TORONTO – Between the trade of Adam Lind, the free agency of Casey Janssen and the declined option on Dustin McGowan, the Toronto Blue Jays have parted ways with their three longest-tenured players.
Add in Melky Cabrera and Colby Rasmus also entering free agency plus options declined on Brandon Morrow and Sergio Santos, and many of the team’s familiar faces in recent seasons are now on the open market with most if not all likely headed for new places.
That’s a significant amount of change, and how the rest of the off-season plays out will determine if it’s for the better or worse. Though general manager Alex Anthopoulos isn’t closing the door on a possible return for some of his players, it’s clear there’s no room for sentiment or remorse.
“Just because we didn’t agree on the option salary, we didn’t elect to exercise on these guys, it’s certainly not a done deal that they couldn’t be back. We’ll still talk,” he told a conference call over the weekend. “When guys are free agents, there’s no doubt there’s a greater likelihood they don’t come back, the numbers will certainly show you that.
“Guys that become free agents, more likely than not they don’t return.”
Here’s a look at the top Blue Jays free agents:
Casey Janssen
2014 stats: 50 games, 3-3, 25 saves, 3.94 ERA, 1.182 WHIP, 5.5 K/9
The 33-year-old right-hander presents an interesting case, hitting the open market on the heels of a rough second half after being one of baseball’s most effective closers since ascending into the role early in the 2012 season. Every team would love to have first-half Janssen, when he went 3-0 with 14 saves and a 1.23 ERA in 22 innings over 23 games with a .491 OPS against. Those guys get paid large.
But after returning from an all-star break trip to the Dominican Republic with an illness that required him to take IV fluids and sapped him of his weight and strength, he wasn’t his usual brilliant and dominating self, going 0-3 with 11 saves and a 6.46 ERA over 23.2 innings in 27 games. His OPS against spiked to .869, although three particularly rough outings really skewed the numbers, and connecting his struggles to his illness and its aftereffects makes sense.
“It definitely affected me,” he said during a late September interview. “How much it affected me I don’t think anyone will ever really know. At the same time, even if I was able to pitch, at some point along that way I created some type of bad habit that for one reason or another got the ball up a little bit more and it got me throwing the ball a little more on the white than on the corners. I didn’t realize it could snowball that fast on me, because every day I felt like it was a new day for a new streak. The one thing about this season I can really hang my hat on is I really feel great, I’m healthy, and I hope a team recognizes what I’ve done.”
Janssen is open to closing or setting up, wanting desperately to play on a team bound for the post-season. He’s certainly shown the mettle to perform in pressure situations, save for a second half that’s an outlier on his recent performances.
“I am ready for it,” he said of hitting the open market. “Although this year hasn’t played out the way I envisioned it, I hope what I’ve done the last three years, what I did in the first half goes a lot further than my post all-star break and mishap/struggles that I’ve had there. I’m going to embrace it, I’m going to see what opportunity arises and hopefully wherever it may be I fall into a great opportunity. I truly believe someone is going to get a heck of a pitcher.”
Market status – High-level performer
Chances of a return – Unlikely
OF Melky Cabrera
2014 stats: 139 games, .301/.358/.458, 16 HRs, 73 RBIs
Every team in the market for a productive bat will be poking around on the 30-year-old, who along with Nelson Cruz and Nick Markakis fronts a largely weak free-agent class for outfielders. Cabrera recovered from a dreadful 2013, when he played with a tumour on his spine, to perform brilliantly this season, missing the final few weeks after breaking his pinky finger. It’s a much better way to enter free agency than he did after the 2012 season, when a PED suspension cut short an MVP-calibre year and left him to accept a $16-million, two-year deal in Toronto.
The Blue Jays want him back and he wants to return, but the sides have a difference of opinion on his worth right now, and the open market will break the tie. That sets up the potential for a bidding war, which doesn’t bode well for the Blue Jays, who have extended Cabrera a qualifying offer. That $15.3 million offer may put some sort of drag on the final number for him, but will it keep things in the Blue Jays range?
Market status – Elite performer
Chances of a return – Slim
CF Colby Rasmus
2014 stats: 104 games, .225/.287/.448, 18 HRs, 40 RBIs
A thin market for outfielders is even thinner for centre-fielders, which makes the 28-year-old one of the more interesting players to watch (some teams could have interest in him as a corner outfielder, as well).
Coming off a strong 2013 in which he posted an .840 OPS, which is very, very good for a centre-fielder, he dipped down to .735 this season, still delivering big pop but also striking out in a career-high 33 per cent of his at-bats. Shifts also hampered Rasmus’ performance and though hitting coach Kevin Seitzer urged him to use the middle of the field more and keep his hands closer to his body, he felt more comfortable keeping his swing as is. Combined with a stint on the DL, being sat one night for tardiness after missing a hitters’ meeting in Houston and his eventual September benching, the year was full of adversity for Rasmus.
Still, he remains a tantalizing talent and as a proven 20-plus home run hitter, he’s an excellent candidate to recover strong in the right environment, especially if he ends up on a value-rebuild one-year deal. That won’t happen with the Blue Jays.
Market status – Bounce-back candidate
Chances of a return – Negative infinity
RHP Brandon Morrow
2014 stats: 13 games, six starts, 1-3, 5.67 ERA, 1.650 WHIP, 8.1 K/9
Like Rasmus, the 30-year-old right-hander is another tantalizing talent who has everything needed to emerge as an elite player but frustrates those waiting for it to happen. Injuries – often not your traditional arm injuries – have largely scuttled the progress he made during a breakout 2012 season, with a torn tendon sheath on his right index finger costing him four months this year. He returned as a reliever in September and offered many people food for thought with a fastball regularly sitting 98-99 m.p.h. Still, he isn’t ready to give up on starting just yet and his plan is to listen to all offers in both roles and make a decision based not on money, but on which team provides the best chance at success.
As for the Blue Jays, “We absolutely wouldn’t rule out his coming back as a reliever but I’m also respectful of the fact that he wants to start and he’s capable of starting,” said Anthopoulos. “He’s shown it here but … we don’t have that clear-cut path to starting here.”
Market status – Bounce-back candidate
Chances of a return – Slim
RHP Sergio Santos
2014 stats: 26 games, 0-3, five saves, 8.57 ERA, 2.190 WHIP, 12.4 K/9
Several teams have already called about the 31-year-old right-hander, who became a free agent after the Blue Jays outrighted him and then declined his $6 million option. Santos still has big velocity and if he re-gains his command can avoid the health issues that have held him back the past few years, he has the potential to be a very clever value play. He opened the season as acting closer in place of the injured Casey Janssen, got off to a good start and then watched his season unravel after handing out three of the 12 walks issued by the Blue Jays bullpen in a 9-5 loss to the Minnesota Twins. A blown save May 2 in Pittsburgh bumped him out of the closer’s role, he later struggled through injury and was twice designated for assignment as his command disappeared.
Market status – Bounce-back candidate
Chances of a return – Slim
RHP Dustin McGowan
2014 stats: 53 games, eight starts, 5-3, one save, 4.17 ERA, 1.378 WHIP, 6.7 K/9
The 32-year-old right-hander made it through a full season for the first time since 2007, which is a victory in its own right, and it’s reasonable to think that he’ll be stronger for it next year. After all, he logged 82 innings over 53 games, eight of them starts, after accumulating just 46.2 from 2009 through 2013. A key for him will be rediscovering a slider that was once a weapon for him, but inconsistent at best last year. As a starter, he went 2-2 with a 5.08 ERA before moving into the bullpen, where he was 3-1 with a 3.35 ERA in 45 games.
Market status – Mid-level performer
Chances of a return – Slim