Most onlookers didn’t expect much from the Toronto Blue Jays entering the 2014 season, but when the rest of the division started slowly and Toronto’s power bats erupted, the team seemed unstoppable. For much of the summer, that elusive playoff appearance seemed within reach.
But the team faltered when injuries sidelined Edwin Encarnacion, Brett Lawrie and Adam Lind. The bullpen struggled, the roster wasn’t deep enough to get by, and the front office didn’t make significant additions at the trade deadline. Meanwhile, the Baltimore Orioles played well enough to overtake the Blue Jays and Toronto’s playoff dreams faded, before disappearing entirely.
Once the season ended, GM Alex Anthopoulos got to work, parting ways with many well-known Blue Jays and bringing in star players Russell Martin and Josh Donaldson. The moves renewed optimism for Blue Jays fans and closed out a busy year.
Here are sportsnet.ca’s 10 most widely read stories of 2014:
Five Blue Jays players agreed to defer money (Apr. 4)
The Blue Jays were in on Ervin Santana before he signed with the Atlanta Braves, but that was only part of the story. Shi Davidi reported that five Blue Jays players — Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle and R.A. Dickey — agreed to defer some of their salaries to create room for Santana. To some extent fallout from the failed Santana pursuit would follow the team and its leadership all season.
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Blue Jays pitcher Stroman is going to be big (May 30)
Marcus Stroman entered the season as a top prospect, and he impressed in spring training but was sent to the minors nonetheless. He’d go on to break through at the MLB level, but before his MLB emergence, Arden Zwelling profiled the rookie right-hander in Sportsnet Magazine.
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Encarnacion breaks out with 200th home run (May 8)
Edwin Encarnacion started the season slowly, but he hit 16 home runs in May with an eye-popping, record-breaking May streak that led the Blue Jays to first place in the AL East. As I wrote at the beginning of May, Encarnacion has the ability to power the Blue Jays to success.
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Blue Jays stand pat at non-waiver trade deadline (Jul. 31)
The Blue Jays were well-positioned to make the playoffs at the end of July, but they could have used reinforcements. Instead, they passed, citing exorbitant asking prices around the league and expressing confidence in their own options. Players such as Jose Bautista and Casey Janssen acknowledged that they were disappointed the club didn’t do more.
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Blue Jays watch O’s clinch; Wild card hopes fading (Sept. 17)
After weeks of ups and downs, it became official: the Orioles would be 2014 AL East champs. Shi Davidi was on the scene as the Orioles clinched and the Blue Jays took stock of a lost opportunity.
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Bautista’s numbers show he’s an elite among elite (Sept. 22)
It’s easy to take Jose Bautista for granted five years after his breakout season. But as I wrote in September, Bautista’s continued production shows he’s still among baseball’s best players.
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Lack of trust impacted Blue Jays all season (Oct. 7)
By the time the Blue Jays’ season ended, there was plenty of frustration. As Shi Davidi explained, some of the team’s issues stemmed from one place: a lack of trust that started early on in 2014.
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LISTEN: Anthopoulos addresses the team’s clubhouse
Blue Jays look set to hit off-season ground running (Nov. 3)
The Blue Jays played the waiting game for much of the 2013-14 off-season and while the team ended up with 83 wins, they weren’t about to wait around for another winter. Jeff Blair predicted early on that the off-season would get off to a busy start for Toronto.
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Martin signing opens door for other moves (Nov. 17)
The decision to sign Russell Martin gave the Blue Jays one of baseball’s premier catchers. It also displaced Dioner Navarro and impacted the club’s payroll in a big way. Shi Davidi wrote at the time that the Martin move was a likely precursor to further roster shuffling for the Blue Jays. It wouldn’t be long before Anthopoulos would make another major move.
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Donaldson deal a stunning steal for Blue Jays (Nov. 28)
Josh Donaldson was presumed to be unavailable after finishing in the top 10 in MVP voting for the second consecutive season. So much of the baseball world was stunned when the Blue Jays acquired him for a four-player package including Brett Lawrie. The night the deal was completed, Mike Wilner convincingly made the case that it was a coup for Anthopoulos and the Blue Jays.
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