Jays have a few young stars to build around
Contracts will ensure Martin, Tulowitzki are part of future, whatever direction Jays take
The Blue Jays’ front office has officially shifted its focus heading into the upcoming trade deadline, with general manager Ross Atkins saying Monday the club is concerned with strengthening its 2018 squad more so than bringing in any immediate upgrades to its current, ailing team.
That effectively closes the book on one of the biggest questions surrounding Toronto this year: Is the club a buyer or a seller? But it opens the door for a slew of new conundrums that this aging team will have to answer if it is to contend soon.
Who do you build around?
Starting pitchers Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez, closer Roberto Osuna and second baseman Devon Travis are the players that fit Atkins’ desire for young, controllable talent. None of the four will reach free agency until 2021.
Whether Travis can get through a season without injury remains to be seen. He hasn’t played more than half a year in his first three seasons. And Sanchez, last year’s American League leading ERA leader, has become the wild card of the pitching trio this season, spending much of it on the disabled list with blister issues.
Surely Josh Donaldson belongs in that group.
If the 2015 AL MVP is still on Toronto’s 25-man roster come April, he’ll be an obvious focal point. But the third baseman is also scheduled to be a free agent in 2018, and would probably bring the most in return if the Jays were to trade him. Many believe the 2018 free-agent class will be baseball’s best ever, potentially affecting Donaldson’s value. If Toronto does stick with its biggest star, the third baseman could be a step slower in his 33rd year.
What about Justin Smoak?
The first baseman is having a breakout year for the Blue Jays, pairing the strong defence he has long been known for with the offence teams expected when he was selected in the first round of the 2008 draft.
Smoak reached a career-high for home runs before his first all-star game appearance. He set another career best, this time for RBIs, within weeks. And the four homers he had in his first 11 games after the break bode well for the second half.
But a year ago, outfielder Michael Saunders played his way to the allstar game, hitting .298 with 16 ho- mers before the break. He hit .178 the rest of the way and, after a miserable start in Philadelphia this season, is trying to rediscover in Triple-A Buffalo.
A half-season doesn’t make a building block.
Where do Russell Martin and Troy Tulowitzki fit?
Neither the catcher not the shortstop are going anywhere soon, unless a team wants to saddle itself with a contract worth about $20 million dollars a year, for multiple years, for either Martin, 34, or Tulowitzki, 32. That means the Blue Jays will have to build around the veterans, who are no longer the players they once were.
Martin remains Toronto’s No. 1 catcher, but his offensive numbers have been declining and, after driving in 151 runs his first two seasons in Toronto, he has just 21 RBIs this season. Tulowitzki, who had an OPS of .916 or better in five of his last six full seasons in Colorado, has a .677 mark this year. And he has already committed eight errors this season, three away from a career high.
Who are the farm prospects and when are they coming?
Three of the Blue Jays’ up-andcomers were in the top 50 of mlb.com’s mid-season rankings: third baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (sixth), middle infielder Bo Bichette (30th) and outfielder Anthony Alford (49th). Bichette and Guerrero are still teenagers and likely a couple of years away from being big-league regulars. Alford, who made his Jays debut in May before breaking his left hamate bone, could fight for a role next spring, especially if Jose Bautista’s time in Toronto comes to a close after this year, but Alford has played more than 100 games in a season just once in the minors.