Jays have off season questions that need answering
Year after year the Toronto Blue Jays have the difficult task of playing in the American League East. It’s a division in which an 85-77 record is only good enough for fourth place, and free agents tend to build up in New York and Boston. Still, Toronto general
manager, Alex Anthopoulos is going to look to improve his club for next year, and challenge for a playoff spot.
Anthopoulos has already locked up a new manager, John Farrell, after Cito Gaston moved to a new position with the club, and he will now set his sights on improving what is already a young and exciting team.
The good news for the Jays is that they have many of their core players locked up, but they still have questions surrounding the future of Jose Bautista and the bullpen. Rumours that Lyle Overbay is looking to move to another team could also open up a spot
at first base.
No one expected Bautista to hit 54 home runs this year. The question now is will he do it again? The team opted to not trade Bautista at the trade deadline, meaning they want to keep him long term, but if Bautista wants a big money contract the team may
not be able to keep him.
A one-year deal may be most suitable for both the club and the player, although if Bautista has another 50 plus home run campaign he’ll be looking for really big money in 2012.
The Jays’ starting rotation is young and full of hope, not as much can be said of the bullpen. Kevin Gregg, Scott Downs, and Jason Frasor are all free agents. Gregg and Frasor are ‘Type A’ free agents, meaning that if another team signs them, that team gives
up their first round pick, and gives a pick to Toronto. Downs is a ‘Type B’ free agent, meaning that if a team other than the Jays sign him that team will still have to give Toronto a pick, but they will not lose their first round pick.
For the Jays to qualify for the draft pick compensation they’ll need to offer for Downs and Frasor arbitration. They can either agree to the arbitrator’s decision or walk away as free agents. In most scenarios the Jays are going to lose at least one of these
pitchers.
It’s unlikely the Jays will shed too many tears if Overbay signs with another club after a lacklustre season, and the free agent list is deep at first with players like Aubrey Huff and Lance Berkman hitting the market.
Adam Lind is another player that the team could try at first base. He only played 11 games there last season, but the team has a platoon of outfielders, and a queue of players that could fill the DH role, including Lind. If he can become a regular player
at first base it will open more roster spots for young hitters looking to make an impact.
Third base holds another question mark. Edwin Encarnacion is not a particularly good fielder, but he did hit 21 home runs last year. He’s a free agent, and an arbitrator is probably going to award him something over 4 million, which is steep for Encarnacion.
If they let him walk, Jose Bautista would become the starting third baseman.
With a potent offense and good starting pitching, the Blue Jays could solidify their roster by signing one or two hitters on the open market, and by keeping Downs and Gregg or by finding one or two other strong relievers.
If the team has a good season, they can use some of their young players and draft picks to add a late season roster player to get over the AL East hump that is the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, and now the Tampa Bay Rays.
The challenge for Anthopoulos is to not build the third best team in MLB behind Boston and New York.
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