The biggest chip remaining on the free agent market fell on Wednesday, but the Jays still made a minor move.
Left-handed pitcher Framber Valdez agreed to a three-year deal with the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday, despite rumors that the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays were the biggest contenders for his services.
The Jays have the depth to handle missing out on Valdez, as he would have been a luxury more than a necessity. The team has Dylan Cease, Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage, Shane Bieber and Cody Ponce in its projected rotation, with Jose Berrios and Eric Lauer still in the organization.
The bigger concern is that Detroit just got better and is now a bigger threat to the Jays in the American League at-large. With Valdez and Tarik Skubal they have one of the best 1-2 punches in baseball.
Though the Jays missed out on Valdez, they did make one minor move on Wednesday, inking a deal with veteran left-hander Josh Fleming.
Source: LH Josh Fleming is in agreement on a minor league deal with a spring training invite with the Blue Jays.
Fleming, 29, spent last season with the Mariners' Triple-A affiliate and has posted a 4.77 ERA in 80 games (25 starts) with the Rays and Pirates in the big leagues.
About Fleming
The 29-year-old was a fifth-round pick of the Rays in the 2017 MLB Draft out of Webster University. He made a career-high 26 appearances for the Rays in 2021, going 10-8 in 104.1 innings. A soft-tosser, he has only 161 strikeouts in 254.2 big-league innings.
How he fits with the Jays
Likely as minor league depth again. Toronto has the five aforementioned starters and figures to have seven of its eight bullpen spots filled between Berrios, Lauer, Louis Varland, Tyler Rogers, Jeff Hoffman, Mason Fluharty and Yimi Garcia.
If someone gets injured, then there's a chance for Fleming to step in, but more likely, he'll use spring training as a way to get noticed by another organization or he'll stay on as that minor league depth.
The one thing that Toronto lacked in 2025 was a truly reliable left-handed relief option. Without swing-and-miss stuff, it's unlikely that Fleming morphs into that, but it is within the realm of possibility.
Need to know
The World Baseball Classic rosters officially come out at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday. The Blue Jays already have multiple players committed, but there could be some previously unreported players suiting up as well.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Kazuma Okamoto, Yariel Rodriguez, Ernie Clement and Alejandro Kirk are all playing. Jose Berrios is trying to but is dealing with insurance issues.
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