Needing to upgrade their pitching staff this offseason, the Toronto Blue Jays reportedly struck a deal with the Oakland Athletics for veteran right-hander Jesse Chavez.
Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports first reported the deal, adding that the Athletics will receive Liam Hendriks in return. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle confirmed the trade.
Chavez is actually returning to Toronto, as he played with the Blue Jays for a brief period in 2012 with an 8.44 ERA in nine games before being traded to Oakland. The 32-year-old made a career-high 26 starts last season, posting a 4.18 ERA with 136 strikeouts in 157 innings.
Rosenthal also speculated that Chavez could serve a similar function as a player the Blue Jays acquired last year:
Marco Estrada parlayed that trade to Toronto into a two-year extension after posting a career-low 3.13 ERA in 181 innings, so Chavez certainly has a high standard to live up to for the Blue Jays.
However, the big picture is also important. The Blue Jays face the strong possibility of losing David Price to free agency, Mark Buehrle is a free agent who has teased retirement and Drew Hutchison had a 5.57 ERA in 30 games last year.
While Chavez isn't the answer to all of Toronto's pitching questions this offseason, he does give manager John Gibbons another arm to plug into the back of his starting rotation who can eat innings or possibly serve as a swingman out of the bullpen.
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