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Blue Jays free agent target: Foster Griffin
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Photo credit: David Richard-Imagn Images
Tristan Morgan
Nov 1, 2026, 06:00 ESTUpdated: Oct 31, 2026, 19:38 EDT
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Eight Toronto Blue Jays players became free agents on Thursday, Oct. 29, a day after the Milwaukee Brewers won the World Series. Most of the attention around a club that finished 79-83 will go to the familiar names and the biggest stars on the market. However, one familiar player in this free agency class deserves a closer look.
Foster Griffin threw exactly two innings for the Blue Jays in 2022, a pair of scoreless frames against the Tampa Bay Rays with two strikeouts. Four years later, the 31-year-old left-hander is a National League All-Star and one of the more intriguing arms available in free agency. Toronto released him that November so he could chase an opportunity in Japan. It is now fair to ask whether the Blue Jays should go get him back.
Griffin’s path to this point is unusual. The Kansas City Royals selected him 28th overall in the 2014 draft out of The First Academy in Orlando, Fla., and he debuted in 2020. Toronto acquired him on July 16, 2022, sending minor-league pitcher Jonatan Bernal to Kansas City. That September’s appearance was his only one in a Blue Jays uniform.
The move to Japan changed his career. Over three seasons with the Yomiuri Giants, Griffin posted a 2.57 ERA and struck out 318 batters in 315 2/3 innings. His 2025 season was his best, with a 1.62 ERA and 77 strikeouts over 78 innings, earning him an NPB All-Star selection.
Washington signed him to a one-year, $5.5-million contract on Dec. 22, 2025, and the bet paid off. After a stellar first half, putting up a 2.77 ERA across 111 innings pitched with 109 strikeouts, Griffin was named to the National League All-Star team. However, following a move to the Cleveland Guardians at the trade deadline for a package of prospects, he scuffled in the second half, posting a 5.19 ERA across 43.1 innings with Cleveland, and finished the year at 15-6 with a 3.60 ERA over 172 2/3 innings and 31 starts.
That second half exposed some areas for improvement going forward. Opposing offences hammered his breaking balls in 2026. The sweeper he developed in Japan, which he threw 15 per cent of the time, had opponents slugging .481, and his curveball, thrown nine per cent of the time, allowed a .613 slugging percentage. Together, those two pitches made up 24 per cent of his arsenal.
His cutter, on the other hand, was extremely effective, creating +8 run value with opponents slugging .438 against it. He threw it 33 per cent of the time and could benefit from throwing it closer to 50 per cent while decreasing his sweeper and curveball usage.
His other four pitches are a four-seamer, sinker, changeup and splitter, and it was the splitter that stood out, holding opponents to just a .196 average. For reference, that is better than former Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman’s splitter in 2026, which had a .207 opponent average, although Gausman’s is in a much larger sample size. Still, the potential is definitely there. Sometimes more isn’t better, and trimming his pitch mix to specialize in a couple could reap major benefits.
It is also worth noting that his 3.54 FIP in Cleveland suggests the outcomes behind his 5.19 ERA were outside his own control, and despite all this, he still finished the season with 2.6 fWAR.
In the postseason with Cleveland, Griffin was even able to bounce back under the bright lights, posting a 3.48 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 10 1/3 innings across 3 outings versus the Chicago White Sox and the Tampa Bay Rays before the Guardians fell to Tampa Bay in the ALCS.
The fit with Toronto is pretty straightforward. The Blue Jays’ rotation options for 2027, including Dylan Cease, Trey Yesavage, José Soriano, Cody Ponce, and Spencer Arrighetti, among others, are right-handed. A lefty who limits walks and generates ground balls could be a good fit in Rogers Centre and give manager John Schneider a different look and more flexibility come a potential Postseason appearance. Toronto also has history with him, and that past familiarity could help in contract discussions during a rushed offseason before a potential lockout in December.
Price is the real question, especially now that he has the National League All-Star tag. Baseball America projects Griffin at three years and $48 million with Miami, Washington and Texas as other potential landing spots. At roughly $16 million per season, the value case weakens. Given his injury history and lack of elite stuff, teams may not be eager to dish out lump sums for the southpaw. A deal closer to $12 million annually would make this a better-case scenario for Toronto, and it aligns closely with the three-year, $30-million deal Toronto gave Cody Ponce last winter.
The risks are real. Griffin’s 172 2/3 innings were his highest single-season workload since 2017; he has limited MLB history at age 31, and his Cleveland numbers suggest regression is possible. But a team that spent big on certainty last winter can afford a measured bet to strengthen the rotation’s floor. Toronto may not look to enter a bidding war if the market pushes beyond a reasonable number, and by no means is he a must-add. Within a sensible range, though, Griffin is the kind of free agent who can seriously move the needle over 162 games, and hey, you can never have too much pitching.
Toronto has many decisions to make, and Griffin makes sense as a value-driven addition rather than a market-setting splash. Within a reasonable range, adding him would give Toronto a left-hander to balance the staff, and it would be quite the reunion for a pitcher who once passed through for a single, scoreless outing.

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