It’s arduous to not see the Toronto Blue Jays sitting within the catbird seat. It doesn’t really feel just like the Yankees are precisely poised to carry onto their seat atop the AL East, even when Aaron Judge returns. They don’t have the potential for development that the Jays do, given the youth of their roster. Bo Bichette, Vladito, Alejandro Kirk, and Alex Manoah haven’t hit their peaks, but, or at the very least they shouldn’t have. There’s nonetheless loads of room within the payroll earlier than hitting the posh tax, with a season on deck the place they may draw near and even over three million followers. There are holes after all, however the Jays aren’t getting caught by the Orioles but, the Rays aren’t going all out ever, and the Red Sox aren’t even attempting.
And but Toronto kicked off the MLB offseason with a commerce that appears panicky at worst, and complicated at finest.
They traded proper fielder Teoscar Hernandez to the Mariners for reliever Erik Swanson, and pitching prospect Adam Macko. It is essential to remind of us simply how good Hernandez has been for the previous two seasons. The solely proper fielders higher by way of fWAR over the previous two seasons are Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, Mookie Betts, Kyle Tucker, Bryce Harper, Starling Marte, Kyle Tucker, and Adolis Garcia. That’s three MVPs, one other surefire MVP someday in Soto, and a few others who’re on the very prime of the contributor pile in the event that they don’t make the star pile.
Yes, the Jays wanted a little bit pen assist in entrance of Jordan Romano, however was it price giving up a plus outfielder?
Sure, this all goes out the window if the Jays signal Judge, however that’s unlikely. Did their collapse in Game 2 of the Wild Card collection spook them?
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There’s a reason that good teams basically comprise a bullpen out of what they have lying around. While they do take outsized importance in the postseason, good relievers can come from anywhere. You cannot be more dominant than Swanson was for the Mariners last year with his 0.91 WHIP. He was worth half of what Hernandez was, and Hernandez missed 30 games. Throwing 60-70 innings over a full season just isn’t worth all that much.
It can’t be future payroll they are worried about, can it? Matt Chapman and Hyun Jin Ryu come off the books after this season. Bichette and Vlad Jr. are three years away from free agency. Even with Hernandez going into his free-agent year, what was the problem? Even if the Jays didn’t want to sign a then-31-year-old to a big-time deal, couldn’t they use what Hernandez has poised for this season?
Sure, it improves the defense, with Whit Merrifield, at the moment, moving to right and Santiago Espinal going full-time at second. Both are improvements with the glove. The Jays were already a good defensive team in the infield, a slightly below-average one in the outfield. Is this really enough of an improvement?
Sure, the Jays have offense and power to spare, but why not seek bottom-of-the-rotation help?
There’s still a lot to play out this winter, and the Jays have plenty of time to make this make sense. It’s just, at the moment, it feels like they either were worried about payroll — the one true thing that could derail their arc toward being a true power — or they’re overly antsy about bullpen help, which is everywhere. You can find it walking to the grocery store. You can find it at the deadline. You can find it in some failed prospect who finds a new grip on a cutter. You don’t give up All-stars for it.
Maybe the Jays have a plan. It’s just a little worrying when possibly the most exciting up-and-coming team in MLB makes a move that we can’t immediately explain.Â