Six New Year’s resolutions for the Toronto Blue Jays

After a strong 2021 campaign that saw the Blue Jays miss a potential playoff tiebreaker by just one win, the club heads into the new year with some fresh faces and a few core members no longer with the squad.

While Steven Matz, Robbie Ray, and Marcus Semien are no longer on the roster, the additions of Kevin Gausman and Yimi Garcia are a strong start to an interrupted offseason that should hopefully resume sometime in the early months of next year when a new CBA is in place. Given how active the front office was before the lockout, it makes sense that Ross Atkins and co. will come out of the gate ready to go once Major League transactions are allowed to happen again.

It is custom for many people to use the new year as a way to set goals and resolutions to further better themselves when the calendar flips over to January (losing weight, finding a loved one, etc), so let’s take a look at six New Year’s resolutions for the Toronto Blue Jays regarding the 2022 season.

Continue Adding to the Active Roster

With the recent departures of Matz, Ray, and Semien along with depth players like Corey Dickerson and Jarrod Dyson, the Blue Jays have a few areas that could use some assistance:

1. A fifth starter
2. One to two more relief pitchers
3. A third or second baseman

While the club is losing a strong bat in Semien, a full season of George Springer will go a long way to replacing the lost production but could be supplemented with an addition like Jose Ramirez or Matt Chapman this offseason. The Ramirez trade chatter has been discussed at length and rightfully so, as he is a fantastic player with contract control that will cost any suitor a boatload of prospect/player capital. Landing one of these two players could go a long way to creating one of the strongest lineups in the league on both sides of the ball, and let’s not forget the front office did talk to Freddie Freeman’s reps prior to the lockout as well (although a move North of the border and out of Atlanta still seems unlikely at this time).

The pitching additions could be found via trade or free agency, as a few names are still available through both timelines, it just depends on what the right fit is for the Blue Jays heading into the 2022 campaign. Dealing for a player like Marlins starter Pablo Lopez or one of the Oakland Athletics trio of pitchers could be a solid move if the club is ok with dealing prospect depth while signing a free agent like Carlos Rodon or Zach Davies could also be a wise transaction to keep prospects available for a trade involving an infielder.

Blockbuster in Oakland anyone?