Jays just spectators in big-name signing game
Team that needs the most pitching help not in the conversation for top players
There are days when it feels as though the Toronto Blue Jays aren’t in the same business and playing the same game as baseball’s heavyweights.
Days like Monday here at the Manchester Grand Hyatt, home of baseball’s winter meetings, where Stephen Strasburg signed a seven-year, US$245 million deal with the Washington Nationals. That signing then triggered the related buzz on how much the New York Yankees will be offering Gerrit Cole in the next day or so.
The Jays? Most likely they’ll be waiting to see what scraps remain to fulfil a dire and pressing need after their worst season in four decades. The starting pitching market is a hot story in baseball and perhaps the team that needs the most help in that area isn’t in the conversation for players at the highest level.
That being the reality, Jays general manager Ross Atkins continued to beat the drum of encouragement on a Monday that didn’t yield any acquisitions, insisting the team will land a credible starter or two.
“We feel that we’re in a good position to make our organization better,” Atkins said at the conclusion of the first day of meetings, his rah-rah optimism intact. “There is certainly time left, there’s opportunities left on the trade front and on the freeagent side.”
Time for what, exactly, remains to be seen. Atkins did reveal a hint of the team’s strategy, however, suggesting that the real pitching stars of the future remain in the Jays’ development chain.
“One of the things that’s good about the situation that we’re in is the depth that we have coming,” Atkins said. “So we want to factor that in as well.
“There are so many good, young pitchers who are going to contribute in some significant way.”
Of course, don’t expect to see the Nate Pearsons and Alek Manoahs of the Jays world this season, so expect bargain-basement shopping and a pieced-together rotation once again. And we saw last season the potential downside of such a strategy.
By all accounts, the Jays remain active on the free-agent starter front, though not at the top end off the market. One potential focus is free agent Hyun-jin Ryu, the right-hander who won 14 games with a 2.32 earned-run average for the Los Angeles Dodgers last season. A source familiar with the Jays said Ryu is a clear target for the team.
Any deal for Ryu isn’t likely to happen until Cole settles on a suitor and don’t be surprised if the prices move up as reaction to the high-end signings.
“The recent deals would suggest that the market is moving up,” Atkins said.
What remains to be seen is whether the Jays will move up with it.
MONEY TALKS
Atkins has insisted that the Jays have access to the Rogers Communications vault to shop aggressively, though there seems to be some skepticism around the baseball world about just how much.
The GM was certainly vague when asked if the 2020 edition of the team could have a nine-figure payroll.
“That’s a very specific question that has a lot to do with our strategy,” Atkins deferred. “That’s something I’m uncomfortable talking about because it could influence our ability to execute it.”
FOCUS ON THE POSITIVE
Atkins also weighed in on the great long-term hope that seems to be central to the team’s off-season approach the past two winters:
“There’s just so much positivity around our organization right now that it feels really good,” Atkins said.
“It feels like this organization is going to be very, very good for a long time.”
When that may start is another question for a team that won just 67 times in 2019. Even normally buoyant manager Charlie Montoyo deferred when asked if he felt the Jays could be a .500 squad in 2020.
HUDGENS CO-OPERATES IN ASTROS PROBE
As the controversy continues to swirl around their sign-stealing accusations and the related MLB probe, Houston Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch did not meet with the media here on Monday.
The investigation has a Jays connection, however, as Toronto bench coach Dave Hudgens is co-operating with MLB.
Hudgens was the Astros’ hitting coach before joining Montoyo’s staff last year.
“Dave is doing everything he can to help the investigation,” Atkins said. “He’s doing everything he can to help and we’re focusing on the same thing.
“Any time something like that comes up, it’s not good. It’s not good for the sport to have those allegations out there.”
AROUND THE BASES
The first-base scenario remains an interesting one for the Jays now that Justin Smoak is a free agent. Atkins acknowledged that Cavan Biggio could see some time at first alongside Rowdy Tellez. Atkins said Biggio could also see some time in centre field ... The Jays did take care of a small bit of business on Monday, promoting Jose Ministral to the head athletic trainer position vacated by Nikki Huffman shortly after the 2019 season. Ministral has been with the Jays organization since 2013.