{"id":943757,"date":"2026-10-23T22:18:16","date_gmt":"2026-10-23T22:18:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/943757\/"},"modified":"2026-10-23T22:18:16","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T22:18:16","slug":"3-impending-free-agents-still-playing-in-october-who-should-interest-the-blue-jays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/943757\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Impending Free Agents Still Playing in October Who Should Interest the Blue Jays"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"9u\">One year ago, on Oct. 23, the Toronto Blue Jays made their final preparations before Game 1 of the World Series. They clinched the American League Pennant after a thrilling series victory over the Seattle Mariners. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"9z\">Expectations were high in 2026, but Toronto never recaptured last year&#8217;s magic and was eliminated from playoff contention during the final week of the regular season. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"a4\">This year, the Blue Jays&#8217; American League East rival, the Tampa Bay Rays, will battle the Milwaukee Brewers. Here are three free agents playing in the Fall Classic who could interest Toronto. <\/p>\n<p>Freddy Peralta<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/01m5mn89d5qmv0jjra41.jpg\" alt=\"Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Freddy Peralta.\" title=\"Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Freddy Peralta.\" width=\"360\" height=\"203\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"al\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Freddy Peralta. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"ar\">The Brewers traded Peralta to the New York Mets in January, but he never lived up to his potential. He posted a 4.99 ERA and allowed 17 home runs. Peralta was traded again, but this time to the Rays. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"aw\">The righty found a groove with Tampa Bay and has dominated the postseason. He&#8217;s allowed two earned runs and struck out 12 hitters over 16.2 innings. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"b1\">If Peralta continues to excel in the World Series, he will command a competitive market. The Blue <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/bluejays\/onsi\/blue-jays-have-need-they-cant-overlook-this-offseason\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">could use another starting pitcher,<\/a> and Peralta would be an excellent addition to the rotation.<\/p>\n<p>Brandon Woodruff<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/01m5mnpxdejf468v4epj.jpg\" alt=\"Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Brandon Woodruff.\" title=\"Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Brandon Woodruff.\" width=\"360\" height=\"203\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"bi\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Brandon Woodruff. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"bo\">Woodruff has dealt with right shoulder inflammation, which has knocked him out for most of the season. However, he made the World Series roster and will provide a major boost to the pitching staff.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"bt\">When healthy, the 33-year-old has been a dominant pitcher. Since 2020, his ERA has stayed at 3.20 or below. Unfortunately, injuries have become a consistent setback; he would be a risky signing. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-12\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"by\">Woodruff rarely allows free passes. His WHIP was below one for the fifth time in six seasons. That&#8217;s simply remarkable. Last season, Woodruff&#8217;s 32.3 percent strikeout rate fell in the 94th percentile, and his 5.4 percent walk rate fell in the 91st percentile, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/baseballsavant.mlb.com\/savant-player\/brandon-woodruff-605540?stats=statcast-r-pitching-mlb\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Baseball Savant<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-13\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"c3\">The righty has spent his entire career in Milwaukee, so prying him away would be difficult. But if Toronto lands Woodruff, the Blue Jays would have a pair of co-aces with him and Dylan Cease.<\/p>\n<p>JoJo Romero<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/01m5mpkzkqpd5p8v4awy.jpg\" alt=\"Milwaukee Brewers pitcher JoJo Romero.\" title=\"Milwaukee Brewers pitcher JoJo Romero.\" width=\"360\" height=\"203\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"ck\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Milwaukee Brewers pitcher JoJo Romero.  Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images     TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-16\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"cq\">The Brewers and Rays have excellent bullpens, so anyone from those units would be an intriguing addition. Romero is an unrestricted free agent and will have no shortage of suitors. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-17\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"cv\">The lefty has made four relief appearances during the playoffs. He&#8217;s allowed one home run, one walk, and has struck out nine hitters. Romero is being used as a setup reliever and would serve a similar role in Toronto. The Blue Jays <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/bluejays\/onsi\/blue-jays-face-key-decisions-rebuilding-bullpen\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">could be looking for bullpen reinforcements<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-18\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"d0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/bluejays\/onsi\/one-world-series-player-who-would-be-perfect-fit-toronto-blue-jays\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Romero would be a solid addition <\/a>to the Blue Jays&#8217; bullpen.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.minutemediacdn.com\/platform\/google_discover_icon.svg\" class=\"shrink-0\"\/>Add us as a preferred source on Google<a aria-label=\"Follow si.com on Google News\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=si.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" preventdefault:click=\"\" class=\"flex h-[30px] w-[30px] shrink-0 items-center justify-center rounded-full bg-primary font-group-large text-sm font-medium text-white transition-colors hover:bg-secondary focus:bg-secondary md:w-auto md:gap-2.5 md:px-4 md:py-[5px]\" on:click=\"q-DyTSUUeL.js#s_lDqay9E5m5g[0]\" q:id=\"d6\">Follow<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One year ago, on Oct. 23, the Toronto Blue Jays made their final preparations before Game 1 of&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":943758,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[435],"tags":[49,48,462,82],"class_list":["post-943757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/943757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=943757"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/943757\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/943758"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=943757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=943757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=943757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}