The 2013 Toronto Blue Jays haven’t lived up to expectations, but Rogers Communications CEO Nadir Mohamed says the team will continue to spend nonetheless.
“Anybody that owns sports teams knows there are many elements that go into a winning team,” Mohamed told the Globe and Mail in an article published Monday evening.
“But nobody should be confused – this is not a one-season investment. We are building what we think will be a better team over time.”
Rogers Communications owns the Blue Jays, who expanded payroll to the $120-million range before the 2013 season. While the team’s average attendance has increased to 32,318 per game, they have a 57-67 record.
“The average fan wants a competitive team,” Mohamed said. “What they have seen is Rogers stepping up to invest more in the club, and I think that will be healthy whether that leads to a winning club today or tomorrow. The path has been set, and to me that is very exciting.”
The Blue Jays have $110 million in payroll commitments for 2014, not including upcoming arbitration raises for Colby Rasmus, J.P. Arencibia and others, according to Baseball Prospectus.
General manager Alex Anthopoulos will have to account for some salary increases this coming off-season. For example, Mark Buehrle’s salary increases to $19 million, Jose Reyes’ salary goes up to $16 million, and R.A. Dickey’s salary increases to $12 million.
