Blue Jays: Building blocks on the current big league roster

The Blue Jays look like they may have some rebuilding to do this offseason, which then begs the question: Of those currently under contract, who should they build around?

Another day and another loss for the Blue Jays, who just can’t seem to solve Tropicana Field and their away games against the Tampa Bay Rays. It drops the Blue Jays record to an ugly 30-37, and another step further behind the competition in the playoff race.

I’m not normally one who likes to focus on the standings so much this early in the year, but even through their struggles last season the Blue Jays were in a better position to contend than they are now. Other than their four game sweep of the Baltimore Orioles, this has been one of the worst teams in baseball. It’s surprising given how much talent there is on paper, but baseball can be funny that way sometimes.

Unless they can catch some serious fire, and in short order, Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins are going to become sellers at this year’s deadline. I even wrote an article yesterday talking about some of the players that could be dealt who are more than just rental players. I count myself among the more optimistic fans that I see around this team, but I’m also a realist and I think it’s time to start shifting focus pretty soon here.

If this group isn’t going to get it done on the diamond, then obviously you start building and focusing on the next generation of this team. That will undoubtedly include minor league stars like Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, and probably others like Anthony Alford and Kevin Smith. There are plenty of other talents that should make an impact as well, such as Danny Jansen, and probably Cavan Biggio too. I could go on, and that’s part of the reason that the Blue Jays may start building more toward this group than their current roster.

There is going to be a solid core in the future, especially when it comes to position players, and Blue Jays fans should take some solace in knowing that exciting days shouldn’t be far behind, even if this season has been a big disappointment. What isn’t yet known however, is who might be around for that next generation of players when they arrive. There are veterans like Russell Martin, Troy Tulowitzki, and others who could still be under contract when they are promoted, but that doesn’t mean they’ll still be on the roster by then either.

What I’m really curious about is who the Blue Jays might see as future building blocks for this team, out of the group that is currently on the big league roster. To me, a building block in this case doesn’t have to be a star player necessarily, but rather someone that the team can count on as a viable piece for the foreseeable future.

Here’s how I see things as the currently stand.

Marcus Stroman

Just yesterday I included Stroman in the list of players that I could see being traded, but I also stated that I don’t see it as a likelihood in his case. I do think there will be a ton of teams asking about him at the deadline, assuming he’s healthy and performing by then, but it should take an awful lot to pry him away from the Blue Jays regardless of where things are at in another six or seven weeks.

With two years remaining before he becomes an unrestricted free agent, the Blue Jays don’t have to move him at all, and there are plenty of reasons not to. He’s talented of course, and that would be the number one reason. However, the 1b reason might be the lack of major league ready starting pitching at the moment, or more importantly for 2019. They have both Stroman and Aaron Sanchez under control for two more years, and an option on Jaime Garcia, but both Marco Estrada and J.A. Happ will be free agents as season’s end. There are others like Sam Gaviglio and Ryan Borucki, but I don’t know that you can count on either for the long term just yet.

Stroman has the type of top of the rotation talent that you could build a group around, but it’ll all come down to how badly he wants to stay in Toronto, and what type of contract they can agree on. He has stated in the past that he would be more than willing to stick around with a contract extension, but talks haven’t begun to that end, as far as we know at least.

Given his contract situation, his talent, and his charismatic demeanour, Stroman strikes me as arguably the best choice as a building block on the current roster, outside of the minor league All-Stars of course. He hasn’t been that in 2018 yet, but I have a hard time believing that he won’t be able to find the form that made him one of the American League’s best pitchers last year. He works too hard not to get back to having success on the mound.

Aaron Sanchez

I already mentioned Sanchez briefly on the last page, and obviously he fits in a similar way to how Stroman would as far as contract control, and rotation needs for 2019.

As far as committing to the right-hander in the long term, it really depends on which lens you look at him through. On one hand, he lead the AL in ERA as recently as 2016, and has the talent to be one of the best starters in baseball when he’s right. On the other, he struggled to stay healthy for all of 2017, and he’s had a hard time finding that same form again since returning to the mound this year. He’s currently 3-5 with a 4,33 ERA and a 1.500 WHIP through his first 13 starts, not exactly where he or the team hoped he would be by the middle of June.

On the plus side, he has been healthy, and with someone as talented as Sanchez it feels like it should be a matter of time before the results start to follow. While he is a Scott Boras client, he’s making just 2.7 million this season according to spotrac.com, and he won’t be outrageously expensive for 2019, or 2020, especially at this rate.

I really do believe it’s just a matter of time before he’s back to dominating major league hitters, and his last two outings against the Orioles and the Tigers were both encouraging, quality starts.

Even if he doesn’t develop into the potential Cy Young winner that we all thought he would/can  become, he should be at least a middle of the rotation arm at the highest level, something that has value for every team. For the Blue Jays who have a bit of a shortage of arms for the immediate future beyond this season, his presence will be something to count on, assuming he doesn’t get dealt or anything silly like that.

The Outfield

While I’m not sure there is a superstar in the mix for the Blue Jays at this time, I think there’s enough talent to make up a pretty solid outfield for the foreseeable future.

I would include Kevin Pillar in this conversation, especially given his age and his relatively cheap contract, but I honestly expect him to be among the names banded about at the trade deadline, especially if he can get back to performing the way he did in April at the plate. I wouldn’t be surprised if he stuck around, but something in my gut says he’ll be in another uniform by 2019, unless this team can somehow make a push for the playoffs this season.

That still leaves a pretty solid group of outfielders to choose from anyway, and I think the Blue Jays should be strong on both sides of the ball if all goes according to plan. We’ve seen highs and lows from the duo of Teoscar Hernandez and Randal Grichuk this season, but both have displayed enough upside to  be excited about their futures, Hernandez in particular of course. Grichuk struggled in mighty fashion to begin the year, but lately he’s been arguably the Blue Jays’ best player.

Grichuk won’t turn 27 until August and has two more years left of contract control, while Hernandez is just 25 and won’t be a free agent until 2024. And in an ideal world, they could each man a corner while they would have Anthony Alford anchoring things up the middle. Alford will have to prove he can make the leap to the big leagues, but his talent is definitely there, and the Blue Jays expect he’ll eventually do just that.

Add in some other pretty decent minor leaguers, and the ability to add through free agency, and the Blue Jays should have the potential for a solid, affordable outfield going forward. Grichuk will need to perform more like the player he has lately than the one we saw in April, but he’s starting to make more believers out of fans of this team. As for Alford and Hernandez, I think it’s just a matter of time before they’re fixtures in this lineup, if that isn’t the case for the latter already.

Roberto Osuna

I hesitated to include him given all that’s going on these days, but I also know how quickly a court proceeding can be forgotten about in the world of sports. I’m not rooting for or against Roberto Osuna, but rather only for justice in whatever happened in his situation with court proceedings, and that’s a topic for another article for sure.

However, for the purposes of this discussion I figured I would include him, mostly because of his contract control and his talent, when he’s on the field of course. Prior to his arrest and being placed on administrative leave, the Mexican born closer was the youngest pitcher to ever reach 100 saves, and was considered among the best in the American League in the role. If not for the recent legal troubles, he’d be a no-doubter on this list, especially at just 23 years old.

However, that status and his career are very much in jeopardy right now, as we really don’t know what’s going to happen to him in the legal system. I’m not going to speculate here, but in a worst case scenario he could face issues with the work visa that he needs in order to play in North America. We’ve watched other big leaguers face legal trouble and be able to return to their jobs after a suspension, but Osuna is facing charges in Canada, which could be a notable difference.

In a best case scenario for the young pitcher, he’ll be able to put whatever happened that day behind him and return to his place as one of the best closers in the game. Even if he’s able to get through the court dates and proceedings without incident, it’s hard to say if the Blue Jays will keep him around Toronto or not, but we’ll see how this all plays out.

If I were going to place a bet on whether Osuna will be a Blue Jays in 2019 or 2020, I’d probably go with a pass, but if he is around I expect he’ll be a fixture on the pitching staff, and in the bullpen. Whether he ever gets that opportunity again, remains to be seen.