Blue Jays’ focus on free agency says a lot about where they stand

When Ross Atkins sat down with the Toronto chapter of the Baseball Writer’s Association of America on Wednesday, he made it clear there was a lot he couldn’t say.

Atkins is well known for being guarded and vague, and with former Toronto Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos in hot water over his comments about free agency, the atmosphere wasn’t ripe for Atkins to be at his most forthcoming.

Even so, Toronto’s GM did make his club’s intentions a little more clear, even if his only option was to do so indirectly. For instance, he very clearly answered in the affirmative when asked if his club was able to sign a contract costing $100 million or more — a deal that would represent a franchise record. He also said the Blue Jays “hope to be very active” at the Winter Meetings which open on December 8.

Perhaps most telling was his answer to whether he felt free agency or the trade market seems like the best avenue to improve his club.

“A little bit more free agency than trade and that being because of where we are as a team,” he said. “Giving up talent that could be paired with Vladdy and Bo and Pearson and that group for a player that might only be here for one or two years is a hard thing to do.”

From a philosophical standpoint, the Atkins-Mark Shapiro brain trust likes to hoard young talent whenever possible, so this quotation isn’t particularly surprising. On the other hand, it says quite a bit about where the Blue Jays see themselves.

The teardown part of this rebuild is clearly over. Outside of Ken Giles, this team doesn’t have any pieces to sell. So the question now becomes, how is the build up going to work, and how long is it going to take?

By making it clear that the Blue Jays aren’t particularly interested in parting with young players via trade at this time, Atkins is implying they aren’t close enough to contention that swapping future value for present value makes sense. Barring an unprecedented free agent shopping spree, he’s probably right on that point.

However, it does hammer home that 2020 isn’t going to look much different from 2019. There will be some major internal upgrades like Bo Bichette being around all year, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s potential to take a big step forward is immense.

“He’s been great,” Atkins said of Vladdy’s work since the 2019 season wrapped. “Everything he said he was going to do he’s done and then some. He’s actually done more than we expected. He’s been with our staff members almost 75 percent of this offseason.”

The Blue Jays will also undoubtedly translate some of their payroll flexibility into competent pitching — think Tanner Roark, Micheal Pineda or apparently Josh Lindblom — and a couple of bullpen pieces. That will increase their floor to be certain.

However, the course they’re currently charting has almost no way of resulting in a contending club this upcoming season. With a heck of a mountain to climb in the AL East, the Blue Jays are going to have to be willing to part with some quality young talent and prioritize the present if they’re going to reach the summit.

It seems pretty clear that’s not happening now. Once again, there’s an argument to be made that this is for the best — and with a decent amount of money to spend there isn’t a sense of urgency for the Blue Jays to use prospect capital as their currency of choice.

Someday it will be, and when that day comes the Blue Jays’ rebuild will be truly over. Even though the team is virtually done selling off pieces, it’s clear they’re not there yet.

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