Former Guardians mistake will have contract situation with Blue Jays come down to the wire

While the Cleveland Guardians and Toronto Blue Jays may not look like they have much in common, there’s plenty of connective tissue between the two clubs. It’s evident in a Blue Jays front office that’s run by former Guardians leaders Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins.

It’s evident in the Blue Jays’ dugout, which has former Guardians coach DeMarlo Hale serving as associate manager. And it’s evident on the field, as the Blue Jays’ currently boast a roster that features former Guardians Ernie Clement, Andrés Giménez, Shane Bieber and Myles Straw. 

Although Clement and Giménez have been everyday players since moving North of the border, Straw’s been a fourth outfielder since joining the Blue Jays. An important role (and the one he should have been with the Guardians), but a role that doesn’t really gain a ton of traction outside of Toronto. 

But he now has a golden opportunity to make more of an impression with the Blue Jays after they opened up center field by trading center fielder Daulton Varsho to the Astros. 

With Varsho out of the picture, the Blue Jays are essentially having open tryouts to be their 2027 center fielder. And while Straw has the athleticism and defense needed to succeed in center field, his offense struggles are tough to ignore.

And if that’s not enough, he also has an $8.5 million team option for next season as a part of the five-year, $25.5 million contract extension he signed with the Guardians. 

That contract was a clear mistake from the Guardians’ front office, but they were able to pass the anchor off to the Blue Jays to help aid Toronto’s quest for Roki Sasaki. 

Now the Blue Jays have an opportunity to get out from under it this offseason, while Straw has a chance to try to play his way into the Blue Jays 2027 plans. And the Guardians just get to kick back and see what happens without having to worry about footing the bill for Straw. 

The Blue Jays need to decide if Myles Straw is a part of their outfield future

The Athletic’s Mitch Bannon touched on Straw’s quest to a 2027 roster spot earlier this week, where he wrote the Blue Jays center fielder of the future may be on the roster due to the thin free agent class. 

“Hopefully, things go well the next couple months,” Straw told Bannon. “I want to be able to come back here next year. However I’ve got to do that, to make someone happy up in the front office to come back, I’ll do that.”

Straw put together a component showing for the Blue Jays (86 OPS+), his numbers have taken a step back this season (.595 OPS).

Even if his expected numbers are still good and he’s still showing some solid plate discipline, it’s going to be tough for the Blue Jays to justify spending that much money on a guy with an OPS under .600. 

Although Straw’s contract isn’t much for most teams, it immediately became an anchor on Cleveland’s books. Even if may not be the same degree of anchor for the Blue Jays, Straw has an uphill battle to make Toronto’s roster in 2027.

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