Successful pitch to Springer came out of left field
There were a lot of critics who doubted the Blue Jays’ ability to recruit another big-name free agent. People who questioned the willingness of ownership to make the kind of financial commitment it would take to attract top talent, especially during a pandemic and a global recession.
I should know because I was one of them.
Back on July 24, 2020, the day it was announced the Jays would play their regular-season home games in Buffalo, I wrote a column with the headline: “Ace Hyun-Jin Ryu could be the last splash the Blue Jays make in the free-agent pool for quite some time.” As last week’s signing of star centrefielder George Springer showed, my prediction was completely off base.
At the time, COVID-19 was somewhat under control within our country’s borders, but continued to spread like wildfire throughout the United States. Earlier that week, the Canadian government declined the Jays’ request to play in Toronto and they scrambled to come up with a solution. After talks on sharing facilities in Baltimore and Pittsburgh failed, they were relegated to Buffalo, and players weren’t happy about it.
There also didn’t seem to be much hope for a quick fix. Epidemiologists were warning of a second wave in the fall and vaccines were still months away from approval. It stood to reason the Jays would enter the following spring training uncertain about when they would resume play in Canada.
That nomadic lifestyle was ill-suited to recruiting highimpact players, even though that remained the long-stated goal following the addition of Ryu in December of 2019. After all, which millionaire athlete would willingly impersonate The Littlest Hobo, even for a year, when there were so many options for a permanent home.
For some longtime readers in my 10-plus years on the Jays’ beat, this argument, and the conclusion I would soon reach, caused confusion. Each offseason, whenever there was talk about geography playing a role in free agency, I was quick to point out that most players take the highest bid. Why would this off-season be any different?
The intention wasn’t to do a complete heel turn by suggesting stars would never consider the Jays. It was that ownership would be forced to pay an even higher premium than usual, and I didn’t think Rogers Communications would go to the lengths required to get it done, particularly when layoffs were happening even within the Jays’ front office and player
development departments.
History suggested there were reasons to be skeptical.
Rogers bought the team in 2000 and since then has approved a top-10 payroll just three times. For 13 consecutive years, total salaries remained under $100 million (U.S.) and while that changed after the 2012 blockbuster trade with the Marlins, the spending spree was over by 2018. A fleeting moment from a company that had the ability to do much, much more.
The long-term plan of club president Mark Shapiro and general manager Ross Atkins called for rebuilding in the minor leagues, with expenses increasing over time on the 26-man roster. The additions were expected in stages. They began last year with Ryu and were scheduled to continue this winter, with flexibility to add in the future. On paper, it sounded great, but all Rogers needed was an excuse to stop it from happening, and the coronavirus gave them an out.
To Rogers’ credit, the drop in revenue wasn’t used as a scapegoat. The uncertainty of where the team would play was a real issue, with manager Charlie Montoyo conceding at one point that it was the first question every free agent asked, but it didn’t stop the organization from aiming high. With Springer having a strong preference for the New York Mets, Rogers helped changed my mind by approving a bid that was reportedly $25 million more than anyone else offered.
Money talks, and if anything the pandemic made it easier for the Jays to throw the most cash on the table. With Rogers as the outlier, most teams stayed away from this year’s top free agents. The Mets became a surprise player after they were purchased by billionaire Steve Cohen, but other large-market teams were content to stick with the status quo.
The Yankees re-signed D.J. LeMahieu and picked up a couple of bounceback candidates for their rotation. The Angels, who still could be in the mix for Trevor Bauer, weren’t inclined to spend big on another position player after handing Anthony Rendon $245 million last winter. The Dodgers,
one year after acquiring Mookie Betts, have been content to patiently wait for late bargains.
Elsewhere, previous big spenders such as the Red Sox, Rangers, Mariners and Cubs were still rebuilding. With the big boys sitting on the sidelines, it left the door open for the Padres, White Sox and Jays to take runs at the best talent available. By the time the Springer talks heated up, the Jays only had to compete with the Mets — who were up against the competitive balance tax threshold.
Accountability is important, whether it’s fact or opinion. If I’m going to point out the things I got right — Teoscar Hernandez’s breakout season and leading the team in home runs, Tanner Roark’s second year coming back to haunt the organization, the Jays needing to move on from Randal Grichuk — then it’s only fair to point out things I got wrong too. This was one of them.
Rogers doesn’t deserve too much praise here. The Jays’ payroll for next season still only sits around $110 million, a far cry from the $160 millionplus spent as recently as 2018, but the company should be credited for sticking with the plan despite having reasons not to.
Frankly, I didn’t think they had it in them — and I bet a lot of you didn’t, either.