Because the Blue Jays are in the beginning stages of a rebuild, we’ve watched a number of veterans leave for other teams over the last couple of seasons. That trend will continue in 2019, either through more trades this offseason or next summer, or the eventual expiration of a few contracts.
While it’s nice to have a few veterans around to help bridge the gap between generations of the team, it’s also tempting to want to see the process speed up and to put youngsters all over the field. For example, there are some folks who would like to see Rowdy Tellez as the everyday first baseman next year, despite the fact that Justin Smoak remains one of the team’s best hitters, and under contract for a reasonable eight million in 2019.