"MLB Trade Rumors projected Weaver for a two-year, $18MM contract, and we ranked the right-hander 41st on our list of t he offseason's top 50 free agents. He posted a 3.62 ERA, 7.6% walk rate, and 27.5% strikeout rate, with very strong chase and whiff rates accompanying that impressive K%. However, Weaver's 2025 season was a Jekyll-and-Hyde campaign built around a three-week absence in June due to a hamstring strain."
"Weaver had a 1.05 ERA over 25 2/3 innings prior to his stint on the injured list, and then a 5.31 ERA over his final 39 innings of the season. If the regular-season woes weren't enough, Weaver was then charged with five earned runs over what was officially just one-third of an inning pitched over three playoff appearances - the Jays themselves contributed to this misery by scoring three runs off Weaver without a batter retired in their 10-1 rout in Game 1 of the ALDS."
"The long ball was a big part of Weaver's problem, as eight of his 10 home runs allowed in 2025 came following his IL stint. His 27.5% grounder rate was one of the worst in the league, and well below the 38.7% grounder rate he'd posted over nine previous big league seasons. The big question facing the Blue Jays or any other suitors is whether or not this susceptibility to home runs is a new reality for Weaver, or either a lingering after-effect of his hamstring injury or perhaps just because of some tipped pitches."
The Blue Jays have scouted Luke Weaver as a potential high-leverage reliever rather than a ninth-inning closer. Weaver posted a 3.62 ERA with a 7.6% walk rate and a 27.5% strikeout rate in 2025, and projections valued him at two years and $18MM. A three-week hamstring absence in June preceded a sharp split: a 1.05 ERA in 25 2/3 innings before the IL stint and a 5.31 ERA over his final 39 innings. Weaver struggled in the playoffs, allowed eight of his 10 season home runs after the IL stint, and showed a markedly lower ground-ball rate than career norms, raising questions about injury effects or tipped pitches.
Read at MLB Trade Rumors
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