Daily Duce: Blue Jays viewed as a finalist for George Springer, Mark Shapiro says starting pitching needs to get better, and more!

We’re just a few days away from Christmas and nothing has happened yet this off-season.

I had hoped that MLB’s virtual Winter Meetings would get things going and, for a hot second, it seemed that was the case when the New York Mets signed catcher James McCann to a four-year deal. But since then? Nothing.

For the sake of reference, by this time last winter, Zack Wheeler had signed his contract with the Phillies and Gerrit Cole had inked his deal with the Yankees. It was on Dec. 22 of last year, exactly one year ago today, that the Blue Jays signed Hyun Jin Ryu, so there’s always a chance we could see some last-minute Christmas movement.

Maybe the Blue Jays will announce they’ve signed George Springer on Christmas Day? That would probably be the most exciting Transaction Friday we’ve ever had.

Speaking of Springer… Last week, Jeff Passan said that he had a feeling that Springer would end up with the Blue Jays but a deal wouldn’t be done any time soon. And then on Monday, Passan said that he believed the Blue Jays and the Mets are the finalists for Springer.

So, really, nothing new on that front.

It still seems as though everyone is waiting for the Mets to make their big splash, but it’s difficult to say whether it’ll be Springer or somebody else like Trevor Bauer or DJ LeMahieu. I figure the Blue Jays will wait out the Mets and go after whoever gets left behind. If they sign Bauer, the Jays will go for Springer, but if the Mets sign Springer, J.T. Realmuto would become Toronto’s guy.

Speaking of Realmuto, the Nationals apparently checked in on him but it doesn’t appear that adding a catcher is at the top of the team’s list of off-season priorities. I mean, I’m not sure adding a catcher is at the top of the Blue Jays’ priorities, either, but the fewer the teams in on Realmuto, the better for Toronto, obviously.

Mark Shapiro appeared on High Heat on Monday and said that starting pitching is the area that the team needs to improve the most but he went on to say that it’s the most difficult area to improve in either free agency or via trade. This is pretty much the same sentiment Shapiro made a couple of months ago when he said that “run prevention” was the team’s top priority this off-season.

The free-agent pitching domino that needs to fall, of course, is Trevor Bauer, the top name on the open market. But it doesn’t look like that’s happening any time soon. Bauer is really leaning into his free agency, making videos on his YouTube channel about where he might sign and pushing for engagement where fans let him know why he should sign with their team.

It’s interesting that Shapiro speaks about adding starting pitching but we haven’t heard Toronto’s name attached to all that many arms this winter. There was some talk about re-signing Taijuan Walker, a suggestion about bringing back J.A. Happ for a third go, a report that they tried to sign Kevin Gausman, and that’s really about it.

If the Jays do go ahead and add a pitcher to their rotation, they might do so via trade.

Yu Darvish’s name has appeared on the trade block yet again as it seems the Cubs are mulling over the idea of blowing things up. Darvish was excellent last year but he’s 34 years old so taking on him and the three years and $59 million on his deal is obviously a bit of a risk.

Another team who appears to be ready for a blow-up are the Reds, who are apparently considering dealing both Sonny Gray, Luis Castillo, and Eugenio Suarez.

From a Blue Jays’ perspective, a couple of key needs could be filled in one swoop here.

Suarez had a down season in 2020 but he slashed a .271/.364/.521 line between 2017 and 2019. He plays both short and third and has a ridiculously team-friendly deal that runs for five more seasons.

Adding Suarez along with one of Cincinnati’s top-end starters would be a huge swing for the Jays, but it would obviously cost a lot to do so. Cinci has a hell of a lot more leverage when it comes to trading Suarez than Cleveland does with Francisco Lindor.