The Toronto Blue Jays are continuing to monitor the free-agent market for starting pitching upgrades.
The Blue Jays are considering adding left-hander James Paxton and right-hander Taijuan Walker, among others, sources told Ben Nicholson-Smith and Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.
Toronto only appears to be interested in short-term deals, which would take the team out of the running for pitchers seeking multi-year agreements, Nicholson-Smith and Davidi add.
"There may be another add or two," general manager Ross Atkins said Thursday, according to Nicholson-Smith. Atkins also said there was "potential" for those deals to come via free agency.
The Blue Jays' interest in Paxton isn't new. They've been linked to the Canadian southpaw for the past few weeks, but have also acquired a couple of left-handed pitchers since then in Steven Matz and Francisco Liriano.
Paxton would be a high-risk, high-reward add for Toronto, with the hurler having never tossed more than 160 1/3 innings in a single season. He also only made five starts in 2020 due to elbow issues.
The 32-year-old is effective when healthy, as he's authored a 3.58 ERA and 9.9 K/9 over 136 career starts, including a no-hitter against the Blue Jays in 2018.
Walker made six starts for Toronto last season after the team acquired him in an August trade with the Seattle Mariners. The 28-year-old went 2-1 with a 1.37 ERA and 1.25 WHIP across 26 1/3 innings.
However, the Louisiana native hasn't pitched more than 53 1/3 innings since 2017, having undergone Tommy John surgery in 2018.
He expressed interest in a potential Blue Jays reunion last October, calling the team "really good." That was before Toronto added George Springer and Marcus Semien, among others.
The Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals, who are looking for similar upgrades in their rotations ahead of 2021, are also considering pitchers likes Paxton and Walker, according to MLB.com's Mark Feinsand.
