Anthopoulos’s best and worst Jays moves,
Here’s a look at the best, worst and yet-to-be-determined moves in Alex Anthopoulos’ six years as Blue Jays general manager:
THE GOOD
Nov. 28, 2014: Acquires Josh Donaldson from the Oakland Athletics for Brett Lawrie, Kendall Graveman, Sean Nolin and Franklin Barreto.
More than the frenzy of deals at this year’s trade deadline, Anthopoulos’s acquisition of MVP candidate Josh Donaldson set the stage for this year’s drought-busting playoff run.
Feb. 17, 2011: Signs Jose Bautista to five-year, $65 million (U.S.) contract extension.
Anthopoulos bet that Bautista’s 2010 breakout was no fluke and in so doing signed a franchise player to an extremely team-friendly deal that would pay him well under market value.
Jan. 21, 2011: Trades Vernon Wells to L.A. Angels for Mike Napoli and Juan Rivera.
Wells was among the Jays’ best outfielders in a generation, but as his performance declined his bloated and backloaded contract was considered an immovable albatross. Anthopoulos, however, found a taker in the L.A. Angels.
2010-2015: Rebuilding farm system. Anthopoulos inherited one of the worst farm systems in baseball when he took over the Jays and he transformed it into one of the best. The fact he traded 11 minor-league players at this year’s trade deadline was a testament to the organization’s prospect capital.
Nov. 1, 2014: Acquires Marco Estrada from the Milwaukee Brewers for Adam Lind.
Coming off a season in which he allowed the most home runs in the majors, Estrada was an unexpected boon for the Jays’ rotation, serving a key role down the stretch and pitching remarkably in a pair of playoff elimination games.
THE BAD
Dec. 16, 2009: Trades Roy Halladay to the Philadelphia Phillies for Kyle Drabek, Travis d’Arnaud and Michael Taylor.
At the time it looked like Anthopoulos made out alright, netting a trio of highly touted prospects for the franchise ace.
But this deal has soured in hindsight.
While Taylor, through a series of trades, became Devon Travis and d’Arnaud was part of the package for R.A. Dickey, the centrepiece of the deal, Kyle Drabek, flamed out and was released this season.
Nov. 3, 2012: Trades Mike Aviles and Yan Gomes to the Cleveland Indians for Esmil Rogers.
A minor deal at the time, this one came back to bite Anthopoulos as Gomes developed into a top-notch catcher with Cleveland.
Nov. 8, 2012: Signs Maicer Izturis to three-year, $9 million deal.
Before signing Russell Martin to a five-year deal this off-season, Anthopoulos’s largest free-agent signing was a three-year pact with infielder Maicer Izturis, whose tenure in Toronto was marked by injury, anonymity and disappointment.
Nov. 19, 2012: Acquires Emilio Bonifacio, Mark Buehrle, Josh Johnson, Jose Reyes and John Buck from the Miami Marlins for Justin Nicolino, Henderson Alvarez, Anthony DeSclafani, Yunel Escobar, Adeiny Hechavarria, Jake Marisnick and Jeff Mathis.
It was a franchise-altering trade aimed at making the Jays instant contenders. In the end it was a flop, with only Mark Buehrle living up to expectations. The prospects sent the other way, meanwhile, all look like legit big leaguers, with slick-fielding shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria the biggest loss of all.
Dec. 17, 2012: Acquires R.A. Dickey, Josh Thole and Mike Nickeas from the New York Mets for Noah Syndergaard, Travis d’Arnaud, John Buck and Wuilmer Becerra.
This was to be the cherry on top of the blockbuster Marlins trade, but it too backfired. While Dickey proved durable and decent over the past three seasons, he’s never been the frontline starter Anthopoulos thought he was getting. Syndergaard and d’Arnaud, meanwhile, are starring with Mets in the World Series.
JURY STILL OUT
The following moves certainly paid off for the Jays in the short term as they ended the franchise’s 22-year postseason drought and won their first division title since1993. But time will tell whether they were the right moves in the long run.
July 28, 2015: Acquires Troy Tulowitzki and LaTroy Hawkins for Jeff Hoffman, Jesus Tinoco, Miguel Castro and Jose Reyes.
Swapping Reyes for Tulowitzki in the present is a no-doubt, slam dunk for the Jays. But what if Hoffman, whom the Jays selected with their ninth-overall pick in 2014, becomes a dominant ace?
July 30, 2015: Acquires David Price from the Detroit Tigers for Daniel Norris, Matt Boyd and Jairo Labourt.
The Jays probably don’t win the division without Price, so even if Daniel Norris blossoms into a frontline starter it’s hard to say it wasn’t worth it.
Then again, if Price walks this offseason, are the Jays going to regret parting with six years of Norris for three months of Price?