Toronto Blue Jays Part Ways With Former Seventh-Round Selection
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The Toronto Blue Jays have some big offseason plans, and to ensure they have the roster spots available to add players easily, the front office has made some tough decisions. One of the tough decisions was made on Friday, Nov. 13.
According to the Blue Jays' Triple-A affiliate, the Buffalo Bisons, official transaction page, former seventh-round pick from the 2022 MLB Draft by Toronto, first baseman Peyton Williams, has been released by the organization.
Williams is now a MiLB free agent and can now sign with any team. Given how he's performed over the past few seasons, Williams should intrigue other teams around the league.
Williams has shown promise during his tenure in the Blue Jays' organization, reaching Triple-A for the first time in his professional career this season. Since 2022, Williams has developed into a power-hitting first baseman from the left side of the batter's box, enough to make this move sudden.
Williams' Minor League Career Breakdown
Drafted out of Iowa, Williams has always been around a 13-14 home run kind of guy. The year he got drafted, the former Buffalo Bisons first baseman hit 13 home runs, drove in 41 RBIs, with a .335 average and walking the same amount as he struck out, 35 times.
His transition into professional baseball continues to prove that he knows how to handle the bat in his hands. Sure, he may not be the type of power hitter Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has made Toronto fans accustomed to seeing, but he has value and upside to work with.
2026 was a busy year for Williams, starting in High-A and finishing his season in Triple-A. Across each league, Williams hit a career-high 16 home runs and drove in 74 RBIs. The most home runs came at the Single-A level (11), but he adjusted well as the pitching got more advanced.
In 23 games with the Bisons, Williams hit three home runs, drove in 12 runs, and walked five times, compared to 20 strikeouts. Any MLB franchise in need of first base depth should easily be looking at Williams.
Williams was eligible for the Rule 5 Draft, meaning the Blue Jays would have had to add him to the 40-man roster to ensure he wouldn't be up for grabs. Instead, the franchise has seen enough and are looking in a new direction, though if he would have hit the Rule 5 Draft, he likely would've been picked up.
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Dominic Minchella is a 2024 Eastern Michigan University graduate with a BA in Communications, Media, and Theatre Arts and a Journalism minor. He covers Major League Baseball for On SI and spends his free time watching games and sharing his insights.