Blue Jays: Setting realistic goals for a wacky season

There are a lot of things out the Blue Jays’ control in 2020, but there are still realistic and attainable goals to achieve. What are they?

As of this writing on Monday evening, the Blue Jays still haven’t confirmed where they will be having their spring training workouts, or where they’ll be playing their regular season games. The government of the province of Ontario has given their approval for the Blue Jays to work out of the Rogers Centre, but the team is still waiting on the Federal government for final approval before they can make concrete plans.

Add that on top of everything else that the 2020 “season” has thrown at the Blue Jays, and it would be understandable if they’re having a hard time focusing on what’s important right now. That said, if all goes according to plan there will be regular season games in a less than a month, and that means the players in particular need to start preparing both mentally and physically.

For a lot of players and even whole organizations, part of preparing means setting goals, even at a time when there are a pile of variables. For the Blue Jays, what kind of realistic goals should they look to attain this year? With the wild card nature of the 60-game schedule anything is possible, and I don’t know that they should limit their imaginations. However, as a former teacher I still think it’s important to focus on some SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely).

What kind of smart goals could the Blue Jays look to achieve in 2020?

Growth for the core, key members of the roster

As much as I’ve been bummed about the idea that there might not be baseball in 2020, it was especially difficult to accept as a Blue Jays fan. After a tough 67-95 rebuilding season last year, I was legitimately excited about the potential of this young team this year, even if I didn’t necessarily expect them to compete for the post-season.

I was especially upset because the young core members of the team would lose a key developmental year, and thankfully it looks like that won’t be the case after all. For youngsters like Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, Cavan Biggio, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Danny Jansen, Reese McGuire, and yes, even Nate Pearson, the 2020 campaign is about growth toward the ultimate goal of the franchise.

You can make an overarching comment like “positive growth” for all players, but that means a little something different for each individual. For Vlad Jr. it might mean improving on his defence at third base, and maybe staying healthy for the entire shortened season. Gurriel Jr. will want to continue his outfield defence after switching to left field full-time last year, and others like Jansen will look to improve on his performance at the plate, hopefully matching what he’s capable of behind it. For Pearson, it’ll be about making that final leap and announcing his presence as a force to be reckoned with at the highest level.

Now that the Blue Jays have one of the younger rosters in the league, it was really important for these potential impact players to gain some valuable experience this year. They may not have had the 162 game schedule that they’re used to, but 60 is better than nothing, and it should make a big difference.

How to fill the outfield

One of the major topics throughout the off-season for the Blue Jays was if they would address their outfield at all, specifically in centre field. The type of opportunities that Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins were looking for never materialized, so it appears they’ll return a starting group that will include Gurriel Jr., Randal Grichuk, and Teoscar Hernandez. They’ll have others competing for roster and bench roles including Derek Fisher, Anthony Alford, Billy McKinney, and Jonathan Davis.

We’ve talked about how the 2020 season could be a defining year for several of these players before, and I still think that could and even should be the case. Chances are that Gurriel Jr. will be locked into left field for the foreseeable future, assuming he can replicate or even improve on his offensive performance in the big leagues so far.

However, when it comes to Grichuk and Hernandez, I’m not convinced that the Blue Jays are sold on them for the long term, and they could both to a lot to improve their standing with the organization that way this season. Grichuk is under contract through the 2023 season, but his salary shouldn’t prohibit the Blue Jays from trading him later on if they decide that’s the way to go. As for Hernandez, he won’t become a free agent until after the 2023 season either, so there is still plenty of him to add value to the organization as long as he can continue to improve his defence.

With Austin Martin having been selected in the first round of this year’s draft and presumed to be ticketed for centre field in a couple of years, the Blue Jays likely want to figure out which of their players they’re going to keep around for the long term, and if some of them may be better used in a trade. I imagine they’ll give Fisher another good look this year before making a decision, and hopefully the same will happen for Alford, but there are only so many spots when it comes to the big picture of this rebuild, and this season could give the front office a few answers they’ve been looking for.

Surpass the Red Sox

I know I’ve already talked about how many variables and wild cards there could be this year, but I still think the Blue Jays should set one goal, even if it’s not the main focus.

I’d like to see them surpass the Red Sox this year, and I think it’s entirely possible.

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I’ve already talked about what I like about the Blue Jays’ roster enough, so let’s have a peak at the difference between this year’s version of the Red Sox and the dominant club we’ve seen over the last few years. First, they’ll be without Mookie Betts and David Price who were traded to the Dodgers this past winter. Sure, they got Alex Verdugo back in return, but the rest of the pieces won’t be ready to help in 2020.

They’ll also be without their staff ace and best starting pitcher in Chris Sale who had Tommy John surgery earlier this year. Without both Sale and Price, the Red Sox have a pretty vulnerable rotation, and it was an area of need last season before they lost the impact arms.

At just 84-78 last year, the Red Sox looked like they needed to do a bit of a re-tool in order to push for another title, and that’s exactly what the front office kickstarted by trading Betts and Price to the Dodgers. They still have plenty of talent with pieces like Rafael Devers, Xander Bogaerts, and more, but they’re as vulnerable as they’ve been in several years. I don’t expect it’ll remain that way for too long, and I’d love to see the Blue Jays make a statement this year and finish at least 3rd out of their AL East counterparts. It would be wonderful if they could best the Yankees and the Rays as well, but let’s take things one step at a time.

What kind of goals would you like to see the Blue Jays set for this strange season ahead? Let us know in the comments section below.