As free agents continue to navigate these challenging times, agent Scott Boras is praising the Toronto Blue Jays for their aggressive approach so far this off-season.
In an appearance on Writers Bloc on Thursday, Boras said the Blue Jays have been very active in free agency thus far.
“The Jays are what I’ve always hoped the Blue Jays should and could be, and that is that they’re going to be one of the organizations that sits atop the aggressive markets in baseball,” said Boras. “They’re in a definite phase where I think they have the lamp and now they’re looking for the lightbulb.”
During the last off-season, the Blue Jays signed Boras’s client Hyun Jin Ryu to a four-year, $80-million contract. By signing Ryu, Boras said Toronto brought in a leader.
“They brought in someone who can manage a top tier of the rotation position,” Boras said. “It’s clear they needed more, but it’s certainly someone who demonstrated that he can guide the club and be highly competitive with the other ones and twos that the other teams in the division and the league offer.”
With young core players like Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, Cavan Biggio and Teoscar Hernandez, Boras said the Blue Jays have the ability to be competitive offensively, adding that not a lot of organizations can say that.
“It’s something where adding frosting to that cake I think is something the Blue Jays have a real design on going forward.”
The Blue Jays are planning to return to Toronto to play the 2021 season, but as we learned in 2020, things can change quickly with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Although the uncertainty may impact players looking for short-term deals, Boras does not think it will have the same effect on players shopping for longer agreements.
“Toronto is just a great city to live in and play in, and frankly far different than Buffalo,” Boras said.
“I think they’re going to look at the organization, they’re going to look at the promise of what they’ve built and how that particular player fits into that scenario, and of course how the Blue Jays compete with the other markets for the talent available.”
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