Major offseason deals in the MLB

While the sound of a home run isn’t ringing throughout stadiums in the Major Leagues, some teams are still scoring some big runs in free agency.

Toronto Blue Jays fans may be feeling a little heartbroken this morning, after star player after star player decided to leave the Blue Jays or sign big contracts with other teams across the MLB.

Former World Series Champion Gregg Zaun, stopped by Tuesday’s The Rod Pedersen Show to break down a few of the big moves that have occurred over the last few days in the MLB.  

The first of which is Max Scherzer. Scherzer signed a record-setting, three-year, $130 million contract with the New York Mets on Monday.

“Scherzer to the Mets is extremely intriguing,” said Zaun. “That team in my opinion is a lot farther from being competitive in that division than one would think. I always equate Scherzer with upper echelon so for him to go to a middle of the road, nationally east team… that one surprises me quite a bit.”

Scherzer is a three-time Cy Young award winner and eight-time all-star, who spent last season with the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Washington Nationals. It’s a big deal for a 37-year-old pitcher, who said his “arm was dead” in the NLCS last postseason.

The other big move, that Blue Jays fans are certainly not going to like, is the huge contract given to Marcus Semien by the Texas Rangers.

The MVP finalist has agreed to a $175 million, seven-year contract, after a historic season with the Blue Jays.

“With the year Semien had, he had to go chase that money,” said Zaun. “He had to go get those dollars because you never know if he ever has a season like that again, because that ballpark in Toronto is awfully hitter friendly and it’s a tough to duplicate hitting environment.”

Semien set a single-season home run record for second basemen this past season and will provide some much-needed offense to the Rangers team who hasn’t been in the postseason since 2016.

Biggest of all however, is the loss of Robbie Ray. Just weeks after winning the Cy Young award, Ray is expected to sign a $115 million, five-year contract with the Seattle Mariners.

While many fans will be sad to see Ray go, Zaun believes this was a move fans should have known was coming.

“You know I love Toronto but I’m never going to sugar coat reality,” said Zaun. “Free agents in the prime of their careers, when they have the hammer, are not going to go play for the Toronto Blue Jays.”

“You gotta ask yourself, why would you, as a guy who has all the power in the world for the first time, go to a foreign country who’s going to tax you up the wazzoo.”

With many big names already on the move across the MLB, and not many looking for a home in Toronto, Zaun said resigning Vladimir Guerrero Jr. should be the team’s top priority.