A day after pitcher Ted Lilly waved goodbye to Toronto, the Blue Jays were snubbed again Thursday by free-agent starter Gil Meche.
A representative for Meche, one of the prized pitchers on the open market, informed the Blue Jays on Thursday that the right-hander would not sign with the club.
Toronto has failed to snare pitcher Gil Meche, who had an 11-8 record and 4.48 earned-run average last season with the Seattle Mariners.
(John Froschauer/Associated Press)
"They told us this morning they're not coming to Toronto," said Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi.
Meche ended up signing a five-year deal worth $55 million US with the Kansas City Royals Thursday afternoon.
It was no secret that Ricciardi's goal was to sign a marquee pitcher before Major League Baseball's annual winter meetings wrapped up Thursday in Florida, but that won't happen now that Meche has spurned the Jays.
The Jays weren't able to strengthen their starting pitching rotation, and return home with Canadian Matt Stairs as their fourth outfielder and Rule 5 draftee Jason Smith as their backup middle infielder.
"You've got to do what you've got to do," said Ricciardi. "Whatever plays out in front of you, you've got to respond to that. Our first choice was to try and get [Lilly and Meche]; we didn't get them, now [we'll] revert, go back and see if we can get something else."
Ricciardi said he'll try to pull off a trade in order to add a quality starting pitcher to a Toronto rotation that includes ace Roy Halladay, A.J. Burnett and Gustavo Chacin.
"We're going to regroup a little bit and probably see if we have a better avenue going the trade route," said Ricciardi. "We talked about that this morning; you might be able to get some guys [via trade] better than the guys you were involved with [as free agents]."
Meche, 28, posted an 11-8 record with a 4.48 earned-run average last season with the Seattle Mariners. He has a career ERA of 4.65.
"We were proud to be a part of the process and delighted that Gil Meche made the decision to join the Royals," general manager Dayton Moore said. "He is an impact pitching talent who fits in with our plan for long term success. At 28, he is entering the prime of his career."
On Wednesday, Lilly agreed to a four-year contract worth $40 million with the Chicago Cubs. Lilly, 30, was 15-13 with a 4.31 ERA in 32 starts last season with Toronto.
"At the end of the day, Ted decided he wanted a change of scenery," said Larry O'Brien, Lilly's agent. "The decision [to leave Toronto] had nothing to do with length of contract or money. The offers are all about the same."
With files from Canadian Press
