Blue Jays: More evidence of a slow developing market

It sounds like the Blue Jays are trying to make some roster upgrades, but Tuesday brought further evidence of just how slow the market is so far this winter.

Remember when most teams were trying to get better every offseason? It seems like there are less free agent “buyers” every year, and this winter is an even more extreme version of that after the 2020 campaign was reduced to just 60 games, and playing without fans. That lack of ticket revenue is an understandable problem for a lot of franchises, and it’s made for an ice-cold start to the free agent season.

Based on reports that have come out about the approach of the Blue Jays’ front office, I’m actually confident that they’ve been trying to make an early, impact addition to the roster. They were in on Kevin Gausman before he accepted the qualifying offer to stay in San Francisco, and lately it sounds like they’ve really ramped up their interest in George Springer, as reports have progressed beyond “just talking”. All that being said, it hasn’t changed how slow the market has developed, and Tuesday brought further evidence to the point.

On Tuesday evening, Ken Rosenthal of MLB on Fox tweeted that the Twins have placed Eddie Rosario on waivers. This is a 29 year old outfielder who hit 32 home runs and had 109 RBI in 2019, and had similar production during last season’s shortened schedule. He’s not as cheap as he used to be, but he’s only projected to make 9.6 million in 2021. In theory, that’s a bargain rate for a power hitter who has averaged around 2.0 bWAR over the course of his six-year career, and yet he could find himself in a new uniform next season.

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It’s strange that the Twins, who are in a current window of contention, would let a solid contributor like Rosario go for nothing. However, it does make some sense if they’d rather allocate their resources to other areas of the roster, and they feel good about the other outfielders in their system. What’s truly surprising to me is that the Twins reached the point that they’ve put him on waivers. What it shows, just like what happened with Cleveland and Brad Hand earlier this offseason, that teams are truly reluctant to spend much money at all so far. In a normal offseason, players like Hand and Rosario would not only find interested trade partners, but probably even rival GM’s who would send over a decent MiLB player or two.

What does this mean for the Blue Jays this winter? One, it reinforces that the market is going to be slow in general, and that they may have some significant opportunities because of their reported willingness to spend. However, it also means that things will likely continue to move at a tepid pace with the top-tier free agents. Their agents don’t want them working with a pool of just 2-3 bidders, and would likely advise for patience until clubs know more about next season. With the Covid-19 pandemic continuing to surge in North America, we’re not guaranteed full baseball stadiums in 2021 at all, or even MLB games in Canada. Variables like that obviously have a lost of significance, so I can understand why patience is being exercised across the board right now.

While it is understandable, it’s also a pretty clear sign that free agents may have a tough time finding market value, and when that happens, they usually wait it out. If the Twins couldn’t find a trade partner for Rosario, and the same with Cleveland and Hand earlier this fall, then it could be a long winter with a cold stove.