Blue Jays free agent target: Alex Vesia
Photo credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
Oct 30, 2026, 19:00 EDTUpdated: Oct 30, 2026, 15:05 EDT
While the bullpen was a strength for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2026, they still feel like a club that will be looking to further deepen the group this winter.
Louis Varland, Tyler Rogers, Spencer Miles, Braydon Fisher, and Mason Fluharty all played key roles this past season, but the rest of the bullpen was often a revolving door as health and inconsistency forced the Blue Jays to continually make roster moves.
With Miles expected to receive a shot in the starting rotation in spring training, the addition of another high-leverage arm could be vital in ensuring the Blue Jays’ bullpen remains a strength heading into the 2027 campaign.
An arm who is set to enter free agency for the first time in his career is left-hander Alex Vesia. Vesia has become a staple in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ bullpen over the past six seasons after being acquired from the Miami Marlins on February 12, 2021, highlighted by a 2.66 ERA across 367 games.
This past season, Vesia pitched in 72 games for the Dodgers and went 3-1 with a 2.64 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. Vesia struck out 74 batters across 58 innings pitched and limited opponents to a paltry .147 average.
Vesia was equally as impressive during the 2026 postseason, as across five outings, the 30-year-old pitched to an ERA of 0.00 and limited opponents to a .100 average across 3.1 innings, while striking out four.
Outside of the 2023 campaign when Vesia struggled to a 4.35 ERA and allowed opponents to hit .263, he has never had a full season in which his ERA climbed over the 3.02 mark, or allowed opponents to hit higher than .187, so this is an arm that has been as consistent as anyone in the league.
Due to not having another trusted left-hander in the bullpen, manager John Schneider was forced to use Fluharty a league-high 83 times. Fluharty was up to the task, as he pitched to a 3.30 ERA and limited lefties to a .145 average across 62.2 innings, but the addition of Vesia, who limited left-handed bats to a .138 average in 2026, would give Schneider two elite options on a nightly basis.
The three other left-handed pitchers who are currently on the 40-man roster are Brendan Cellucci, Brendon Little, and Ricky Tiedemann. While both Cellucci and Tiedemann pitched well during their first taste of the big leagues, they remain unproven to this point in their careers. After an abysmal 2025 playoffs, Little pitched to a 6.35 ERA across 30 outings in 2026 and feels like his time in Toronto could be coming to an end after three seasons.
Spotrac predicts Vesia to receive a two-year, $14.2-million contract, a very reasonable tag for a pitcher who has displayed success throughout his MLB career. Even if the total value of the deal gets closer to the $20-million range, that’s a price worth paying for Vesia with dangerous bats like Gunnar Henderson, Cody Bellinger, Wilyer Abreu, and Jonathan Aranda – to name a few – all residing in the American League East.
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