MLB Hot Stove: Toronto Blue Jays Preview
Potential Targets
Rightly or wrongly, the Blue Jays never seem to acquire free agents on lengthy contracts. Recent history had fans in Toronto begging for ownership to spend money on the likes of Texas Rangers’ Prince Fielder or Yu Darvish, only to go in a completely different direction.
Retiring President Paul Beeston always insisted that the organization would never move off of the five year contract window, meaning if any free agent was wanting to sign for longer than that, then Toronto would not be interested.
There will be a lot of intrigue around the Blue Jays this winter after the unexpected divorce between the organization and their General Manager Alex Anthopoulous.
Rumors are circulating that the reason why the Blue Jays and Anthopoulos separated was because Mark Shapiro had expressed disappointment in his predecessor dealing as many prospects as he did in 2015. Anthopoulos and Shapiro both are giving evasive answers to the media about their discussions, but there has to be more to this story than either man is letting be known.
It’s hard to get a clear cut projection on the direction of this team, north of the border. If ownership and Shapiro decide to slash payroll, you would have to think that there will be blockbuster trades on the likes of Edwin Encarnacion or Jose Bautista and they will go back to developing the team via prospects and restocking the farm team.
If the Blue Jays decide to do the proper thing and build on the success of a year ago, then one person they would probably entertain dealing is shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. The team could then slide Goins into the shortstop position to play opposite rookie Devon Travis at second base. The team could use a starting pitcher, or perhaps a closer, and Tulowitzki still has some allure in the majors, after being a 2005 draft pick of the Colorado Rockies.