Toronto Blue Jays: The rebuild has officially come to a close

After a few painstaking years of watching fan favourites leave and prospects learn the MLB ropes, the Toronto Blue Jays front office has finally seen their rebuild come to a close with some high profile free-agent signings and the makings of a playoff-contending club this off-season.

When Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins joined the Toronto Blue Jays organization prior to the 2016 season, they inherited a team that had gone all-in for playoff glory and was left with a veteran lineup and a depleted farm system.

While the Blue Jays came away empty-handed, the inevitable seemed on the horizon after the 2016 playoffs and I don’t think many Blue Jays fans were mentally prepared for what was about to happen.

Not a single player from that playoff roster remains on the Blue Jays organization today, and many of the fan favourites are either no longer in baseball or have moved on to other organizations, whether it be via trade or free agency. Josh Donaldson was traded away, Kevin Pillar was traded away, Edwin Encarnacion left via free agency; you get the gist.

The end result from these veterans leaving over the course of the past 3-5 years was a rebuild, a move that saw the organization focus their energy on restocking the farm system and letting the younger core gain some momentum in the big leagues, albeit resulting in some tough win-loss records in the process. Fans started to become frustrated, players started to become overly scrutinized, but the Blue Jays front office stayed their course, continuing to push for prospects and players under control while being named called all the names in the book during the process.

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What emerged from this rebuild was a talented farm built core, centered around the likes of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, Danny Jansen, Cavan Biggio, and a host of other young talented players that were either drafted or signed by the Blue Jays organization. A group of men that battled their way through the levels of the farm system only to find themselves on the MLB stage, getting acclimated to the life of one of the toughest leagues of professional baseball in front of the entire countries watchful eyes. There were some hiccups, there were some position changes, but there were also some great moments like Biggio’s hit for the cycle or Jansen being named a gold glove finalist (amongst other accomplishments by the other Blue Jays prospects).

Then things started to change last season. The winds started to shift along the top of the Rogers Centre dome.

The Blue Jays from office would make a splash and sign pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu, an ace to anchor the rotation for the next four years and one of the biggest organizational free agent signings in recent memory. There was also officially no more playoff reminders left on the team, with Justin Smoak and Marcus Stroman moving on during the season/off-season. The prospects had a year under their belt and were moving into their sophomore seasons, even if it was a shortened one due to COVID-19.

By the end of 2020, the Toronto Blue Jays found themselves in the playoffs for the first time since 2016, and the roster consisted mostly of players who had been part of the rebuild. There were a few veterans brought in throughout the season like Jonathan Villar, Robbie Ray, and Taijuan Walker, all of whom were there to help with the playoff push, but most of the roster was made up of internal prospects who were experiencing post-season baseball for the first time in their young careers.

The Blue Jays would eventually lose to the Tampa Bay Rays during that Wild Card series, but if you were to ask fans if they thought the team would be in the playoffs at the start of the season, many would have said no (a pat on the back for expanded playoffs as well, couldn’t have done it without ya). While it wasn’t a World Series trophy, it was definitely a step in the right direction.

Now we fast forward to today. The day the rebuild can finally be closed. A chapter in the book of Blue Jays history.

The Blue Jays first made news a few months ago, bringing Ray back on a one year deal, a fine addition to the starting rotation. Then the free agent news slowed down until this past week, when the Blue Jays added some members to the bullpen in Tyler Chatwood and Kirby Yates.

This gave the fans some hope, as the Blue Jays had missed out on other free agents like D.J. LeMahieu and Kevin Gausman and were starting to think that the front office would come up empty on their earlier season statements. While Yates and Chatwood weren’t the biggest news break signings, it was again another step in the right direction. But Blue Jays fan wanted more.

And then came the big fish in the pond: George Springer.

The man that many Blue Jays fans had wanted right from the off-season get-go. The free agent that had some saying there was no way he was coming to Toronto. The one that fans said would be a great addition to the team if Rogers and the Blue Jays would just spend some money for once.

While the deal is still pending a physical, the Blue Jays agreed to shell out $150 million over six years to the former World Series MVP, a move that signals to fans and to the team that the tides are changing. That the Blue Jays are ready to take a team from the rebuilding stages to the playoff contention stages with a roster mixed with some experienced players but also some talented youth with only a few years of MLB baseball under their belt.

Does the Springer signing make the Blue Jays automatic World Series champions for 2021? Of course not. But as a Blue Jay fan, this signing should get you excited. All the signings this off-season should get you excited. The young core that this team has rebuilt over the past five years should get you excited.

Let’s not forget the Blue Jays also possess one of the top farm systems in the league and still hung onto those players while grabbing others like Yates and Springer. Who knows, the off-season isn’t even over yet and there are still some names on the free-agent marquee like Kolten Wong, Michael Brantley, and Trevor Bauer (if Rogers is really wanting to open the wallet).

The Toronto Blue Jays have graduated to the next step in the program. The team is ready to face a new season with an outlook that should have them looking for October baseball and not settling for anything less. The core is now entering their sophomore and junior seasons and a host of other talented players are on the way like Austin Martin and Jordan Groshans, not to mention a full season with Nate Pearson and possibly Alejandro Kirk on the main roster as well.

It is time to get hyped about the Toronto Blue Jays this upcoming season. It is time to bring the World Series back North of the border. It might not happen this year or maybe the next, but the time is right for this team to contend in the playoffs and hopefully bring another parade down the streets of Toronto in the near future.