Blue Jays: Ranking the offseason checklist priorities

TORONTO, CANADA - DECEMBER 4: Ross Atkins speaks to the media as he is introduced as the new general manager of the Toronto Blue Jays during a press conference on December 4, 2015 at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
TORONTO, CANADA - DECEMBER 4: Ross Atkins speaks to the media as he is introduced as the new general manager of the Toronto Blue Jays during a press conference on December 4, 2015 at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
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The Blue Jays have an exciting young core in place, and the opportunity for Ross Atkins to put the finishing touches on a championship contender. What are the priorities in order to make that happen?

Even if the Blue Jays didn’t add another player to their roster ahead of the 2021 campaign, I believe they could already field a competitive team. However, after making the postseason in 2020, competitive isn’t going to be enough to satisfy anyone next year.

With that in mind, there have been plenty of reports that the Blue Jays are among the more aggressive teams this offseason when it comes to free agency, and likely also on the trade rumour mill. As they usually are, they’ve been linked to having interest in a lot of the bigger available names, but this time around it feels like they’re doing more than just window shopping.

I believe that the Blue Jays are sincere in their efforts to add at least one or two impact players this offseason, whether it’s through free agency or the trade route. However, there will be a limit to what they can do, especially after a season that saw no gate revenue, and the need to significantly upgrade Sahlen Field in Buffalo so they could play their home games there in 2020.

As such, the Blue Jays will have to prioritize their various needs. While it sounds like Ross Atkins is open to improving the roster based on the best available opportunities, let’s have a look at the areas that will need a boost one way or another. If I were making a top five list, I’d start at number five with simple experience for the young core, so allow me to explain the other four that round things out.

WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 27: Jordan Romano #68 of the Toronto Blue Jays pitches against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on July 27, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 27: Jordan Romano #68 of the Toronto Blue Jays pitches against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on July 27, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images) /

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.

BUFFALO, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 08: Lourdes Gurriel Jr. #13 of the Toronto Blue Jays, Randal Grichuk #15, and Jonathan Davis #49 celebrate after defeating the New York Yankees 2-1 at Sahlen Field on September 08, 2020 in Buffalo, New York. The Blue Jays are the home team and are playing their home games in Buffalo due to the Canadian government’s policy on coronavirus (COVID-19). (Photo by Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images)
BUFFALO, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 08: Lourdes Gurriel Jr. #13 of the Toronto Blue Jays, Randal Grichuk #15, and Jonathan Davis #49 celebrate after defeating the New York Yankees 2-1 at Sahlen Field on September 08, 2020 in Buffalo, New York. The Blue Jays are the home team and are playing their home games in Buffalo due to the Canadian government’s policy on coronavirus (COVID-19). (Photo by Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images) /

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.

PHILADELPHIA, PA – SEPTEMBER 20: Bo Bichette #11 of the Toronto Blue Jays in action against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on September 20, 2020 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Blue Jays defeated the Phillies 6-3. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA – SEPTEMBER 20: Bo Bichette #11 of the Toronto Blue Jays in action against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on September 20, 2020 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Blue Jays defeated the Phillies 6-3. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

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.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 15: Taijuan Walker #00 of the Toronto Blue Jays pitches during the first inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on September 15, 2020 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 15: Taijuan Walker #00 of the Toronto Blue Jays pitches during the first inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on September 15, 2020 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /

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.

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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.

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