Still need pitching, but ‘heavy lifting is done’
After spending more than $189 million (U.S.), including an additional $60-plus million on this year’s payroll, the Blue Jays aren’t calling it quits on their off-season shopping spree quite yet, but the big purchases appear over.
Jays president Mark Shapiro and general manager Ross Atkins completely transformed their big-league roster in less than a week. There’s a star centre-fielder in George Springer, a starting second baseman in Marcus Semien and a potential closer for the bullpen in Kirby Yates. Then came word Wednesday night via ESPN’s Jeff Passan that the Blue Jays acquired left-hander Steven Matz from the New York Mets for three prospects. — right-handers Yennsy Diaz, Sean Reid-Foley and Josh Winckowski
Matz, who is set to earn $5.2 million this year, has spent almost his entire career as a starter but he also could offer versatility out of the bullpen. The 29-year-old is coming off a down season with a 9.68 ERA across 30 2⁄3 innings, prior to that he tossed at least 150 innings in back-to-back seasons for the Mets.
The Blue Jays now have a large group of potential starters to choose from. The top three currently include HyunJin
Ryu, Nate Pearson and Robbie Ray with Matz, Ross Stripling, Tanner Roark, Shun Yamaguchi, Anthony Kay and Thomas Hatch providing the back-end depth. Another reliable front-line piece will still be required at some point, but it appears that might only happen under the right circumstances.
“We have some flexibility, but the bulk of our heavy lifting is done,” Shapiro said during a news conference over Zoom to officially unveil Springer. “There are still opportunities for Ross and our baseball operations group to be creative in what they do. I’ll leave the transactions, with the remainder of the off-season, that will be all of us working together, but that will be led by Ross and our baseball operations.”
That quote seems to take the Blue Jays out of the running for Trevor Bauer, who is the undisputed No. 1 option of the remaining free agent starters. Secondary targets like James Paxton, Jake Odorizzi and Taijuan Walker could still be in play but it would take some creativity to get a deal done and it’s possible acquiring Matz takes them out of that market entirely.
Shapiro has never publicly confirmed the maximum payroll number he received from ownership but the expectation earlier this off-season was that the Blue Jays would have upwards of $130-$140 million to spend on 2021 payroll.
After the recent signings, they have more than $130 million allocated for player salaries, which includes estimates for players with zero to three years’ service but does not account for Springer’s $10 million signing bonus or incentives built into other deals.
That doesn’t leave much room to fill other holes on the roster but there are some options the club could explore to increase flexibility. Righthander Tanner Roark has one year and $12 million remaining on his contract. No team will be prepared to take on that amount, but it’s possible one could be talked into a deal if the Jays ate some money. The same thing could be said about outfielder Randal Grichuk and the $30 million he is still owed.
Where payroll goes from here remains to be seen, but to hear Shapiro talk about it, the sky is the limit. The Blue Jays’ plan, after undergoing an ambitious rebuild, was to start increasing expenses in stages. The work began last winter by signing Ryu and it continued this month with a flurry of moves. There will be additional money available at the end of the year, with just under $50 million set to come off the books.
There is one big caveat to this period of financial growth: the team needs to keep winning. Shapiro said this winter’s spending had less to do with taking advantage of a buyer’s market and more to do with sticking to the original plan. The Jays were intent on supplementing their young core once they felt the group was ready to contend. A brief appearance in the post-season against Tampa Bay has given them confidence that the appropriate time to make a push has arrived.
If the Jays take another step and challenge the Yankees for the division, additional resources will be there for another round of purchases. Even with the likelihood of playing another year without fans, resources are tied to the performance and growth with an expectation that fans will return whenever baseball resumes in the city.
“I think that this signing is a reflection of the plan, where we were going to go,” Shapiro said. “At the right time, just like Ryu last year, we would continue to supplement and add to the core of young players we have, wanting to keep those players here for a long time as well. My expectation is that we will continue to get better. As we get better, the revenues will rise.”
The off-season renovations are still ongoing, but the foundation has been set. Adding another veteran starter would be beneficial, but unless they can get someone to jump on the bandwagon at a reduced rate, that addition might not arrive until there’s a mid-season trade.