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Blue Jays – Missing on Fried, dropping spots in the 2025 MLB Draft, and aquiring Andrés Giménez all within an hour
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Photo credit: © Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
Tyson Shushkewich
Dec 10, 2024, 19:55 EST
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It was a wild night to be a Toronto Blue Jays fan. Seventh-inning vibes all over again for those who remember the 2015 playoffs.
At 5:30 pm EST, the MLB lottery draft kicked off and the Blue Jays – who had a 7.47% chance of landing first overall – moved down three spots instead, landing at #8 after they finished with the seventh-worst record in the Major League last year. Midway through the draft, the New York Yankees laid down a mammoth eight-year deal to free agent southpaw Max Fried, who banks $218 million and enters the AL East after eight seasons with the Atlanta Braves.  Then the Jeff Passan notification came through just as the clock passed six.
The Blue Jays were set to acquire Andrés Giménez from the Cleveland Guardians with the return not known at the time. Slowly, it was announced that Spencer Horwitz and outfield prospect Nick Mitchell were heading the opposite way and Toronto was also acquiring right-hander Nick Sandlin to complete the transaction.

Max Fried signs with a Blue Jays division rival

One of the most intriguing starters on the market takes his talents to the Bronx, joining a Yankees squad that pivoted quickly after losing out on Juan Soto just a few days ago.
Fried was one of the top left-handers left on the open market after Blake Snell signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in November. The 30-year-old owns a stellar 3.07 ERA through 884 1/3 innings and 168 appearances and boasts a 140 ERA+ with a strong 2.5 BB/9 mark. While he isn’t the most proficient strikeout pitcher – a career 8.8 K/9 – Fried is a ground ball machine. He has posted a 57.8 and a 58.2 percent ground ball rate in 2023 and 2024 respectively and his career numbers stack well against the MLB average, which should bode well at Yankee Stadium.
With three Gold Glove Awards and two top-five Cy Young finishes in his back pocket, the Yankees rotation becomes a lot stronger tonight and Fried brings his dominant arm to an already tough division.
The Blue Jays were reportedly interested in Fried but bowed out early as per Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith.

The MLB Draft lottery goes against the Jays

While the odds weren’t in their favour to land the top pick in next summer’s MLB Draft, the optimism was there that the Blue Jays could at least improve upon where they stood at fifth. When the dust settled, Toronto took a slight step back and finished in the eighth spot – which is ironic because the old format would have seen the Jays select at spot #7.
That’s not to say that the Blue Jays won’t get a chance to select a franchise-altering player in the first round – their highest pick since the 2020 season when they selected Austin Martin at #5 – but there are some intriguing names at the top of the early MLB Draft board. Ethan Holliday, brother and son of Jackson and Matt Holliday, lurks at the top while OF Jace LaViolette and a trio of pitchers round out the group.
This is the very early version of the rankings list and a lot can happen between now and then but after missing out on Soto and now Fried, it was a tough one-two punch to swallow for Blue Jays fans.

Andrés Giménez heads to Toronto, so long Horwitz

Then the hammer came down. The Jeff Passan tweet that rocked a country and left Jays fans on a cliffhanger. We knew who the Blue Jays were acquiring but nobody knew who was heading the other way.
Minutes passed and eventually, the news started to come to fruition. The Blue Jays would also acquire reliever Nick Sandlin alongside Giménez and heading to Cleveland was Spencer Horwitz, a midseason call-up after a cup of coffee in 2023 who was one of the better bats in the lineup towards the head of the season. Joining Horwitz in Cleveland is Nick Mitchell, an outfield prospect who the Blue Jays selected in the fourth round (compensation pick) this past summer.
Giménez’s calling card is his glove, as he owns a 65 DRS through five seasons in the big leagues – most of which has been at second base. An All-Star in 2022, Giménez has won a Gold Glove Award over the past three seasons and owns an 18.6 bWAR since his 2020 debut – most of which was carried by his defence.
His bat has wavered over the years and it’s not the power threat many were hoping the Blue Jays would latch onto. His best campaign came two seasons ago when he posted a .297/.371/.466 slash line with 17 round trippers and a .837 OPS through 146 games. Last year, he saw his OPS+ dip to the 82 mark and he mustered a .252/.298/.340 line with just nine home runs on the year. The RBIs were still there and the doubles surpassed the 20+ mark again but the home runs dipped below the double-digit mark. Giménez is owed $96 million through the 2029 season and carries a $23 million club option for the 2030 season, which is a substantial sum for a Glove first player who hopefully finds his bat.
Joining Giménez in Toronto is Sandlin, a four-year reliever with the Guardians who owns a lifetime 3.27 ERA through 209 appearances with a 1.147 WHIP. He boasts solid strikeout numbers (10.3 K/9) and can be a bit shaky with his command at times, posting a 4.2 BB/9 last year. He gets a ton of swing-and-miss with his four-pitch arsenal (95th percentile in whiff%) with his slider being the most used pitch (34.8%) and a split-finger (26.5%) that held opponents to a .200 SLG and a .208 wOBA with a +9 offspeed run value.
Heading to Cleveland is Spencer Horwitz, who left a strong impression on the Blue Jays faithful after being called up in early June with Cavan Biggio being given his walking papers.
Horwitz was cruising in triple-A and the Jays needed a spark in the big leagues and the Maryland product delivered, posting a .265/.357/.433 slash line with a .790 OPS and 12 home runs – a bout of power that surprised many across the organization. He also added 40 RBIs and split his time between first base, second base, and the DH spot. Horwitz was in a bit of a tough spot heading into next season, as first base is occupied by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and amongst the gauntlet of infield talent, the 27-year-old ranks towards the bottom in terms of fielding value at second base. Although he posted a stellar 125 OPS+, it appears the Jays are willing to sacrifice some potential power for a sure-handed glove up the middle.
Joining Horwitz is Nick Mitchell, a recent draft pick who got a cup of coffee with single-A Dunedin to finish out the year. He posted a .817 OPS and collected 26 hits (seven for extra bases) through 22 games and 90 at-bats.
For a team looking to find some power bats, trading Horwitz seems like an odd move for the Blue Jays front office, especially since the return piece is a glove-first infielder in Giménez. There is a chance the Jays believe they are selling high on Horwitz and favour some more consistency in the form of Giménez but this trade could backfire for the organization down the line, especially if Horwitz finds a groove as an MLB regular. This also might signal some other moves are on the horizon.

Dont forget about Garcia

Lost amid the anarchy that was this evening was the signing of Yimi García a few hours before, with the Blue Jays reportedly bringing back the veteran reliever on a two-year pact worth $15 million.
García was traded to Seattle at the deadline and struggled with the Mariners following the trade, posting a 6.00 ERA through 10 appearances. He landed on the IL to finish the season with an elbow injury.
Before the trade, García authored a 3.44 ERA through 163 appearances across three seasons for the Blue Jays and was a shining start in Toronto’s bullpen.

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