healthy and be the rock-solid bullpen cog he was in 2022 and ’23 when Raley racked up 126 appearances, saved nine games, averaged 10+K/9 IP, and pitched to a 2.74 ERA. When healthy, Raley has proven he can be an effective arm from the left side and for a Jays squad lacking in that department outside of Brendon Little, it might now be a bad idea to see if a contract with Raley can be made. The disadvantage is that he won’t be available to go right from Opening Day but the right deal and a clean rehab stint could see him return for a potential push to the postseason and a multiple-year deal keeps him around along the current core of Swanson, Garcia, and Hoffman into next year.