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

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.

Load up on former Yankees

I’ve talked about this idea before, and I’m going to expand even further this time. By loading up on some available former Yankees that are now free agents, the Blue Jays could address their needs and have enough money to add two starting pitchers.

I’m going to turn to mlbtraderumors.com’s piece from back in November in order to find a predicted salary, rather than taking my own guess at it. With that in mind, there should be enough money to sign Didi Gregorius to play third base, and a pair of starting pitchers in Masahiro Tanaka and James Paxton.

The more I think about the idea of signing Didi to fill out the infield, the more I like it. It would come down to cost, whether he’d be willing to move to third, and if he’d sign with the Blue Jays, but mlbtraderumors.com predicted a three-year, 39 million deal for the veteran. He has more than enough arm to be an asset at third base, and his left-handed bat would be helpful in balancing things out. Here’s a look at one lineup configuration if they were to sign Gregorius.

1- George Springer (CF)
2- Cavan Biggio (2B)
3- Bo Bichette (SS)
4- Teoscar Hernandez (RF)
5- Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (1B)
6- Gregorius (3B)
7- Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (LF)
8- Rowdy Tellez (DH)
9- Danny Jansen (C)

You could bounce a few players up and down the lineup depending on who was riding the hot hand, and this would give you a very deep and scary lineup to contend in the AL East.

As for the starters, Tanaka’s predicted deal was also for three years and 39 million, but I’m going to make a slight adjustment here. Rumour has it that the right-hander might return to Japan to pitch in 2021, but is still interesting in a one-year deal in the 15-20 million range. In this case, I’d be fine with the Blue Jays giving him something like 17 million for a one-year commitment. If it doesn’t work out, you move on next year.

That takes us to 30 million, and leaves enough for one year and 10 million for Paxton to join the Blue Jays. It would be a pillow contract for the Canadian hurler, but it could be mutually beneficial for both him and the Jays. That leaves about seven million, and that money can be used to make some offers on additional bullpen help. Atkins and his staff have had a knack for finding inexpensive bullpen talent, and this might give them enough to bring back Anthony Bass, and also sign a few veterans to MiLB deals.

That’s one way to go about it.

A blockbuster with the Cubs

A month or so ago, I wouldn’t have called this idea “feasible”, but a fair bit has changed since then. The Cubs traded Yu Darvish to the Padres in what was arguably a bit of a salary dump, and they’ve made other decisions that signal some sort of rebuild.

As for the Blue Jays, landing a premium free agent like George Springer gives them some new flexibility, and arguably one too many outfielders. As much as I want the Blue Jays to keep Lourdes Gurriel Jr. for at least the next five years, there’s a trade with the Cubs that I’d consider including him in.

If the Blue Jays could land both Kyle Hendricks and Kris Bryant, then I’d reluctantly pull the trigger on including Gurriel Jr.

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As great as Bryant would fit as the third baseman and another potentially lethal bat in the lineup, his expiring contract keeps him from being the centre piece here. That would be Hendricks, who has been a top-shelf starter for the Cubs for a long time, and remains under contract for three years and 42 million, with a vesting/club option for 2024 at 16 million. That’s the kind of contract control that the Blue Jays love, and at just 31, Hendricks should have plenty of prime innings left ini his right arm.

As for Bryant, he really would fit well for a number of reasons. The first being his obvious talent, but also the fact that he could be their regular third baseman, and/or shift to the outfield if the need came up. It wouldn’t hurt to give him a front row seat to what’s brewing in Toronto these days either, especially in advance of his spending free agency. He’s slated to make 19.5 million in the last year of his deal.

Their combine salaries would cost 33.5 million, and losing Gurriel Jr’s 3.5 million from the books would take it to an even 30. Lourdes alone wouldn’t be nearly enough to convince the Cubs, but I’d assume the rest of the package would centre around some of the Blue Jays’ talented minor league prospects. I won’t speculate on who that might be right now, but Atkins has plenty of trade chips if he decides to use them.

And with 17 million left, there would still be plenty of options left on the table. You could still make an offer to Tanaka or Paxton, maybe another option like Jake Odorizzi, or even bringing back Taijuan Walker. Or, they could further reinforce the bullpen and try to sign someone like Brad Hand. Despite the fact that we’re getting to the end of January, there are still options available.

As much as I dislike the idea of trading away Gurriel Jr., this fantasy idea is becoming more appealing to me all the time. It remains to be seen if the Cubs are going to take their rebuild that far at this early stage, but if they do, the Blue Jays should be ready to make a serious offer.

With plenty of talent still available on the free agent market, and the Blue Jays with money and trade chips, how would you like to see them finish off their offseason? Their are all kinds of routes they could go, and several that would make me happy even if they looked nothing like the three ideas I’ve laid out here. It’s a fun time to be a Blue Jays fan, and I can’t wait to get the 2021 campaign underway. How would you like to see them cap off the winter?