During the offseason, a former Houston Astros slugger might be traded, albeit it is not thought to be a high priority move.
Jeff Blair, reporter for SportsNet 360 and anchor of SportsNet 590, said on Monday that the Blue Jays would be considering selling George Springer this offseason.
Before the 2021 season, the 34-year-old right fielder inked a $150 million, six-year contract with the Blue Jays. He is paid a base salary of $22.5 million every season, and there are three more years left on his contract.
The deal also comes with a no-trade clause that allows Springer to select eight teams on a yearly basis that he cannot be traded to without his consent.
It’s possible this may have something to do with the Blue Jays’ rumored pursuit of Shohei Ohtani, who is reportedly fielding multiple offers of more than $500 million. The Blue Jays are not considered the favorite, but if they were able to sign Ohtani, Springer’s contract may be a casualty of the money necessary to sign the two-way superstar.
Springer has a productive slash line in his three seasons with the Blue Jays — .262/.338/.460/.798. He has 68 home runs and 198 RBI in that span. He missed half of the 2021 season but put together an All-Star campaign in 2022 and played in 154 games in 2023, the second-highest single-season total of his career.
Still, it’s worth considering the option given his age, even though his slash line in Toronto is similar to his in Houston for the first seven seasons of his career — .270/.361/.491/.852 with 174 home runs and 458 RBI.
With the Blue Jays he’s hit at least 20 home runs in each of his three seasons. Combined with his time in Houston, he’s hit at least 20 home runs in each of his last seven full seasons, dating back to 2016.
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