Blue Jays: Will Ross Atkins get us any stocking stuffers this year?

Christmas has come early for Blue Jay fans this year, and while the bulk of the work rebuilding the roster has been done, there could be stocking stuffers yet to come.

Over the last few years we’ve gotten used to heading into the Christmas break with a lot of questions about the Blue Jays’ direction. This year is much different, thanks mostly to a free agent market that moved at a much quicker pace.

Instead of looking under the tree and wondering why Santa didn’t visit our house, Blue Jays fans got their presents early. The big one in the corner turned out to be Hyun-Jin Ryu, one of the items right near the top of our wish lists. We’ve already received a few other, smaller gifts as well such as Tanner Roark, Travis Shaw, and Chase Anderson.

Realistically, the front office is actually way ahead of schedule, and at this point I can live with it if they decide to wait until closer to February to put the finishing touches on the roster. That said, I’m also wondering if we’re going to get some late stocking stuffers this year as well.

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I suspect that the work of rebuilding the starting rotation is complete for now, but there are rumours that the Blue Jays could still be interested in David Price, at the right price. More likely, the Blue Jays could continue their work building a bullpen for 2020, or maybe looking at an upgrade in the outfield, specifically in centre field. Who knows, maybe they can still find room for Edwin Encarnacion as well, although that could be a lot more difficult with Shaw in the fold.

The Blue Jays should still have a little bit of payroll space to play with, depending on what ownership has approved the front office to work with. The great news is that the bulk of the important work has been done, especially because the Blue Jays aren’t really expected to compete for a playoff spot in 2020. Even signing a pitcher like Ryu wasn’t necessarily done with 2020 in mind, but rather starting the transformation from a rebuilding club into a contender, which doesn’t happen overnight.

Wherever the Blue Jays go from here, the fan base should be fairly satisfied with the work of the off-season, even if there are at least two more months to go. If we don’t get much more in our stockings this year, let’s not act like spoiled brats. The big gifts we’ve already received under the tree are more than we usually get.