The majority of MLB teams end up in or opt for limbo at the Trade Deadline, making a few low-impact moves to either sure up their rosters' depth or add some farm system pieces for the years ahead. The Toronto Blue Jays are not one of those teams. Here's Why The Blue Jays Front Office Gets An A+ At The Trade Deadline.
An Ace Up Their Sleeve
The Blue Jays could very well have gone all-in on former Phillies/now Rangers lefty Cole Hamels, mortgaging the farm and then some to pick up three years of an ace who is north of 30 years old and could face the velocity drop-off/struggling to refine tertiary pitches for the years ahead -- all at the not-so low low cost of around $100 million if his 2019 option kicks in.
OR they could do what they did -- take advantage of muddled and weak AL East and AL Wild Card races, dropping just over $7 million on David Price for 40-50% of what Hamels would have cost them. In doing so, the Blue Jays have amplified the effectiveness of their world-beating offense by trotting out a bona fide killer every fifth day from here to October.
Controlled Stardom On The Left Side Of The Infield
AL MVP candidate Josh Donaldson has provided both an on-field and locker room spark for the Blue Jays this year just like he did for those fun Oakland A's teams of the past few years, and the best part for the front office is that he's on a $4 million-plus bill right now and has two years of arbitration ahead which will inch him towards star money.
To make things even more interesting, the Blue Jays have Troy Tulowitzki now locked down ostensibly through the rest of the decade, perhaps ensuring that Donaldson remains a Blue Jay past 2017 if only because he's not going to find a better left-side partner in crime in Tulo.
Having stars is great. Having stars with a modicum of team control is exponentially better.
Going For The Gusto
San Diego Padres GM AJ Preller went from wunderkind to pariah at warp speed this season, with his offseason spending spree looking goofier and more disspiriting for the franchise as the days go on. Toronto Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos may very well suffer a similar fate if Toronto fails to jump the field in August/September, but the difference between him and Preller is that his collection of trade acquisitions carry more bite than bark when it comes to name value.
Trade Deadline intrigue is what the majority of us baseball geeks live for. The Blue Jays gave us said intrigue with a healthy scoop of OMGWTF and that's just beautiful.
Thank you, Alex.
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