Expect good things in 2017 from Francisco Liriano

The Toronto Blue Jays front office has had a recent history of gambling on under-performing pitchers such as Jason Grilli and Joaquin Benoit in 2016. In the off-season, they continued that trend with the signings of Joe Smith and J.P. Howell. They also took a chance on Francisco Liriano last season and the results were good. Though the sample size was small, it bodes well for the Blue Jays going into 2017, where they may have the MLB’s best 5th starter.

The Blue Jays acquired Liriano from the Pittsburgh Pirates at the last minute of the trade deadline. In the deal, they got prospects Harold Ramirez and Reese McGuire, two prospects who are shooting up the Blue Jays rankings. Those three…