Jays’ brass cover all the bases

Sure, they want their sluggers back, but ...

The Atkins does not fall far from the tree. Just as Toronto Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro is well-versed in answering a direct question with a haze of business bafflegab, so too is his general manager, Ross Atkins.

On Monday afternoon, Atkins spoke fluent corporateese for about 40 minutes in his year-end session with a group of Toronto writers, which meant a good 36 minutes of speaking in vague generalities and motivational-poster slogans.

With as many as 10 majorleague regulars, including most obviously Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion, poised to become free agents, this off-season has the potential to be one of major upheaval for a team coming off two straight playoff runs.

And to that, Atkins says, well, stuff: “We’ll work hard to consider how we can improve upon this year’s team and what our opportunities are next year, but a big part of it is alternatives,” he said, sitting at the head of a conference table down the hall from the Blue Jays clubhouse. “And we’ll consider all of those. It’s not just free agents, it’s trade possibilities as well.”

There was a lot of talk of alternatives. And also opportunities, and definitely opportunity costs. All of which makes sense: Atkins and his team would not be wise to blunder into the offseason without considering a backup plan should either of Bautista or Encarnacion — merely the team’s three- and four-hole hitters for the past half-decade or so — choose to walk.

But the degree to which Atkins sought to tap dance past the dual elephants in the room was still quite striking. The GM was asked which of the free agents would be a priority as the off-season begins.

“That’s a great question,” Atkins said. “Really, the fact of the matter is there’s some obvious guys that I’ve already mentioned that we’ll be working on. But a lot of priority has to do with likelihood and reality.” As everyone pondered what that sentence meant, Atkins added: “Edwin and Jose, if they are not here, are going to be the most difficult to replace.”

So they would then be priorities?

“Yes, they would definitely be priorities for us.”

It seems like it would have been easier to say that up front, but at least we had established that the Blue Jays will at least try to bring both of them back. Or, at least, they will be likely to try, based on the payroll budget that Rogers Communications passes down the line.

“Once we have a payroll set, then we will have a more concrete plan,” Atkins said.

Given that teams have a brief window after the World Series ends — five days — of exclusive negotiating rights with their own free agents, it would seem rather urgent that the payroll be determined soon, since the World Series could be over by the weekend.