Toronto Blue Jays: Signing Robbie Ray all about familiarity

The Toronto Blue Jays have signed Robbie Ray to a one-year deal as the team is hoping that the work done during the 2020 season can continue.

Going into the off-season, the Toronto Blue Jays made it known that they were going to try and take advantage of opportunities to make significant additions.

One advantage they decided to use was getting an early look at Robbie Ray after trading for him this past season. It’s not surprising to see Toronto jump on the chance to bring the veteran back considering they have usually wasted no time getting work done.

More from Tip of the Tower

• Cam Phillips making his mark on Toronto Argonauts offence
• Toronto Argonauts: 4 storylines ahead of matchup against Redblacks
• Federico Bernardeschi ready for new challenge with Toronto FC
• Toronto Argonauts overcome Roughriders in entertaining Touchdown Atlantic
• Buffalo Bills: Von Miller drawing inspiration from Bruce Smith

After cutting ties with Chase Anderson, the Blue Jays essentially took the amount they saved and gave it to Ray. He certainly offers more upside than Anderson and even Tanner Roark because of his ability to produce swings and misses.

What remains to be seen is whether the work Ray and Pete Walker did to cut down on the balls and pitching into the strike zone more can continue in 2021. Of course, this is just the Blue Jays making sure they have options in the rotation since the important work will need to come with a more attractive addition.

The team still has Ross Stripling and Nate Pearson as options in the rotation but there isn’t enough there to say they can push this rotation to be competitive. Pearson has the talent to be an elite starter but there isn’t enough dependability because of his lack of experience which is not all his fault.

The Ray deal shows that Toronto is taking into account the level of comfort they have with a player in their past dealing.  This is why the Blue Jays should be keeping their eyes on the options on the free agent market from Corey Kluber and Trevor Bauer who have history with this front office along with someone like James Paxton who can be among the top three of a starting rotation.

Getting out in front of the market could provide the Blue Jays with an advantage with free agents who might not be willing to wait. We have seen some who decide to hold out for another deal that might not come right away so they try to avoid losing out on a guaranteed payday.

What do you think about the Ray signing? Where should the Blue Jays focus go now? Let us know in the comments below.