BLUE JAYS INTEND TO LEAP FORWARD INTO CONTENTION
Off-season acquisitions have GM Atkins bubbling with optimism at spring training
Drafting and developing are the nuts and bolts of building a major-league contender, especially under the leadership of Toronto Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro and general manager Ross Atkins.
But spending money? That’s the fun part of the job and one that seemed to go missing for the past two years as the team plunged into a deep rebuild.
A more bullish approach to the off-season has at least partly altered that view, however. It was a particularly upbeat Atkins who met the media on Friday morning for the first time since training camp commenced.
“A lot of things that have occurred in player development and scouting, we have seen start to benefit this organization,” Atkins said outside the Jays’ clubhouse. “Having a more aggressive off-season than we’ve had in some time adds to that excitement, adds to that intrigue. It’s one more step in the process to continue to build upon something we feel has the chance to be special.”
Atkins wisely isn’t interested in projecting an overly rosy win total in the aftermath of a 95-loss campaign that was a disaster in so many ways. He does, however, feel confident the team can make the next leap toward contention.
And in keeping with the stated strategy since he was hired as GM in 2015, Atkins reiterated that the draft and development underpinning has been designed to enable sustained success rather than a solo shot at glory.
“It’s not just 2020, it’s what it means for us moving forward for some period of time,” Atkins said.
“How the Houston Astros, the Chicago Cubs, have sustained winning periods for some time, those were decent approaches to it. Ultimately, when we say we’re focused on winning championships, we want it to be multiple (championships).”
Yes, the GM talked about winning championships. And more than one.
And he also suggested there will be an opportunity for more big spending in the near future.
Such talk means nothing, of course, and it’s typical of the tune humming through training camps throughout Florida and Arizona. But for the first February in a few years, there is legitimate reason to expect a notable improvement for the 162 games on deck for the Jays.
Despite a stutter start to camp — including Friday’s announcement that lefty would-be starter Ryan Borucki is once again being shut down due to elbow tightness and the bizarre indecent public exposure charges being faced by catcher Reese McGuire — the needle around this team has shifted to more justifiable optimism.
“If you think of the young core we’ve talked about for a long time and the number of pitching prospects we have in this organization, the room to continue to be aggressive in free agency, the depth of our system ... it’s what we work very hard to make sure is in place for this city and this country,” Atkins said.
“I feel very good about the organization and the health of it.”
By far the most notable move the Jays made this past winter, of course, was the US$80 million they unearthed to secure starter Hyun-Jin Ryu for the next four years. Not surprisingly, Atkins was gushing like a proud parent over Ryu’s first steps in Toronto blue.
“If he repeats what he did last year, that’s a massive impact,” Atkins said in reference to Ryu’s MLB-best 1.92 ERA with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2019. “I think there is a potential for him to really influence this team in a lot of ways.
“His athleticism. His strike throwing. His competitiveness. The way he goes about his preparation. His personality . ... One of the things that really attracted us to Ryu is how much he loves to compete and how much he loves the game.”
If he stays healthy and throws with the precision he showed National League hitters, Ryu could certainly help fast-track the move to competitiveness.
Personally, I wouldn’t want to discount the potential of the young Jays core from enacting a massive turnaround, and certainly many of them believe they can at least flirt with wild card contention in the months ahead.
Atkins wisely won’t go that far, but he clearly believes his team is far closer to big things than it was 12 months ago.
“To put a number on it is a difficult thing to do,” Atkins said. “The position we’re in is a position where we have transitioned some very young, exciting players, and it’s not limited to just one or two.
“There’s a really strong group here. Having the ability to continue to do that and having the depth of pitching that’s coming is exciting.”