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What We Already Know About the 2016 Blue Jays

The beginning of the regular season is always full of the stories that emerged throughout spring training. Some of these stories hint at breakthroughs, adjustments, and developments that have the potential to bode very well for the 2016 Blue Jays; Aaron Sanchez has developed his secondary stuff and put on weight (so why are we criticizing Pablo Sandoval?), Tulo has a new leg kick, Michael Saunders is finally healthy, and Marcus Stroman wants to be the ace of the staff. Now, if you’re like me, spring training is all the definitive proof you need. If you can do it in March when you’re still rusty from winter vacation, why couldn’t you keep it up throughout the regular season?

However, while I want to pencil in Troy Tulowitzski for 60 bombs and Aaron Sanchez for a 2.00 ERA over 30 starts, some of the baseball intelligentsia insist differently. They throw around buzzwords like “sample size” and “quality of competition” like it’s completely meaningless that all of above mentioned spring accomplishments weren’t achieved while also being hung over (we’ve all seen bags under the players eyes on photo day) and tired from golfing. So while I vehemently disagree that we can’t draw conclusions from early on, with the season now underway, there are still some things that we can definitely know about the 2016 Toronto Blue Jays now that camp has broke and the season has begun.

Edwin and Jose’s Agents Won’t Have a Lot of Work to Do In Season

With Edwin refusing to negotiate in season and Jose setting his demands and not budging, it looks to be a pretty easy summer for Paul Kinzer and Jay Alou. Talk about not earning your 10%. It’s probably closer to 5% with Jose though; he seems like a tough negotiator. They may want to get in their cottage time now, their workload will most likely amp up at the end of the season.

Conner Greene Is Making Daniel Norris Look Like Pete Incaviglia

You probably thought we said goodbye to the organization’s handsome, charismatic pitching prospect at the deadline. But if you melted for the van-dwelling Daniel Norris, your heart just may explode for actor slash model Conner Greene. Despite possessing similar numbers at Double A (and in social media followers), Greene has taken over top spot as Toronto’s most babe-ly prospect of the past decade. With Norris on the Detroit DL and Greene on Anger Management, Greene is making everyone forget about the organization’s former golden boy. Oh, and apparently he’s touching the mid 90s too.

Save Your Signing Bonus, Youngsters

You’re a star amateur baseball player. You’re young, you’re talented and you’re on top of the world. You don’t want to spend wisely; you want to start a Yoenis Cespedes-style car or pony collection. But be forewarned – there’s no certainty the gravy train will last forever. Just ask some of the Buffalo Bisons. The Jays have three former top prospects starting the season at triple A: Jesus Montero, Tony Sanchez, and Dominic Brown. In addition, a couple other first round picks are currently on the fringy side of the major league roster in Justin Smoak and Gavin Floyd. Don’t get me started on Max Pentecost. Looking good in a uniform isn’t worth what it used to be. Here’s hoping one of these guys is the next Edwin Encarnacion or Jose Bautista just in case the Jays can’t afford the current Edwin Encarnacion or Jose Bautista. If only every waiver claim worked out so well.

Roberto Osuna was not Interested in Making Money, Now he is

According to comments he made last month, Roberto Osuna is still more interested in being a relief pitcher than a starter. It seems Osuna, who is barely 21, was just going through the defiant phase that most teenagers and young adults experience – rebelling against the authority of his front office staff that want him to buckle down, work hard and fulfill his potential. Now he has changed his mind and decided he wants a bigger paycheck. You no longer need to worry that his three pitch arsenal and lack of platoon split will to go to waste.

Gavin Floyd May Not Have the Front Office in His Pocket

As Jays fans across the country eagerly waited for an opportunity to find fault in the new front office, the chance to charge them with nepotism in roster construction arose when Gavin Floyd, who may or may not be represented by Ron Shapiro (seriously, I’m not totally sure. ), was considered the favorite to land the fifth spot in the rotation. In the end though, the brain trust wisely sent Floyd to the bullpen while Aaron Sanchez begins the year in the rotation. It seems that Jays fans like me who were just pining for a reason to hate on the new front office (I don’t do well with change) will have to wait another day. Gavin Floyd and his elbow made of Popsicle sticks are in the bullpen where they belong. For now.

Dynamic Pricing is Annoying

If you’ve tried to buy tickets for opening weekend, you’ll notice that the usually 30-40 dollar outfield seats are now going for 45-50 on BlueJays.com. The Jays will nobly tell you they are trying to combat selling tickets on the secondary market. That’s because the team is doing their best to turn their own ticketing system into a secondary market for tickets – raising and lowering their prices to reflect demand. Remember all that talk of Mark Shapiro “bringing the front office into the 21st Century”? Everyone thought this meant some new interoffice computer systems and more work from home days. No one said it would be at the expense of the fans. If StubHub North isn’t enough of a slap in the face to longtime Jays fans who showed up during the barren years, now they have to wait in overly long lines to both purchase and expel any beverages they buy at the stadium.

Jose Bautista May Be in Bad Shape

Much has been said and written about Jose Bautista’s dedication to fitness and off the field training. This spring we saw that athleticism called into question when Jose and the Philly Phanatic went mano e mano in Clearwater. The results showed the Phanatic as surprisingly agile and athletic for someone carrying so much weight in his green midsection. More importantly, there may be reason for concern as Jose Bautista might be in far worse shape than we are all being led to believe given his inability to best the Phanatic in any type of challenge aside from handstands.

We Still Need to Talk About Dunedin

While Florida Auto Exchange Stadium and the Bobby Mattick Training Centre were able to make it through spring training without adding another Major League regular to their kill count, Mark Shapiro has stayed on message that Toronto’s spring training facilities are in need of updates or relocation. We know that Shapiro is a fan of modernizing organizations and someone who places a premium value on player nutrition. A facility with a few microwaves and a freezer full of hot pockets simply isn’t good enough for the players on the 40-man roster (although its perfectly fine for non-roster invitees). And the new hires from Duke aren’t going to be able to stop someone from tripping on a sprinkler either.

While it may still be early, but that doesn’t mean we can’t learn anything about the year ahead for the Blue Jays. The next six months will be full of ups and downs, known and unknown. Just remember that sometimes if you leave spring training without answers, it’s just because you aren’t asking easy enough questions.

Lead Photo: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

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5 comments on “What We Already Know About the 2016 Blue Jays”

Kongos

“fans like me who were just pining for a reason to hate on the new front office”? We need even more reasons? I was kind of hoping they’d ease back on the obnoxiousness, not give us even more reasons.

Joshua Howsam

The entire piece was tongue-in-cheek. He doesn’t actually pine for a reason to hate the FO.

Warren

Stop perpetuating the nonsense that Ron Shapiro may be Gavin Floyd’s agent. Floyd was interviewed about it during spring training (by John Lott) and he said he hasn’t talked to Shapiro in several years. Moye Sports is his agent.

Jg

Also Jose left String fellow two years ago.

Nick Dika

But Bean Sringfellow is a much funnier name than Jay Alou. Good catch though.

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