Toronto Blue Jays Morning Brew – Bautista on Trade Talk, Creative Payroll Management, and Good Prospects

May 31, 2013; San Diego, CA, USA; Toronto Blue Jays right fielder Jose Bautista (19) during his at bat in the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY SportsWe keep telling ourselves that this is exactly how Alex Anthopoulos operates. When he makes a move for the Toronto Blue Jays, he does so with stealth and mystery, and he completes the move with a sudden slice from his ninja sword.

However, we as fans were spoiled a year ago by an offseason filled with excitement and intrigue. It wasn’t about who Anthopoulos was going to pick up, but who he was going to pick up NEXT.

Maybe that created an unfair precedent for this offseason, but we want more. Especially after the failures of last season, we want assurances that this team is still inclined to move forward. We want to know that a bad outcome will not discourage the team from trying to find the right pieces to finish the puzzle.

We want closure.

So we’re a bit surprised when the offseason starts off slowly, but in the end, we still hold out hope that things will work out. We just need to stay on the bandwagon and see where the final stop is.

Until then, we can check in with the rest of the Blue Jays universe and see what else is cooking around the web.

Over at SportsNet, the man of debunkery (I’m totally making that word up and sticking with it) Shi Davidi talks to Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista and discusses how trade rumors affect the big bopper, a fan’s letter, and the failures of 2013. Here’s my personal favorite:

"“All those losses (from 2013) are totally on the players. All that heat that’s on Alex and Gibby – they don’t deserve it. We should be getting a lot more heat as players, and that’s why the focus should be on each individual showing up ready to go and playing better than they did last year.”"

Gregor Chisholm at MLB.com takes a look at the Blue Jays from a different vein, and questions what Anthopoulos will have to do to make the moves he needs to in order to turn the Blue Jays into the contender we all see them being. Specifically, the payroll creativity that will be needed to add any significant components. Those creative moves would entail moving J.P. Arencibia, Ricky Romero, J.A. Happ, and maybe even Adam Lind. Hey, we can dream right?!

Elsewhere on Sportsnet, Ben Nicholson-Smith runs down his Blue Jays notebook and takes a look at the latest in Blue Jays rumors and notes. Specifically, he takes note of what Bernie Pleskoff and Jim Callis had to say about Blue Jays prospect Aaron Sanchez. Suddenly, a strong AFL performance by Sanchez has vaulted him back into the land of serious pitching prospect, which should excite Blue Jays fans to no end.

Thom Tsang at Rant Sports dials up a look at Cubs’ starter Jeff Samardzija and what his possible availability could mean to the Blue Jays. While I wouldn’t mind landing Samardzija, I have a feeling his price tag would be prohibitive for the Blue Jays, and quite frankly, I like the idea of pursuing Doug Fister better.

And on a final note of trade talk for this morning, our neighbor and good buddy Travis Bateman at Tip of the Tower isn’t too excited about the possible cost it will take to land sleeper catcher Ryan Hannigan. There is upside in acquiring Hanigan, but the Reds’ need to get a “good prospect” leaves a little bit of wonder to interpretation. With the catching market becoming more and more saturated, the thought that the Reds could be looking for anything more than a “B” prospect would be tough to entertain.