MLB Trade News: Ubaldo Jimenez Bound To Join Toronto Blue Jays? Masahiro Tanaka Sweepstakes The Determining Factor
The Toronto Blue Jays have reportedly become the front runner to land starting pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez, who has remained unsigned this offseason, a source close to situation reported on Saturday.
Needing more firepower in their pitching rotation, the Jays are making aggressive moves to get one of the remaining solid pitchers on the free agency market. According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, the Blue Jays are the leading team to sign Jimenez or Ervin Santana.
"It has been a pretty quiet offseason for the Blue Jays so far, but the team is considered a "leading candidate" to sign Ubaldo Jimenez or Ervin Santana, reports Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports. The Cubs' Jeff Samardzija remains on their radar as well. Toronto figures to acquire one and possibly two starting pitchers before the end of the winter," via CBS Sports.
After a busy 2013 offseason, the Blue Jays are surprisingly passive in acquiring additional talents to their lineups this winter. However, CBS Sports baseball writer Mike Axisa believed the Jays will make some push towards the end of January, once top international free-agent Masahiro Tanaka finds his MLB team.
"The market for Jimenez, Santana and pretty much every notable starting pitcher has been on hold thanks to the Masahiro Tanaka situation. Teams wanted to see if he would be made available before pouncing on one of the other free agent starters, and they'll probably wait until after Tanaka signs -- the deadline is 5pm ET on Jan. 24 -- before moving on to the alternatives," CBS Sports added.
Reports indicated that the Blue Jays are torn between Jimenez and Santana as their alternative, if they fail to land Tanaka. Axisa stressed that the Blue Jays are looking to sign a hurler that would help the team limit opponent's hurler at Roger Center, which is considered as one of the most homer happy ballparks in the Big League.
According to Axisa, Jimenez appears to be a better pickup than Santana because he only allows 0.95 homers per game compared to the former's 1.33 homer in nine innings.
The Blue Jays are already boasting a pretty solid starting lineup with former CY Young Winner R.A Dickey, Mark Buehrle and Brandon Morrow leading the charge on the mound.
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