One of the top relievers in free agency signed on Wednesday.
Raisel Iglesias signed a one-year, $16 million deal to return to the Atlanta Braves. While the Toronto Blue Jays had interest in the 35-year-old, they didn’t offer a contract. They showed that they wish to add a reliever this off-season.
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The reliever market tends not to move quickly until the Winter Meetings in December. That said, there are a handful of relievers who could be of interest to the Blue Jays this off-season.
Edwin Díaz
Edwin Díaz is, without question, the best reliever on the market. In fact, it’s already been reported that the Jays have spoken to his camp, showing that they’re willing to go big for the bullpen this season.
Adding Díaz to an already solid bullpen would be game-changing. Last season with the New York Mets, Díaz had a 1.63 ERA and 2.28 FIP in 66.1 innings pitched, with a 38 K% and 8.1 BB%. It’s not quite as good as his 2022 season, where he had a 1.31 ERA and 0.90 FIP in 62 innings pitched, but it’s still among the league’s best.
Funnily enough, his performance in 2022 earned him a monster deal, signing a five-year contract worth $102 million. Of course, he only spent three seasons with the Mets, missing the entirety of the 2023 season, before opting out to presumably sign another monster deal.
Díaz is about as consistent as they come. Last season, Díaz picked up 28 saves, blowing just three. For his career, he has 253 saves in 294 opportunities, shockingly similar to Iglesias’ 253 saves in 291 opportunities.
Make no mistake about it, Díaz is the better pitcher. He has a career 2.82 ERA and 2.56 FIP in 519.1 innings pitched. Díaz also has a 39.9 K% and 8.6 BB% for his career, with plenty of miles left in the tank as he’s only 31 years old.
The lone downside to signing Díaz would be the loss of a draft pick, as he declined the Mets’ $22.05 million qualifying offer. If the Blue Jays are to sign a player who has a qualifying offer attached (they surely will), they’ll forfeit a second and fifth-round pick. If they sign an additional player, which is certainly possible, they’ll also lose their third-rounder and sixth-rounder as well.
Díaz is absolutely worth it.
Devin Williams
If the Jays wish to sign a reliever without a qualifying offer attached, Devin Williams would be a good option. Williams was once a premier high-leverage arm like Díaz, but struggled mightily after being traded to the New York Yankees during the 2024/25 off-season.
In his first and potentially only season in The Bronx, Williams had a 4.79 ERA and 2.68 FIP in 2.68 FIP in 62 innings pitched, with a 34.7 K% and 9.7 BB%. He picked up 18 saves in 22 opportunities, but he eventually lost his closing job toward the end of the season.
It doesn’t show just how dominant Williams was before joining the Yankees. Becoming a big league regular with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2020, Williams had a 1.70 ERA and 2.24 FIP in 222 innings pitched from 2020 until 2024. He struggled with command, posting a 12 BB%, but Williams struck out 40.8% of batters, picking up 68 saves in 78 opportunities.
It’s not like he regressed either. Williams was still in the top percentile for chase %, whiff %, K% and numerous other important categories, all while limiting hard contact. His ERA was far harsher than how he pitched, as you can tell by his FIP.
Aside from Díaz, Williams is arguably the best reliever on the market.
Gregory Soto
At one point last season, it looked like Brendon Little was one of the best left-handed relievers in the game, and then June happened. From June onward, the 29-year-old had a 4.07 ERA and 3.23 FIP, with a 28.9 K% and 17.1 BB%. That doesn’t look bad until you consider the fact that he had a 1.37 ERA and 2.41 FIP heading into June.
One area the Blue Jays can focus on this off-season is adding a high-leverage lefty. Gregory Soto comes with risk, but the hard-throwing lefty has an interesting makeup. His fastball sits 97-98 mph, but his slider is his best pitch.
Last season with the Baltimore Orioles and New York Mets, the 30-year-old had a 4.18 ERA and 3.42 FIP in 60.1 innings pitched, with a 25.1 K% and 8.6 BB%. When Soto finished with a sub-3.50 ERA in 2021 and 2022, his walks were well above 13%, so his 8.6 BB% is a welcoming development.
That said, it seems like Soto has never been able to put it all together to become the dominant reliever he could be. Velocity from a left-handed pitcher is rare, and paired with a good slider, Soto could end up being a great pickup for the Blue Jays if they decide to go down that path.
