Blue Jays: Ranking the offseason checklist priorities

4- The Bullpen

There’s no doubt that the Blue Jays could use some bullpen reinforcements this offseason, but I’m more than comfortable with them addressing the other areas first.

I say that for two reasons. The first is that the Jays are starting from a fairly decent spot to begin with. They’ll return a group that includes Rafael Dolis, Jordan Romano, Ryan Borucki, Shun Yamaguchi, and likely A.J. Cole. There are also plenty of other arms in the organization that will contribute to the bullpen next year, so the cupboards aren’t totally bare.

The other reason is that I’ve grown to trust Atkins and the front office when it comes to finding low-cost relievers. Whether it was guys like Dolis, Cole, or Anthony Bass in 2020, or others like Daniel Hudson, David Phelps, Justin Shafer, or Jason Adam from the year before. They’ve had a good eye for acquiring low-cost relievers, and it has often come late in the offseason.

In an ideal world the Blue Jays would bring back someone like Bass to help shore up the back of the bullpen, and maybe even add another elite arm to the mix. I believe in Romano’s ability as a closer and Dolis handled the role fine in 2020, but someone like Brad Hand would give them some nice depth to work with, especially from the left side.

However, if the Blue Jays decide to leave the bullpen to the bottom of their priority list for now, I certainly understand. There are more important areas to address.

3- Outfield/Defence

On one hand, the Blue Jays are arguably already set with their outfield picture in 2021. They have a returning trio of Teoscar Hernandez, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., and Randal Grichuk, and potential reserves like Jonathan Davis and maybe even Derek Fisher. They’re not a perfect group, but they got the the job done in 2020 for the most part.

That said, the Blue Jays have coveted a strong glove in centre field for a few years now, pretty much since the departure of Kevin Pillar. Grichuk has been an adequate choice up the middle, but adding an elite defensive outfielder to the mix could move the middle in a real way for the Blue Jays.

Of course, they’d likely have to make a trade from their current roster in order to make that work. That doesn’t necessarily mean that an outfielder would have to be traded, as they could give someone like Hernandez more regular at-bats as the designated hitter, but it would require some shuffling of the deck.

Alternatively, the Blue Jays could decide that the greater defensive need is in the infield. There have been shortstops connected to them in the rumour mill like Francisco Lindor, and Andrelton Simmons, but it will probably take a solid upgrade to move Bo Bichette off of shortstop.

There are a few solid options like George Springer and Jackie Bradley Jr. available on the free agent market, and the Jays have been rumoured to have some interest in the former, which makes sense. They’re at a stage where they need to improve in more specific ways, and while the Blue Jays have a decent outfield trio already, you can always get a little bit better.

2- Third Base (or, another infield spot?)

As I’ve already mentioned, the Blue Jays have explored a variety of ways to get better already this offseason. They’re not limited themselves to strictly looking at options to fill the holes on the roster, and it makes sense. They’ve always prioritized flexibility, and they have that with players like Cavan Biggio.

However, right now the obvious hole is at third base. Biggio could shift to the hot corner if necessary, but that feels less than ideal on a full-time basis, even if he looked fine there last year. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. reportedly has designs on moving back to his old position, but just yesterday I wrote about why I think that’s not going to happen, regardless of what kind of shape he gets himself into.

The Blue Jays could elect to bring back Travis Shaw on another one-year deal, and if they go that route it’s likely that they believe one or both of Austin Martin or Jordan Groshans could be ready by 2022. I don’t think they’ll settle for Shaw next season though, so I’d look for a change at the position one way or another.

The thing they’ll likely prioritize as much as anything will be defence, as they’ll need better production from the infield group as a whole with their gloves. If that means that Biggio or even Bichette has to move for a season or longer, that seems to be on the table. I’m not so sure I’m fond of the idea of moving Bichette, but that all depends on the player coming in.

Because of the flexibility of the roster the open mind of the front office, it’s pretty hard to predict how they’ll fill their vacate infield position. That said, I’m guessing it’s one of the top priorities.

1- Starting Rotation

Last but not least, I’m sure you could have guessed that I’d have the starting rotation at the the top of the list. There’s good reason for that.

As of today, if I were to predict the starting five for the Blue Jays it would include Hyun Jin Ryu, Nate Pearson, Robbie Ray, Tanner Roark, and Ross Stripling. However, it’s well known that the Blue Jays are looking to add at least one impact starter this offseason, and maybe even two. They’ve already retained Ray on a one-year, eight million dollar pact, but the work is far from over.

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It might mean that the Blue Jays bring back Taijuan Walker, who was very successful during his short tenure with the club after a deadline deal trade from the Mariners. The 28-year-old had a successful season after missing a lot of time to injury earlier in his career, and he’d be a nice option to retain. There hasn’t been much connecting the Jays to top-tier arms like Trevor Bauer, Masahiro Tanaka, or Charlie Morton, but they have been rumoured to be sniffing around Jake Odorizzi, and more recently with J.A. Happ.

Depending on who could be available, the trade route might be the better bet for the Blue Jays when it comes to the rotation. They have plenty of minor league talent if they find the right trade target, it’s just a matter of finding a top-tier arm to acquire, and that’s easier said than done. It’s possible the Rangers could be talked into parting with Lance Lynn, and maybe even the Cubs would discuss moving Yu Darvish if they’re going to blown things up, although that would come with a huge cost. Maybe there’s another club that finds they need to trim payroll as the winter goes on.

One way or another, the Blue Jays should have the resources they need to improve the rotation, and it remains as their greatest need. That being said, do you remember a time when the rotation wasn’t the top priority? As they say, you can never have too much pitching, the Blue Jays could certainly use a few more arms.