Toronto Blue Jays Morning Brew: Bargain Shopping, Budget Cuts, and Blowing Things Up

Sep 29, 2013; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; A general view of Rogers Centre prior to a game between Tampa Bay Rays and the Toronto Blue Jays. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

Twas the end of November and all through the Rogers Centre, not a rumor was stirring, not even minor whisper. So needless to say, the mice are restless, looking to cling on to any scrap they can get their fingers latched on to.

The only problem, it doesn’t appear that any of those minor scraps that pertain to the Toronto Blue Jays are remotely good news.

Take for instance this nugget that made its waves among the Blue Jays twittersphere Friday afternoon. There is concern that, as Rogers Media cuts jobs, that budget cuts may also come to the Toronto Blue Jays operating budget, as noted by Minor Leaguer at Bluebird Banter. Well, that news couldn’t come at a worse time, given the level of unrest the fan base is already exhibiting while waiting for the Blue Jays to find the missing pieces to last season’s puzzle.

Of course, there is an answer to this madness, as our friend Jay Blue at Blue Jays From Away points out. The Blue Jays could decide to just blow things up and end this farce before fans become too invested, right? Wouldn’t that just finish the transformation into the Miami Marlins 2.0?

Then again, there is another direction they could take. According to Michael Grange at Sportsnet, Anthopoulos and the Blue Jays could, well, actually start shopping in the store rather than just drooling on the windows. Instead, he stands by and watches the deeper teams get deeper, while the Blue Jays hole does the same. While other teams are adding Prince Fielder, Ian Kinsler, Peter Bourjos, and Tim Hudson, the Blue Jays made a pre-emptive strike and signed…Dan Johnson. Maybe there is a little bit of truth to that earlier notion of budget cuts.

Maybe that leads to some unexpectedly budget-conscious decisions. Maybe, as Jay Blue points out, the Blue Jays fall back to a man that many of us have forgotten on the Blue Jays depth chart; Chad Jenkins. It isn’ likely to happen, as Jenkins just doesn’t instill the confidence that the rotation needs, but he does give the Blue Jays some interesting depth assistance should injuries arise. He’s certainly earned a chance to contribute.

Speaking of budget-conscious decisions, the San Diego Padres may have made a pretty solid one by signing former Blue Jays starter Josh Johnson to a 1-year deal, as noted by Chris Toman at GameReax. This was the perfect signing for the Padres, and the perfect landing spot for Johnson. The Friars get a veteran pitcher that is motivated to succeed in order to splash back onto the market next winter, while Johnson gets the ultimate pitching environment in which to reestablish his value.

And finally, Johnson isn’t the only pitcher looking to put a lost season behind him. Toronto reliever Sergio Santos feels his is finally in position to do the same, as detailed by Gregor Chisholm at MLB.com. Santos has been hurt for the vast majority of his two seasons in Toronto, but looked good once coming back last season, posting a solid 1.29 ERA, a 0.584 WHIP, and 9.8 K/9 ratio in 29 appearances to close out the season. That performance has lead the Blue Jays to believe they could move a reliever, and possibly Casey Janssen, opening up the closer role again for Santos in 2014.