Blue Jays rebuild? No, we’re not there yet

With the Blue Jays off to a 2-10 start to the 2017, several baseball writers have already indicated that fans should prepare for an inevitable rebuild.

The Blue Jays have started their season worse than any other in franchise history, kicking things off with a 2-10 record. They’ll host the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday for the first of a 3 game series, looking to get things back on track after the horrific start.

In addition to the whole problem with winning, the Blue Jays are already facing several injuries to key players, with Josh Donaldson and Aaron Sanchez both on the DL, and the club awaiting the results of J.A. Happ‘s MRI that he had on Monday. The stuff of nightmares, some might say.

With everything going wrong thus far, there will always be plenty of fans who will overreact. A quick glance at Twitter and you’ll find fans calling for the heads of anyone from President Mark Shapiro to freshly extended manager, John Gibbons. That’s the kind of reaction you’ll get from an excited fan base when you completely nose dive out the gate.

That said, it’s been surprising to see how many respected baseball writers have shared a similar sentiment. Granted, things are bad in Toronto, but it seems like it’s awfully early to start planning the complete tear down and rebuild of a roster that’s qualified for the playoffs in consecutive seasons.

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Yes, the Blue Jays have the oldest roster in the MLB, but there are several key pieces just entering or in their prime, and a tear down would be a waste of the best years of a guy like Aaron Sanchez.

And yet, the call for such a thing has already come from respected sources like Buster Olney of ESPN, Matt Synder of CBSsports.com, and Damian Cox of the Toronto Star, or at least the question of whether the Blue Jays should already be considering such a thing.

It’s a fair consideration to be sure, but not something that should be a legitimate option at this point of the season. After all, there are still 150 games to be played, which is far more than the Blue Jays need in order to make up the deficit they’ve built for themselves.

If you’re thinking that it’s impossible for the club to overcome a start like this, I’d point you to the 2015 season. Yes, the Blue Jays are already an astonishing 6.5 games back of the division leading Baltimore Orioles, but they were 8 (!) games back on July 28th, 2015, only to storm back and win the division by 6 games. In fact, the Blue Jays made up 6.5 games in a staggeringly short time, reaching just 1.5 games back by August 9th of that year.

Looking at that recent history, I would argue that it’s ridiculous to throw out the Blue Jays’ chances so early in the year. Yes, things are about as ugly as they could be right now, but this is still a talented roster and a team with a great deal of time to prove their worth.

Come July if the Blue Jays are still in last place, then yes, I think management will have to seriously consideration selling off some valuable pieces. That said, I’m banking on the Blue Jays being in the thick of things, and being a buyer at the deadline. Call me crazy, but I still believe there’s a chance.

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