Blue Jays: Three great ways to cap off an exciting roster

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TORONTO, CANADA – DECEMBER 4: President Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins pose for a photo after speaking to the media as Atkins 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) /

The Blue Jays have made some exciting additions to the roster this offseason, but there’s still time to cap things off in an even greater way.

Ross Atkins and company have already filled a couple of major needs. They’ve upgraded in centre field and in the lineup with the presence of George Springer after he signed a franchise-record six-year, 150 million dollar pact this week. They also brought in Kirby Yates on a one-year, 5.5 million dollar pact, and Tyler Chatwood for three million, which should raise the ceiling of the bullpen considerably.

If the Blue Jays did nothing else this offseason, I think they could be sneaky contenders for a playoff spot. That might sound like an undersell, but there are two areas that still need to be addressed. If Atkins can bring in another infielder and improve the starting rotation, then we might even be talking about the Jays as favourites in the AL East, and that’s saying a lot.

As of this writing, spotrac.com has the Blue Jays down for a payroll of just shy of 78 million. Once George Springer’s contract is officially done and added, we’re looking at around 103 million, assuming he’s paid as equal amount throughout his contract and receives 25 million in 2021. The Blue Jays have gone as high as 160-170 million in the past, but I’m going to be conservative for now and say they set a ceiling around 150 million for this season. They’re still not going to be playing at home to at least start the year, and the 2021 campaign will come with it’s financial challenges with an ongoing pandemic.

If that’s the case, and who knows if I’m even close, I’m going to give a maximum of 47 million to cap off what has been a great offseason for Atkins and the Blue Jays’ front office. Granted, it took a lot longer than most of us cared for in order to make an impact signing, but that hardly matters now. They’ve already made a good team a lot better, and with a few 2-3 more additions, they could even be great in 2021.

Let’s have a look at three plausible ideas for how that could happen.

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