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Blue Jays' potential free agents to set tone for 2015 roster construction
As the Blue Jays try to make something of the last 25 games of the season, general manager Alex Anthopoulos joined Bob McCown and Stephen Brunt on Sportsnet 590 The Fan to assess the current state of the team and gave some ideas of what the roster could look like going into 2015.
With four players, Melky Cabrera, Colby Rasmus, Casey Janssen, and J.A. Happ, headed to free agency at season's end, decisions have to be made that will shape how Anthopoulos and the front office will approach the offseason.
"We've got, obviously, two-thirds of our outfielders slated to be free agents. Two-thirds of the outfield is significant, one way or the other that would be the priority ... [Cabrera]'s been great. He's had a great year and I think he enjoys being here and I think he wants to be back here."
For the third time in four years, 2013 being the exception when he was clearly not healthy, Cabrera has been a force at the plate. putting up a .304/.354/.464 slash line. His 127 wRC+ puts him among the league's top-20 offensive outfielders. It's going to cost them, likely 4-5 years at $12-15M per season but if the Blue Jays are serious about contending, they simply cannot let a legitimate top of the order bat get away.
The silence about Rasmus and the ambiguous nature of Anthopoulos' response confirms what was becoming quite clear from the outside. Rasmus is not part of the team's plans going forward. Anthony Gose, Kevin Pillar and Dalton Pompey, who made his major league debut Tuesday night, will receive playing time in September at his expense.
In three full seasons with the Jays, the 28-year-old centre-fielder has had one good year (2013) and two bad years (2012, 2014). This decision has been made. Rasmus' positives (power-hitting, good defence) don't outweight the negatives (contact-hitting, plate discipline) and he won't be back.
"We would love to try to get an established second or third baseman. That's been a revolving door for a few years. Just to have someone that can be a mainstay, obviously Brett's going to be playing in one of those two spots, to have someone that's more of an established guy there, that would be ideal."
Upgrading either infield spot has been a focus for the front office going all the way back to last year.It would create some stability for Lawrie, who's been yanked between second and third while battling to stay healthy.
"A guy like Janssen has [closed] at an elite level, at a high level for us for a long time, he's been outstanding. He's someone we'd like to have here long-term, again with free agency there's no guarantees that you get to keep any of these guys."
This has been Janssen's worst season after three years as Toronto's most reliable reliever, two of those years as their primary closer. His K rate this season (14.7%) is more than 10% worse than it was from 2011-2013 (25.1%). That's a worrying sign for a pitcher like Janssen that relies so much on fastball command to make up for a lack of velocity. Still, there's always a market for a relief pitcher with "proven closing experience" and Janssen could be on his way out if he gets too pricey for the Jays.
A potential replacement? Brandon Morrow has a $10M club option that's unlikely to be picked up but it's possible he returns on a less expensive deal. He could be an intriguing back-end of the bullpen option as he works to reestablish himself in the majors after three injury-plagued years.
Anthopoulos also emphasized that Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion remain important parts of the team's future and doesn't rule out signing them to contract extensions.
"Because they have two years left on their contracts, a year and an option, that certainly does not eliminate the possibility that we don't sit down with those guys at some point and start adding on some years. We think they're going to be productive for a long time and they can absolutely be part of another wave here and another core for 4-5 years beyond that."
September is here and the Jays aren't done yet. There's still a month left to play before any actions will be taken but from here you can already envision how the upcoming offseason will unfold.
