The New York Yankees know they may have strong competition for the services of free agent hurler Trevor Bauer. At this point, it is unclear if the Bombers will decide to pursue the flamboyant right-hander and whether they will offer him a short-term deal or a long-term contract. But one thing is sure: there will be plenty of suitors.
One of the teams that could entertain the possibility of signing Bauer, clearly and evidently the best free agent starting pitcher available in this market, is the Toronto Blue Jays. That would be highly inconvenient for the New York Yankees given that they are a direct AL East foe, and because it is an up-and-coming group that may be a star or two away of becoming a real problem for the Bombers.
MLB Network released a segment this week discussing Bauer’s future. As you know, the former Cincinnati Reds pitcher led the National League with a 1.73 ERA in 2020 and is a strong candidate to win the Cy Young award. He won’t be cheap, and he has made it clear that he will consider each and every offer that comes his way.
Could Bauer join the Yankees? Or could he choose Toronto?
He said that he could even consider joining the Yankees, which seems far-fetched given the team’s desire to cut costs and because of the alleged feud between him and ace Gerrit Cole from their UCLA days.
Bauer has downplayed the issue and says the dispute is “non-existent”, but coaches and other personalities have confirmed there is bad blood.
Anyway, if the Yankees don’t pounce, they should hope that Bauer doesn’t join Toronto. Bauer himself added fuel to the fire on Twitter, saying that “Toronto is a nice city. Could be a destination.â€
The Blue Jays were, at one point deep into the season, ahead of the Yankees in the AL East standings. They are already a good club, but adding Bauer would push them near the top of the division given that they have fellow ace Hyun-Jin Ryu, a very good pitching prospect in the minors in Simeon Woods-Richardson, a young star ready to blossom in Nate Pearson, and one of the game’s top offensive cores, including Vladimir Guerrero jr, Teoscar Hernandez, Cavan Biggio, Bo Bichette, Rowdy Tellez and Lourdes Gurriel.