Five Reasons the Blue Jays Should be OUT on Bryant, Correa, and Story

The length of a championship window is, generally speaking, determined by: (a) how long a team’s core players are expected to be in their prime; and (b) the remaining years of contractual ‘control’ a club has over those stars prior to them becoming eligible for free agency.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (22 years old) and Bo Bichette (23) will not hit free agency until 2026, and with George Springer, Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios, Alek Manoah, Jordan Romano and Alejandro Kirk each locked in with Toronto until at least 2026 as well, now is the time to make the push Jays fans have been patiently waiting for since Alex Anthopoulos (World Series 2021 Champion GM of the Atlanta Braves…) was abruptly pushed aside in 2015 to make room for Mark Shapiro.

After crushing free agency last year with the signings of Springer (6 years / $150m), and the recently departed Marcus Semien and Robbie Ray, the Blue Jays have once again been very aggressive financially this offseason (prior to the lockout that is) – extending Berrios (7 years / $131m) and signing Gausman (5 years / $110m) and Yimi Garcia (2 years / $11m). And by all indications – the Jays are still hunting. In mid-December, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported the Blue Jays were a “mystery entrant” in the Corey Seager sweepstakes, but were allegedly unwilling to match the Rangers’ commitment of $325 million over 10 years.

With Semien’s departure, Toronto lost not only a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger award winner but also an invaluable veteran presence who personified professionalism and is thought to have contributed significantly to the explosive breakout years of Bo and Vladdy in 2021.  With the exception of Semien, the Jays’ infield in 2021 graded poorly defensively, further stoking speculation that – once the transaction freeze is lifted – the Toronto front office will take a big swing on one of the big-ticket, free-agent veteran infielders remaining on the market, specifically Carlos Correa, Kris Bryant, or Trevor Story.

Here then, are the top 5 reasons why the ’22 Blue Jays should, despite the foregoing, be OUT on these big-ticket free agents.