JAYS SWING AND MISS, AGAIN
LEMAHIEU LATEST TO PASS AS TORONTO IS RUNNING OUT OF OPPORTUNITIES
planning to sell your home and have dreams of getting above market dollars for it? The Blue Jays just may be your guys.
“In” on everyone but landing nobody of consequence (so far) has made the off-season a frustrating and unproductive one for the Jays. And the repercussions may go beyond 2021, a season in which the team is hoping to continue its move toward elite contender status.
On Friday the latest whiff arrived with the news that infielder dj Lemahieu had reached an agreement to return to the New york yankees after what were reportedly some high-stakes negotiations with the Jays, as well.
If you followed the onagain, off-again reports of Lemahieu’s talks with the Bronx Bombers, it’s entirely impossible the Jays biggest role from the player’s camp was to help drive up the price with the team the American League batting leader intended to stay with all along.
Such is the world of big-contract negotiations and such is the lot of the Jays, who have always worn the heft of a foreign market yoke. Nothing is guaranteed and “winning” can often require more than straight cash.
If you are keeping score (and what Jays fan isn’t?) the growing list of purported near misses included Lemahieu, shortstop Francisco Lindor (via trade) and reliever Liam Hendricks.
The good news (such as it is) would be that the two best fits for the Jays in terms of need are still out there — centre-fielder George Springer and ace starter Trevor Bauer. Of the two, Springer would seem to be the most feasible for the Jays to land, but the mighty spending New york Mets may have a say in that, as well.
The bad news (such as it has been) is the potential longer-term fallout. The Jays have been forthright in their willingness to spend this off-season, a reality loosely endorsed by the odd-timed announcement this week of a five-year extension for team president Mark Shapiro.
But if the Jays are unable to do any damage on the market this winter when they are one of the few aggressive buyers out there, what will it be like next winter? Given the prospect of revenue-producing fans returning for 2022, the buyers may be lined up deep next winter.
There is a temptation for Jays fans to revert to the familiar lament of blaming management and ownership in alternate and occasionally illogical rants. While such criticism has some historical basis, this year Shapiro and general manager ross Atkins have been legit bullish in trying to land something big.
All of what is happening may be completely — or mostly — out of the Jays control. If Springer ultimately decides he wants to go to the Mets because it’s New york and it’s close to his Connecticut home and because owner Steve Cohen is willing to spend like George Steinbrenner’s ghost, what can anyone do about it?
If Lemahieu wants to remain with the yankees, blame it on the ballpark — the hitter-friendly dimensions that have helped make him a very rich man.
Not sure how it serves the Jays to have this information out there, but MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reported on Friday that the team was a stout second to the yankees on Lemahieu, offering four years and us$78 million. Whether that helped push the yanks to the six years and $90 million it took to get him is anyone’s guess, but it’s not a stretch to suggest that the Jays are one of the few teams pushing in the marketplace.
But given that to land a player like Lemahieu, or any of the upper level free agents out there, it’s almost a given the Jays will have to pay a serious premium. With the winter plodding along and pitchers and catchers due to report in less than a month, the urgency just continues to ratchet up.
As of now, the off-season production includes three signings: pitchers AJ Cole on a minor-league deal and robbie ray, who still counts as a reclamation process — albeit a promising one — plus a five-year extension for Shapiro.
The off-season isn’t done, especially with two big guns still remaining. But it’s hard not to feel as though it’s slipping away.
SIGN ’EM UP
First he was the Jays player of the year in 2020 and now Teoscar Hernandez is getting paid.
The team avoided arbitration with the outfielder on Friday, signing Hernandez to a one-year deal worth $4.32 million.
The team’s only other arbitration-eligible player, pitcher ross Stripling, also signed, agreeing to a one-year contract worth $3 million.
The Hernandez deal was a nice reward for a breakout 2020 season in which he led the team with 16 home runs and 34 RBI over the 50 games he played. The native of the dominican republic was eligible for arbitration for the first time in his career after the 28-year-old earned $578,600 last season.
SIGN ’EM UP, PART 2
The Jays made what they hope will be splash on the opening day of MLB’S international signing period on Friday.
A Jays source confirms a report the team has landed shortstop Manuel Beltre to a deal worth $2.6 million. The teenager from the dominican republic is rated 24th in MLB Pipeline’s list of international prospects.