Blue Jays: What could Rogers do with their saved payroll?

This season for the Toronto Blue Jays has been one of rebuilding and planning for the future. To no one’s surprise, their payroll has been slashed to the tune of $30 million compared to that of last season.

It’s hard to imagine, but if you look way back to 2011, that season the Blue Jays spent just under $73.5 million on their entire roster. In 2013 that number had almost doubled to over $131 million. By 2017 their payroll had topped out at $175.6 million in what would be the last hurrah for then the MLB’s oldest roster.

Last season we saw a slight decrease to just below $151 million, and this season we are projected to finish with a number near the $116 million mark, over $30 million less than they spent last season.

So what is Rogers going to do with all that extra saved money you say?

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Spending money on bringing in free agent players seems to be a possibility, although that’s not going to happen anytime before this off-season. The next class of free agents does include some gems of the likes of Madison Bumgarner, Gerrit Cole, J.D. Martinez, among others. All of those players could help contribute to making next season suck a little less for Blue Jays fans.

Then there is the $20 million that the Jays are on the hook for to renovate Dunedin Stadium. That undertaking will likely eat into any savings from this season, but who are we kidding: this is Rogers we are talking about.

Rogers Communications is the 18th largest company in Canada and is owned by the 5th wealthiest Canadian: Ed Rogers III. He has an estimated net worth of over US 5.7 billion, and to give you an idea of how wealthy that really is, Ed Rogers III has more money than both of Yankees owner Harold Steinbrenner($3.2 Billion) and Red Sox owner John W Henry ($2.6 Billion). So saving money shouldn’t exactly be top of mind when there is a statue of your father out front of the stadium.

Rogers could decide to spend the money on much-needed renovations for their home park Rogers Centre. Blue Jays management has been tight-lipped about possible renovations for the thirty-year-old stadium in recent months, yet that does not mean that they are not making plans behind the scenes. Considering Rogers were able to buy Skydome for a paltry $25 million way back in 2004, and still get 15 years of play out of the ageing park, with a modest investment they could make renovations a landing spot for any money saved. With the proposed $3.5 billion Oxford Properties mega project being currently proposed right beside Rogers Centre, the timing might be perfect for Blue Jays management to pull the trigger on such a vast undertaking.

It’s hard to say how much money the Blue Jays will save in 2019 with a down year at the turnstiles, and with likely less TV revenue.  However, in the name of good fun during a down season, here are a few other things $30 million dollars could buy.

– Ricky Romero‘s entire career earnings ($30.9 million over 9 seasons)

– You could sign Jose Bautista for the league minimum of $400,000 for the next 75 years.

-Supply Blue Jays fans with 30 million free hot dogs at “Loonie Dogs Nights”

-Start the 50/50 draw at $370,000 for all 81 home games in 2020.

-Sign Madison Bumgarner to $150 million 5-year contract

Ok, I slipped that last one in for me.

What do you think Jays Journal readers, how should Rogers spend any saved money from the 2019 season?