Toronto Blue Jays: Matt Shoemaker a low-risk, high reward option in rotation

 The Toronto Blue Jays sign Shoemaker as they fill one of their many holes on the roster ahead of the 2019 season.

Any move the Toronto Blue Jays are going to make from now until the start of the season isn’t going to be exciting but they still need to put together a roster so there will be minor moves made in the meantime.

The Blue Jays announced that they signed starting pitcher Matt Shoemaker to a one-year contract in what should be seen as a low-risk, high-reward type of signing. This has become a popular trend for Toronto the past couple of seasons

Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins have focused on building the internal competition for their prospects by signing veterans to one-year deals and trading them at the deadline. They have also prioritized players with team control especially those who play multiple positions or can fill in the back end of the starting rotation.

Shoemaker fits the bill for the Blue Jays although the concern is his injury history which is probably why Toronto was able to sign him to the deal that they did. As Shi Davidi of Sportsnet mentions there is upside to this deal for the Blue Jays.

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As Scott Mitchell of TSN mentions, the Blue Jays have a wealth of young pitchers working their way to the majors and the team doesn’t want to hand them spots on the big league rotation. Players like Ryan Borucki, Sam Gaviglio, Sean Reid-Foley, Julian Merryweather, Trent Thornton and Jacob Waguespack are pitchers Mitchell points out as options although only Borucki, Gaviglio and Reid-Foley have pitched in the MLB.

While fans will find it frustrating to see the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox go out and make a big splash in free agency or make big trades to acquire star talent, there aren’t many teams capable of doing that.

There is no point in the Blue Jays going out and making big trades or signings considering their young stars are still developing and not in a position to contend. While people may want to go back to 2015, 2016 when the team was a World Series contender, the impact it had on the future led to this situation.

At least the team isn’t holding back on trying to acquire players who could have some potential considering Shoemaker has a career 3.93 ERA, a 40-32 overall record in 101 games and an 8.1 K/9 rate. It is also a heartwarming story for a player that might have had his career cut short after being hit in the head by a line drive.

What do you think about the Shoemaker signing? Is it an underwhelming move or does it have potential to be good down the road? Let us know in the comments below.