Big League Chew: Blue Jays Off Season

Ryan Mueller (@MuellerRyan11) and I (@JaysFromCouch) are back with our Big League Chew. This series allows us to debate many Blue Jays topics back and forth. Rarely do we agree, but the point is to offer some interesting debate to engage the brain.

This week, being that it is our first time back after a long hiatus, we thought we’d sort of chime in on the off season and how it has played out. There has been so much debate this winter about the moves the Blue Jays made and even more about the moves they haven’t made. The winter started off fast and furious with Adam Lind being dealt for Marco Estrada. Russell Martin was signed to a 5yr/$82M deal, Brett Lawrie (plus) was shipped to Oakland for Josh Donaldson, J.A. Happ was dealt to Seattle for Michael Saunders. There were waiver claims, minor league deals and plenty of rumors flying. As the winter dragged on, it became more and more quiet and increasingly clear that things were not going to continue to be aggressive and Earth shattering.  

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When the season ended, there were clear targets and goals for this team: the bullpen, second base, left field, etc. It would appear that the Blue Jays addressed none of their big concerns in bringing in Martin and Donaldson. They’ve improved the team, but still have not solved their concerns. The bullpen, with no major additions, is still a question mark. The second base situation is just as murky as it was when the season ended.

Because there is so much to talk about, we limited it to 3 topics for conversation. 1) Best move this offseason 2) Biggest disappointment and 3) the future of GM, Alex Anthopoulos.

As always, we welcome your comments and feedback. So, sit back, relax, read and enjoy!