TORONTO – As expected, Toronto Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins answered a steady stream of questions about Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion at his year-end availability Monday. When franchise icons with 300-plus career home runs hit free agency, it’s understandably a big deal.
But as the Blue Jays begin a potentially transformative off-season, they must spread out their focus. Here’s the latest on the Blue Jays’ plans beyond those two sluggers…
SAUNDERS IN LIMBO
Barring the unforeseen, the Blue Jays plan to make Bautista and Encarnacion qualifying offers. Given their production in recent years, both are expected to decline and test the open market.
Deciding whether to make Michael Saunders a qualifying offer won’t be as easy.
“We’re still working through that one,” Atkins said. “It’s not quite as clear.”
Saunders finished the season with 24 home runs and an .815 OPS, but the 29-year-old slowed down during the second half before rebounding in the playoffs. The Blue Jays will consider his career production, recent production and projections before deciding whether to extend the $17.2 million offer. Making the offer would allow the Blue Jays to recoup a top draft pick if Saunders leaves, but there’s always the chance that a player would simply accept.
After Toronto’s loss to Cleveland in the ALCS, the outfielder made it clear he would like to return to the team.
BALANCED BACKUP
Considering the workload that Russell Martin has handled in recent years, it makes sense for the Blue Jays to add a backup catcher capable of catching more than the 30-40 games Josh Thole typically started in recent years. Asked what he’d ideally find in a second catcher, Atkins stressed balance between offence and defence.
“It’s always going to be a spectrum of what you’re getting,” he said. “What we’re looking for is someone that we feel good about handling our pitching staff as a leader who has a productive at-bat.”
Drew Butera, Hank Conger, Geovany Soto and A.J. Ellis are among the potentially intriguing free agent backup catchers.
FRIENDLY FREE AGENT MARKET
The free agent market appears to favour the Blue Jays this year. It’s weak on starting pitching, which the Blue Jays have. It’s deeper in corner bats, which the Blue Jays need.
“It’s nice to look up and see the number of very good players that are in that corner outfield and first base/DH area,” Atkins said.
Ian Desmond, Dexter Fowler, and Josh Reddick are among the top free agents who could theoretically intrigue the Blue Jays, while Steve Pearce, Sean Rodriguez, Matt Joyce, Jon Jay and even Nori Aoki are players who could potentially interest a front office known for checking in on just about every option available.
Ian Desmond is one of the top free agents on the market. (Eric Christian Smith/AP)
DEFENCE FIRST
Atkins mentioned the importance of defence a few times over the course of his hour-plus availability, stressing the link between pitching and fielding.
“A big part of starting pitching is defence. Our defence was one of the best, if not the best, in the American League,” he said.
The Blue Jays converted 71.7 percent of batted balls into outs this year, ranking second in baseball behind the Chicago Cubs.
“I think it’s a huge reason that this team had the amount of success that it did,” Atkins said.
PROSPECT IMPACT
The Blue Jays still have work to do when it comes to replenishing their farm system. As Atkins acknowledged, “our triple-A team is not exactly locked and loaded.”
That said, the Blue Jays hope “several” minor league players have the potential to impact the big league team in 2017, including outfielder Dalton Pompey and catcher A.J. Jimenez.
As for Rowdy Tellez, a 21-year-old first baseman who posted a .917 OPS with 23 home runs at double-A, Atkins didn’t rule anything out.
“The more I’ve worked in baseball, the more I realize that for younger players the timelines and learning curves are varying in large degrees,” he said. “Absolutely (Tellez could contribute), but we don’t intend on planning around that.”
INJURY ISSUES
Kevin Pillar has a thumb issue that may require additional attention over the winter, though the Blue Jays continue gathering information from their training and high performance staff before making final decisions on how to proceed with their players.
Josh Donaldson battled hip soreness down the stretch while Russell Martin dealt with an “acute” issue, believed to be the left knee he injured in a summer sauna accident. That said, Atkins expects everyone to be ready for spring training.
“There’s no one that we’re overly concerned about,” he said.
