Blue Jays in talks with former Cy Young winner amid pitching pursuit: Report

After a disappointing 2024 season, it appears the Toronto Blue Jays are being aggressive in free agency to turn things around. Per Jon Morosi, they have held discussions with Corbin Burnes, a free-agent starter and arguably the best one on the market as he won the NL Cy Young Award in 2021.

The Blue Jays struggled all last year, but they're so far at least trying to fix the holes on the roster. They will have other teams to contend with for Burnes' services, but they have already sat down with the pitcher. Not many other teams have done that yet.

Per the report, the Jays have also checked in on left-handed starter Max Fried. The former Atlanta Braves star is also available and apparently of interest to the Blue Jays.

Corbin Burnes met with the Blue Jays (Imagn)

Burnes, who spent one year with the Baltimore Orioles following a trade from the Milwaukee Brewers, hits the open market at 29 years old. Following the signing of Blake Snell, teams that need top-shelf starting pitching will likely begin their pursuit with Burnes.

The Jays also threw in an offer for Juan Soto, highlighting their aggressiveness this year. They are reportedly out of the mix as the price continues to soar and teams like the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox battle it out, but they have been doing their due diligence on star free agents.

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Yankees meet with two Blue Jays pitching targets

The New York Yankees may still be very much in on Juan Soto, but that hasn't stopped them from looking into other options, too. Per reports, they have also checked in on Corbin Burnes and Max Fried, both current targets of the Toronto Blue Jays.

The team reportedly met with Burnes in late November and just had a 90-minute meeting with Fried. Michael Kay reported that the meeting went well and that the starting pitcher really liked the Yankees.

It remains to be seen if either of these two players will remain on the Yankees board if they're able to sign Soto. Committing $600 million or more to him might make it harder to land Fried and/or Burnes, but the team is at least laying the groundwork for a potential signing.