The Blue Jays are involved in the market for , Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Theyre one of a handful of teams that has been linked to the 65 righty. The Reds, Mets and incumbent Red Sox have also been linked to Pivetta this offseason. Pivetta, who is a native of British Columbia, is one of the better unsigned starting pitchers. Hes one of three pitchers alongside and who remain free agents after declining the qualifying offer. There was some surprise that the Red Sox risked the $21.05MM QO, but that proved a prescient decision in what has been a bullish market for starting pitching. The 31-year-old (32 in February) has been an innings eater in the middle of the Boston rotation for the past few seasons. Pivetta struggled early in the 2023 campaign and was briefly demoted to the bullpen, but he excelled late in the year to earn his way back to the starting five. He took the ball 27 times this past season, working to a 4.14 ERA acro s 145 2/3 innings. Pivetta mi sed some time early in the year with a flexor strain. That was the first non-virus injured list stint Martin Perez Jersey of his MLB career, though, and he returned without i sue by the middle of May. Pivetta has never posted a sub-4.00 ERA season. His run prevention has landed in the low 4.00s in consecutive seasons, and he carries a 4.09 mark in 288 1/3 frames since the start of 2023. Pivettas strikeout and walk rates have always been more intriguing than the ERA might suggest. He has punched out 30% of opponents with a solid 7.3% walk percentage over the past two seasons. The swing-and-mi s ability has been somewhat undercut by Pivettas longstanding i sue keeping the ball in the park. He has allowed a higher than average home run rate in all seven seasons of his MLB career. Theres value in the durability and solid run prevention marks that Pivetta has provided the Red Sox. Some teams could still view him as a potential #2 or high-end #3 starter based on the stuff and swing-and-mi s ability, feeling they can make some tweaks to help him more effectively stay off barrels. Speculatively speaking, his camp could look to beat the three years and $67MM which recently secured from the Athletics. The Jays have shown some level of interest in virtually every free agent of note. Theyve yet to pull off an especially significant free agent move. Their only signing is a two-year, $15MM deal to bring back reliever . Toronto took on the final five years and $97.5MM on contract via trade with the Guardians at the Winter Meetings. Thats a significant expenditure, but the front office surely continues to juggle multiple free agent pursuits. Toronto is among the three teams (alongside Boston and San Francisco) most frequently mentioned as landing spots for Burnes. Theyre certainly not going to bring in Burnes and Pivetta, so the latter is potentially a fallback target whod allow them to devote more money into one or two lineup upgrades. The Jays have looked for a starter to join , , and in the Opening Day rotation. Thatd allow them to use in relief, indirectly upgrading a bullpen that remains a huge weakne s despite the Garca pickup. The Blue Jays are believed to have cut their payroll the luxury tax threshold at the end of the 24 season. That reduces the penalty theyd pay to sign Pivetta or any other free agent who rejected the QO. Toronto would forfeit its second-highest pick of the 2025 draft plus $500K from the 26 bonus allotment for international amateur players. Phil Nevin Jersey