Blue Jays have 'checked in on' longtime Yankees OF Brett Gardner

Primarily known throughout his 14-year MLB career as a base-stealing threat, Gardner was the last remaining "Bronx Bomber" still in the organization from the 2009 championship team, but he declined his player option after the 2021 season. The 38-year-old is a free agent though and coming off a 2021 campaign in which he posted a career-worst .222/.362/.689 slash line. He also recorded just four steals, which were his fewest aside from the truncated 2020 season and the 2012 season in which he played only 16 games.

Gardner earned his lone All-Star nod in 2015 when he had somewhat of a power surge. He hit 16 home runs, recorded 66 RBI and picked up 20 steals that year. His numbers dipped in 2016, but that season was also when he nabbed his first and only Gold Glove Award.

The 2005 third-round draft pick of the Yankees has 139 career home runs and 274 steals, including an American League-best 49 in 2011.

The Blue Jays have already had a massive offseason, adding the likes of Matt Chapman and Kevin Gausman. If they were to add Gardner, there would likely not be a starting gig available, as the team boasts one of the most stacked starting lineups on paper entering the season featuring Chapman, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, George Springer and Teoscar Hernandez, among others.