The Toronto Blue Jays have reached an agreement with starting pitcher Tanner Roark on a two-year, $24 million. The starting pitcher market has been set in motion ever since the signing of Gerrit Cole on his monster nine-year deal. The deal was reported by ESPN’s Jeff Passan and the financials followed up by MLB dot com’s Jon Heyman.
Right-hander Tanner Roark and the Toronto Blue Jays are in agreement on a deal, sources tell ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 11, 2019
Roark agreed to Jays deal. 24M, 2 years.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 11, 2019
Going into 2019 Roark was on the Cincinnati Reds to kick things off. The thirty-three-year-old right-handed pitcher would eventually be traded to the Oakland Athletics. For the Reds in 2019, he would make 21 starts, making 10 for the Athletics after being traded. In total, he was 10-10 over 31 starts with a 4.35 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, and 158 strikeouts over 165.1 innings of work on the season. The Blue Jays will bring him into their rotation as they begin the slow transition from a rebuild into a team that is ready to compete and try to join the hunt for the postseason.
The starting pitcher market has been moving, with smaller deals starting to pop up for guys now that the biggest names have fallen. Roark will stay in the American League where he will spend his first full season in the AL after just a brief stint to end 2019 with the Athletics. The Blue Jays traded away their ace Marcus Stroman this season so they are rebuilding their pitching staff while rising stars like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. keep developing into the game’s newest wave of talent.
