A free-agent search with feeling
Toronto needs to be careful not to change clubhouse camaraderie
There is a script the Blue Jays wrote at the beginning of the off-season, a first step on the path to their ideal 2021 roster.
It took into consideration the current team, the alternatives and the opportunities that could come the Jays’ way. They weighed actual cost and opportunity cost. They felt fortunate that they could be flexible on how to make the team better, thanks to a young, deep and versatile roster, and the added protection they boast at the highest levels of the minor leagues.
The ideal scenario for the Jays could be adding a starter, a shortstop, a centre-fielder, or some combination of the three. The Jays have been linked to practically every type of player and almost every big name this off-season. They have already re-signed left-hander Robbie Ray and were close to another deal this week, general manager Ross Atkins said Thursday. Atkins is trying to balance going after impact players early on while also thinking about opportunities that could present themselves later.
One thing the Jays shouldn’t sacrifice as they ponder their path, though, is genuine interest in joining the club, which could be more difficult to assess than ever because of the virtual nature of this year’s dealings.
“That’s not always the easiest thing to gauge because every personality’s different, every agent’s different, and their needs and desires and communication styles are different, especially in a pandemic,” Atkins said as this week’s virtual GM meetings wrapped up, though he was still fielding calls and texts as he spoke to the media over Zoom.
Much was made about the connection inside the Jays clubhouse this season, as Toronto’s players and staff navigated a year derailed by the global coronavirus pandemic, got off to a rough start once games finally began and then turned the tide to become a playoff team for the first time in four years.
The camaraderie, which has been developing in earnest since the 2019 season, was hardly the lone reason for the Jays’ success but it was certainly a factor.
First baseman Rowdy Tellez raved about it in early September, calling the Toronto clubhouse the best he had ever been in, filled with a great group of people who really want the same thing.
“We don’t have an ego, and that’s the most important part,” Tellez said at the time.
The 2021 season isn’t shaping up to be all that much easier for the Jays. It will still be played in the midst of a pandemic with uncertainties leading up to opening day, like whether or not the team will play at home in Canada. If Major League Baseball goes with a regular 162-game schedule next year, a first for many on the young roster, Toronto will face more highs and lows than in 2020’s 60-game set. And expectations will only mount following this year’s playoff berth.
So while the Jays will prioritize nabbing the best player out there, the ideal candidate should also be expected to fit with this team, to preserve that intangible togetherness and us-against-the-world defiance that can serve young groups well as they go after unseating their more established opponents.
Ensuring that will likely come down to the relationships Atkins and the Jays created long before the off-season began. The on-field data of any newcomer is readily available but establishing that he will fit off the field as well will require extra legwork.
“What we’ve learned over the pandemic is how to better interact virtually,” Atkins said earlier this week. “I think, if we didn’t have our relationships, it would be extremely difficult to get business done but because we have history together, we have trust, we have an understanding of how different teams work, what expectations are, different styles of roster construction and player analysis, we are relatively efficient even without those interactions.”
Atkins said he knows a deal is right when he feels sincerity from a player, agent or team. Virtual or not, it’s a feeling he should be searching for again this off-season.
“That authentic connection is very important to us and when we do feel that, it excites us.”