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Free Agent Profile: Brandon Drury broke out after departing the Blue Jays, should they bring him back?
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Photo credit: © Denny Medley - USA Today
Ryley Delaney
Nov 30, 2024, 11:00 ESTUpdated: Nov 30, 2024, 09:47 EST
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A reunion with Brandon Drury could make sense for the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Blue Jays acquired Brandon Drury before the 2018 trade deadline, shipping J.A. Happ to the New York Yankees for Drury and Billy McKinney. After parts of three seasons with the Jays, Drury played for the Mets in 2021 before finding success in 2022 and 2023 with a few different teams.
Drury could be of interest to the Jays, as he’s hit 25+ home runs twice in his career and plays all over the field. With that being said, what do his stats look like, what’s his contract outlook, and is he a fit for the Blue Jays?

Brandon Drury’s stats

Drury’s tenure with the Jays wasn’t great, as he slashed .209/.254/.356 with 15 home runs in 512 plate appearances. All 15 of those home runs came in 2019, where he finished the season with a 66 wRC+ and a -0.1 fWAR. The Blue Jays designated Drury for assignment on August 31, 2020.
In limited plate appearances with the New York Mets in 2021, Drury played well. Overall, he slashed .274/.307/.476 with four home runs in 88 plate appearances that season for a 112 wRC+ and a 0.3 fWAR. Before the 2022 season, he signed with the Cincinnati Reds and his career took off.
With the Reds, Drury slashed .274/.335/.520 with 20 home runs in 385 plate appearances for a 132 wRC+ and a 2.7 fWAR. At the 2022 trade deadline, he was traded to the San Diego Padres where he hit a grand slam on the first pitch he saw as a Padre. With the Padres, he slashed .238/.290/.435 with eight home runs in 183 plate appearances, giving him a 123 wRC+ and a 3.1 fWAR for the season. 
Drury turned that into a two-year, $17 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels. His first season was solid, as he slashed .262/.306/.497 with 26 home runs in 523 plate appearances, finishing the season with a 114 wRC+ and a 2.7 fWAR. He won the utility Silver Slugger in 2022 and was nominated for the Silver Slugger at second base and utility in 2023.
However, Drury didn’t have the same success in 2024, slashing .169/.242/.228 with four home runs in 360 plate appearances for a 34 wRC+ and a -2.1 fWAR, the worst mark of his career.

Brandon Drury’s contract outlook

Thanks to the poor season, Spotrac predicts that Drury’s market value is $1.2 million. The site believes he’ll sign a one-year deal worth $1.238 million, a good buy-low candidate. Comparable contracts can be found with César Hernández, Donovan Solano, Jon Berti, and Josh Harrison.
It wouldn’t be surprising if Drury signs a minor league deal. While hitting 25+ home runs in 2022 and 2023 is great, his 2024 season was abysmal, and that’s putting it lightly.

Is Brandon Drury a fit for the Blue Jays

Drury would fit for the Jays on a minor league deal without question. On a big league deal? It really depends on the other moves the team makes this off-season. If they trade a few of their infielder prospects and don’t sign an infielder, signing Drury to a low-risk, high-reward deal toward the beginning of Spring Training would work quite nicely.
While his 2024 season was terrible, Drury hit 25+ home runs in 2022 and 2023, and he has the positional versatility the team likes. Moreover, they have a history with the 32-year-old, so I imagine they’ll have some level of interest.
As always, you can follow me on Bluesky @ryleydelaney.bsky.social.

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