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	<title>Toronto &#187; Offseason</title>
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		<title>Artificial Turf Wars Ep. 77: And Now our Watch is Ended</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/10/04/artificial-turf-wars-ep-77-and-now-our-watch-is-ended/</link>
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		<pubDate>Wed, 04 Oct 2017 10:34:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Artifical Turf Wars]]></dc:creator>
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		<description><![CDATA[Episode 77 Greg and Josh go over the final week of the season and the decisions and press conferences from the immediate aftermath. They discuss Jose Bautista&#8217;s final games and the declining of his option, Josh Donaldson&#8217;s desire to remain in Toronto, the early outlook for the upcoming offseason based on comments from Ross Atkins, [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="https://www.patreon.com/turfpod"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-9098" src="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/02/patreon_logo-300x94.png" alt="patreon_logo" width="252" height="79" /></a><br />
<strong><br />
Episode 77</strong></p>
<p>Greg and Josh go over the final week of the season and the decisions and press conferences from the immediate aftermath. They discuss Jose Bautista&#8217;s final games and the declining of his option, Josh Donaldson&#8217;s desire to remain in Toronto, the early outlook for the upcoming offseason based on comments from Ross Atkins, the murky future for Devon Travis, and the ballot goofiness from the Blue Jays team award voting. They also answer listener questions and give out two Do Overs, one to MLB and one the Giancarlo Stanton. </p>
<p><strong>Podcast</strong>: <a class="powerpress_link_pinw" title="Play in New Window" href="http://d1at8ppinvdju8.cloudfront.net/1/031/show_10311991_2017_10_04_03_35_15.mp3" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Play in new window</a> | <a class="powerpress_link_d" title="Download" href="http://d1at8ppinvdju8.cloudfront.net/1/031/show_10311991_2017_10_04_03_35_15.mp3" rel="nofollow">Download</a></p>
<p><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/blue-jays-plus-podcast/id705699884?mt=2"><img class="alignnone wp-image-63" src="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/itunes1.png" alt="itunes" width="168" height="62" /></a><a href="https://soundcloud.com/turfpod"><img class=" wp-image-9054 alignleft" src="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/02/soundcloud.jpg" alt="soundcloud" width="123" height="60" /></a></p>
<p>Follow the guys on twitter: <a title="@coolhead2010" href="https://twitter.com/coolhead2010" target="_blank">@coolhead2010</a> and <a title="@JoshuaHowsam" href="https://twitter.com/JoshuaHowsam" target="_blank">@JoshuaHowsam</a>.</p>
<p>Intro music is Slow Burn (<a href="http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Kevin_MacLeod/" rel="cc:attributionURL">Kevin MacLeod</a>) under <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" rel="license">CC BY 3.0</a>.</p>
<div><strong>Podcast Email</strong>-<a href="mailto:artificialturfwars@baseballprospectus.com" target="_blank">artificialturfwars@baseballprospectus.com</a> Please drop us a line if there is a guest you&#8217;d particularly like us to interview, to submit a question to <strong>Stump the Josh</strong>, or to simply give us feedback on the podcast. We&#8217;d love to hear from you!</div>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		<title>Measuring Panic: A Timeline of the 2016-17 Offseason</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/02/09/measuring-panic-a-timeline-of-the-2016-17-offseason/</link>
		<comments>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/02/09/measuring-panic-a-timeline-of-the-2016-17-offseason/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 09 Feb 2017 11:00:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Nick Dika]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Offseason]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=8944</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If you’re anything like me, this Blue Jays offseason felt like a turbulent one. There were lots of ups and downs when it came to the team’s transactional activities. Much like we do at the end of the regular season, with Spring Training just around the corner, now is a good time to look back [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>If you’re anything like me, this Blue Jays offseason felt like a turbulent one. There were lots of ups and downs when it came to the team’s transactional activities. Much like we do at the end of the regular season, with Spring Training just around the corner, now is a good time to look back on the highs and lows that embodied the 2016-17 hot stove season. The timeline should also serve as a reminder to be patient – the sky isn’t falling when you lose out on one great player; or even five of them. Even if it really, really feels like it.</p>
<h4>November 11 &#8211; Jays Sign Kendrys Morales</h4>
<p>When the Jays act quickly to <a href="http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2016/11/blue-jays-to-sign-kendrys-morales.html" target="_blank">sign a middle of the order bat</a>, many people talk themselves into the idea that Edwin can still return and play first base. Are Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins some of those people? Others are confused, as Morales is definitely not the young, athletic guy the front office said they had their heart set on. We all pay more attention to exit velocity.</p>
<p><strong>Panic Level: Moderate.</strong> It looks like the team will lose Edwin, but there’s lots of time to build the roster. While the fences at the Rogers Centre might be closer to home plate than they were at Kaufman Stadium, unfortunately for Morales, the distance between the bases remains 90 feet.</p>
<h4>November 21 &#8211; Brett Cecil Signs with the St. Louis Cardinals</h4>
<p>The under-appreciated lefty reliever <a href="http://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/professional/cardinal-beat/cardinals-add-depth-with-toronto-lefty-cecil/article_e4321ea1-5279-57dc-af93-6d14e970f37a.html" target="_blank">gets big dollars</a> ($30.5 million over four years) from the Cardinals. Cecil’s departure leaves a hole in the Toronto bullpen.</p>
<p><strong>Panic Level: Remains Moderate.</strong> Mostly because people don’t appreciate Cecil as much as they should.</p>
<h4>November 23 &#8211; Josh Reddick Signs with Houston</h4>
<p>He was an outfield target, but he’s got some holes in his game and <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2016/11/17/astros-acquire-brian-mccann-yankees-trade/94043520/" target="_blank">he signed for a lot of money</a>.</p>
<p><strong>Panic Level: Low.</strong> No big deal, he can’t really hit lefties anyway.</p>
<h4>December 4 &#8211; Steve Pearce Signs in Toronto</h4>
<p>The move serves as a reminder that Justin Smoak is likely going to be taking a whole mess of at bats for the team next season. <a href="http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/report-blue-jays-sign-steve-pearce-two-year-deal/" target="_blank">Pearce’s signing</a> also likely represents the end of the Encarnacion era. Lost in everything is that Pearce can be a useful player himself – assuming he can stay healthy and on the field.</p>
<p><strong>Panic Level: Escalating to High.</strong> Are we sure Rowdy Tellez is too young for the majors?</p>
<h4>December 6 &#8211; Red Sox Trade for Chris Sale</h4>
<p>In response to the Steve Pearce signing, <a href="http://www.csnchicago.com/chicago-white-sox/sold-white-sox-trade-chris-sale-red-sox-package-including-baseballs-no-1-prospect" target="_blank">the Red Sox acquire Chris Sale</a>. Everyone in Blue Jay land is reminded that playing in a division with the Red Sox and Yankees leaves you grappling with existentialism more often than you should.</p>
<p><strong>Panic Level: Too sad to be panicked.</strong> Silver lining: at this rate, Dave Dombrowski and the Red Sox will be out of prospects to trade sooner rather than later.</p>
<h4>December 9 – Dexter Fowler Signs with the Cardinals</h4>
<p><a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-dexter-fowler-cardinals-contract-20161209-story.html" target="_blank">Fowler decides</a> that playing for Mike Matheny is still better than having to run on turf and pay Canadian income taxes.</p>
<p><strong>Panic Level: High.</strong> Edwin is likely gone and Fowler was the team’s top alternative target. Outfield options on the market are thin beyond him. We start talking about Brandon Moss way too much.</p>
<h4>December 22 &#8211; Edwin Signs in Cleveland</h4>
<p>Jays’ fans get their lump of coal early when <a href="http://www.cleveland.com/tribe/index.ssf/2016/12/cleveland_indians_edwin_encarn_1.html" target="_blank">Edwin signs in Cleveland</a> a few days before Christmas. In signing for fewer dollars and years than was reportedly offered by Toronto in early November, Edwin’s agent, Paul Kinzer, gives Aaron Sanchez a reason to fire his current representatives and <a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/01/03/aaron-sanchez-reportedly-hires-scott-boras/" title="Aaron Sanchez Reportedly Hires Scott Boras" target="_blank">hire super-agent Scott Boras</a> shortly after Christmas.</p>
<p><strong>Panic Level: High.</strong> High enough that we are making something out of Sanchez’s agency change even though he won’t be a free agent until the fall of 2021.</p>
<h4>January 5 &#8211; Jays Rumored to Still Be Uninterested in Re-Signing Jose Bautista</h4>
<p>Despite filling a glaring need, the best player left on the market is <a href="http://www.fanragsports.com/mlb/heyman-mlb-winter-winners-non-winners/">allegedly not on the Blue Jays’ radar.</a> Even amidst rumors that he can be prickly in the clubhouse, if Danny Valencia can still find work…With Jose’s price dropping, fan’s worry that the biggest offseason acquision will be two compensatory draft picks. The chances of having of playoff caliber team feel slim.</p>
<p><strong>Panic Level: Sky high.</strong> Are the Jays rebuilding? At least the Maple Leafs are good right now. It hasn’t really come to that…has it?</p>
<h4>January 17 &#8211; Jays Re-Sign Jose Bautista</h4>
<p>The Jays (or maybe just Ed Rogers) decide they want to <a href="https://www.thestar.com/sports/bluejays/2017/01/18/blue-jays-confirm-jose-bautista-signing.html" target="_blank">sign Jose Bautista after all</a>. The return of Joey Bats fills a major hole in Toronto’s roster. The cherry on top is in signing what will likely amount to a one-year contract, Jose’s deal has the potential to be one of the bargains of the winter. News also leaks out that the Jays were trying to land Tony Watson and Andrew McCutchen in a blockbuster deal with the Pirates.</p>
<p><strong>Panic Level: Dropping fast.</strong> One power-hitting outfielder does a lot to improve the roster. Even though the McCutchen rumors didn’t go anywhere, it’s nice to know the front office was trying to be competitive all along. It funny how obvious this seems now; yet seemed so improbable three weeks earlier.</p>
<h4>January 24 &#8211; Jays Sign Jarrod Saltalamacchia</h4>
<p>After a few weeks of worrying that Toronto will break camp without an established backup catcher, <a href="http://m.mlb.com/cutfour/2017/01/24/214305654/null" target="_blank">Toronto signs Jarrod Saltalamacchia to a minor league deal</a>. Salty provides a major league-tested backup option that isn’t Josh Thole for the first time in four years. The torch has been passed to another sub-.200 hitting backup. 2017 batting average aside, Saltalamacchia has been valuable against right-handed pitching in the past and gives the Jays the opportunity to keep Russell Martin rested.</p>
<p><strong>Panic Level: Even lower.</strong> Backup catchers don’t make a ton of difference, but it’s the principal of the thing. The deal would have been finalized earlier, but it took a few drafts before Salty’s name was finally spelled correctly on the contract.</p>
<h4>January 31 &#8211; Jays Sign J.P. Howell</h4>
<p><a href="http://m.bluejays.mlb.com/news/article/214831462/blue-jays-sign-pitcher-jp-howell/" target="_blank">Howell gets about half the annual salary</a> that the Cardinals shelled out for Brett Cecil on a one-year deal. While he isn’t Cecil, Howell has been known to grow some similarly interesting facial hair. He should be a serviceable replacement out of the pen. Then a few days later, <a href="https://twitter.com/Buster_ESPN/status/828965236589940736" target="_blank">they threw in Joe Smith for good measur</a>e.</p>
<p><strong>Panic Level: Low.</strong> It hasn’t been this low since Josh Donaldson slid home in Game 3 of the ALDS against Texas.</p>
<p>Bring on 2017. While it sure didn’t feel like it at Christmas, or even early in the New Year, the Jays look like they’ll head to Spring Training with a roster that looks like it can compete for a playoff spot. Watching the offseason play out chronologically is a good reminder that the season doesn’t start in December. It ain’t over until the last lefty reliever signs.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: © Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
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		<title>Artificial Turf Wars Ep. 39: A Pearce-ing Winter Wind</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/12/08/artificial-turf-wars-ep-39-a-pearce-ing-winter-win/</link>
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		<pubDate>Thu, 08 Dec 2016 10:47:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Artifical Turf Wars]]></dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=8280</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Greg, Josh, and Nick break down the happenings (and not) from the Winter Meetings in Washington, D.C. They start by discussing the value of recent Blue Jays signing Steve Pearce, then look at the fallout from the Chris Sale trade, Edwin Encarnacion&#8217;s market crash, Dexter Fowler rumours, Ian Desmond&#8217;s bizarre contract from the Rockies, and [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Greg, Josh, and Nick break down the happenings (and not) from the Winter Meetings in Washington, D.C. They start by discussing the value of recent Blue Jays signing Steve Pearce, then look at the fallout from the Chris Sale trade, Edwin Encarnacion&#8217;s market crash, Dexter Fowler rumours, Ian Desmond&#8217;s bizarre contract from the Rockies, and a minor league signing.  Finally, the trio gives out a Do-Over and tackle the Cliché of the Week, &#8220;Won the Winter.&#8221;</p>
<p><strong>Note:</strong> There will be no pod next week unless something extremely noteworthy happens, such as a big signing or a trade. We will return in two weeks with episode 40!</p>
<p><strong>Podcast</strong>: <a class="powerpress_link_pinw" title="Play in New Window" href="http://s3.amazonaws.com/btr.shows/9/657/show_9657879_2016_12_08_04_46_13.mp3" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Play in new window</a> | <a class="powerpress_link_d" title="Download" href="http://s3.amazonaws.com/btr.shows/9/657/show_9657879_2016_12_08_04_46_13.mp3" rel="nofollow">Download</a></p>
<p><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/blue-jays-plus-podcast/id705699884?mt=2"><img class="alignnone wp-image-63" src="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/itunes1.png" alt="itunes" width="125" height="46" /></a></p>
<p>Follow the guys on twitter: <a title="@coolhead2010" href="https://twitter.com/coolhead2010" target="_blank">@coolhead2010</a>, <a title="@JoshuaHowsam" href="https://twitter.com/JoshuaHowsam" target="_blank">@JoshuaHowsam</a> and <a title="@CWSherwin" href="https://twitter.com/CWSherwin" target="_blank">@CWSherwin</a></p>
<p>Intro music is Slow Burn (<a href="http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Kevin_MacLeod/" rel="cc:attributionURL">Kevin MacLeod</a>) under <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/" rel="license">CC BY 3.0</a>.</p>
<div><strong>Podcast Email</strong>-<a href="mailto:artificialturfwars@baseballprospectus.com" target="_blank">artificialturfwars@baseballprospectus.com</a> Please drop us a line if there is a guest you&#8217;d particularly like us to interview, to submit a question to <strong>Stump the Josh</strong>, or to simply give us feedback on the podcast. We&#8217;d love to hear from you!</div>
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		<title>Southern Comfort: Assessing the Blue Jays at American Thanksgiving</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/11/25/southern-comfort-assessing-the-blue-jays-on-american-thanksgiving/</link>
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		<pubDate>Fri, 25 Nov 2016 15:22:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mike Passador]]></dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=8085</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Blue Jays are often bought and sold as “Canada’s Team.” That’s completely acceptable; their run of success has given them inroads to capturing the hearts and minds of a whole new generation of baseball fans across the country. Even on the rare occasion that a Blue Jays game gets picked up for an American [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The Blue Jays are often bought and sold as “Canada’s Team.” That’s completely acceptable; their run of success has given them inroads to capturing the hearts and minds of a whole new generation of baseball fans across the country. Even on the rare occasion that a Blue Jays game gets picked up for an American broadcast you’ll undoubtedly hear about how the Jays have a whole country behind them- particularly in reference to some electric Rogers Center crowds.</p>
<p>That’s something the team should wear as a badge of honor, as their rise to prominence has been no small feat. On the other hand, it does gloss over the contingent of American Blue Jays fans like myself who either have family ties to Canada or just happened to pick the team in the early stages of their baseball fandom. Consider this a shoutout to everyone else who’s checking in from south of the border.</p>
<p>Considering Canadian Thanksgiving <a title="ALDS Game 3 Recap: Blue Jays 7, Rangers 6; Tonight We Feast" href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/10/09/alds-game-3-recap-blue-jays-7-rangers-6-tonight-we-feast/" target="_blank">produced a fairly satisfying series of events</a>, it seems right to capitalize on the American version of the holiday and take some time to reflect and appreciate some of the finer things, both large and small, concerning the Toronto Blue Jays.</p>
<p>Firstly is the tangentially related Sean Rodriguez news. When rumors surfaced that the Jays were interested in Rodriguez, reaction was mostly muted approval, if not general apathy. There’s not much to dislike about picking up a capable player who can fill in all over the field. His career-year outlier seemed to make some wary, though as a hyper-versatile support player he would’ve made some sense. That being said, it’s no heartbreaking development that he’s off the market and with the Braves. Positional versatility is nice but it’s something that the team can tackle in other ways going forward. With both roster size and payroll allegedly set to expand the Jays will have ample opportunity to plug the myriad holes currently on the roster.</p>
<p>Missing out on Rodriguez, like the in-season trades for tertiary-or-lower contributors like Scott Feldman and the continuous murmur of fans questioning John Gibbons’ use of the eighth reliever, is fairly innocuous when all is said and done. Given all the lean years, I’m thankful that those are things worth fretting over from time to time. That’s not to say that the Jays can’t improve even at the furthest margins of the roster, but it does speak to how fortunate we’ve been to watch a damn good team go out and play every day for the past two seasons.</p>
<p>It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day developments of team building, particularly during the slowest parts of the offseason- if nothing else it’s a sign of the deep passion that people have for the sport and this team. Their success is worth acknowledging and celebrating, even if it requires us to step back for a second and peek at the big picture. Maybe it&#8217;s the eternal optimist in me, but it’s nice to worry about the last guy on the bench instead of finishing fourth or fifth in the division again.</p>
<p>Secondly is the recent departure of Brett Cecil. Though it’s been said by many others, I count myself lucky to have been on his side for so many years. He often bore the brunt of fan criticism when it was far from deserved and continued to go out there and do his thing. Cecil had stretches of sheer brilliance only for some fans to turn on him at the drop of a hat. Always a seemingly good soldier, I wish Brett Cecil nothing but the best in St. Louis and beyond. He won’t generate the same buzz as some of the team’s other departures, but he’s been a part of this organization for countless ups and downs and will be fondly missed.</p>
<p>There’s also the looming cloud that is the departure of team pillars Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista. Not to harp on the subject too much further, but we should all be thankful for the time they spent in the organization as well as the tremendous moments that each has authored over the years.</p>
<p>We should also be thankful for the approach that Toronto’s decision makers have exhibited thus far. They don’t appear set to hamstring the team&#8217;s future by kowtowing to sentimental attachment. The Kendrys Morales move should recoup a healthy chunk of the lost production at a fraction of the cost and leaves the team with more flexibility than a megadeal would. It’ll be sad to see at least one, and probably both, of the team’s big sluggers head for richer pastures, but there’s an evident plan in place with plenty of capable personnel waiting to execute that vision. Even if the end of the era is upon us, the sky isn’t falling given that the front office just built one of baseball’s best rotations at a fantastic price and the left side of the infield is still occupied by superstars. It’ll be tough to ascend to greater heights without Bautista and Encarnacion in the lineup, but it’s just a new set of obstacles for Toronto to tackle. For fans who have sat through a lot worse, we should embrace the challenge. Better to be here than climbing up from irrelevancy.</p>
<p>Lastly, and I feel comfortable enough to speak for everyone at BP Toronto on this one, I’d like to extend my gratitude to anyone and everyone who shows up to read what we write or listen to what we have to say. On an individual level this site is an endeavor that we’ve chosen to pursue because we care deeply about the Jays, and the idea that we can spend time discussing something we all love is tremendously fulfilling. Without you that all collapses, so a heartfelt thank you for making us a part of your baseball routine.</p>
<p>The offseason can drag on for what feels like forever and while we’d all love if spring training started tomorrow, it also presents an opportunity for us to take stock of the team and the direction they’re headed. In the spirit of the holiday, there’s a lot we should be thankful for and even more to look forward to.</p>
<p>If spring training could start tomorrow though, that’d be pretty great.</p>
<p><em>Lead Photo: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
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		<title>How the Blue Jays Finally Created a Deep Roster</title>
		<link>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/03/08/bluejays-depth-spring-training/</link>
		<comments>http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/03/08/bluejays-depth-spring-training/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 08 Mar 2016 14:00:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Joshua Howsam]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Depth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Domonic Brown]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gavin Floyd]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Offseason]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rafael Soriano]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ross atkins]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tony Sanchez]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=107</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[With exhibition games starting up and the stars we know and love finally starting to take the field, fans are ready to embrace the optimism that comes around this time of year. With camps full of players from the 40-man roster, prospects hoping to impress, and veterans looking for one last kick at the can, [&#8230;]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>With exhibition games starting up and the stars we know and love finally starting to take the field, fans are ready to embrace the optimism that comes around this time of year. With camps full of players from the 40-man roster, prospects hoping to impress, and veterans looking for one last kick at the can, the long winter shuffle is officially over.</p>
<p>I’m sure it wasn’t exactly the way Ross Atkins imagined his first offseason as a general manager was going to go. By the time he took his place on the hotseat, most of the heavy lifting had already been done. While acting as interim GM, Tony LaCava had added/re-signed J.A. Happ, Jesse Chavez, and Marco Estrada, addressing the one true area of weakness: the rotation. The big splash, the franchise-changing move&#8230;those doors were already closed to Mr. Atkins. But that doesn’t mean there was nothing left for him to do. In fact, the new head honcho had one very clear, public mandate: Add depth.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s often difficult for the common fan to care about what lies beyond the 25-man roster on Opening Day. Nobody wants to imagine a world where their star players aren&#8217;t on the field. Alas, that&#8217;s not how it usually plays out once the games begin. Players get hurt or under perform and need to be replaced. Just last year the AL East champion Blue Jays saw Chris Colabello play 46 games in left field, and Danny Valencia was out there for another 31. Neither of those men is an outfielder. In fact, when the season started, they were probably 7th and 8th on the outfield depth chart. Yet, there they were, stumbling around after fly balls.</p>
<p>Interestingly enough, depth was supposed to be Alex Anthopoulos&#8217; specialty. He was always known as the man who would make a waiver claim on just about anybody, hoping to find a diamond in the rough. He certainly had some successes last season; Colabello turned in an incredible season at the plate, and Bo Schultz helped the bullpen before the trade deadline. Although, in spite of those successes, depth was still a problem for the 2015 Blue Jays. Prior to the David Price trade the rotation was in shambles, and the middle infield needed some external help.</p>
<p>Up until January, it didn’t look like this year’s group was going to be any different. There seemed to be a couple of options for the fifth starter position, but beyond that there were serious concerns around the diamond. Then, starting with the Revere for Storen swap, all of that began to change.</p>
<p>The Storen move opened up options for the Blue Jays. By adding another late inning reliever, Aaron Sanchez was officially put back into the mix for a role in the starting rotation. In turn, that left seven men whom could be reasonably counted on for solid or better work as starting pitchers. For the beginning of the season, that&#8217;s not an awful mark, but it isn&#8217;t enough. Nothing happened for a few more weeks until just before Spring Training. At this point, GM Ross Atkins made a flurry of moves that have drastically improved this club’s chances of surviving injury.</p>
<p>The first notable move was the signing of Gavin Floyd to a one year, $1 million contract. Coming off of his second broken pitching elbow in as many years, Floyd was thought to be done. Floyd may have his warts, but there is tremendous upside in the deal, especially if Floyd can continue to pitch the way he did last September.</p>
<p>The aforementioned upside is a common thread that joined every move that followed it. On the same day as the Floyd pickup, Atkins added David Aardsma (the guest on yesterday’s <a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/03/07/artficial-turf-wars-ep-1-david-aardsma-debuts-and-dingers/">Artificial Turf Wars podcast</a>), then in the following weeks picked up Domonic Brown, Tony Sanchez, and Rafael Soriano.</p>
<p>With the exception of Floyd, all of those players have minor league deals. This makes sense, given that all of these players have flaws, as can be seen in their PECOTA projections.</p>
<p><a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/Pecota-real.jpg"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-108 size-full" src="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/Pecota-real.jpg" alt="Pecota real" width="406" height="171" /></a></p>
<p>However, the depth advantage is that these players all have real upside. If any of them hits their 80th percentile projection, things look totally different.</p>
<p><a href="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/Pecota1.png"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-166" src="http://toronto.locals.baseballprospectus.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2016/03/Pecota1.png" alt="Pecota" width="406" height="171" /></a></p>
<p>As you can see, PECOTA says that every one of the recent additions has the potential for a very solid season. The reason the projections see this upside is simple: all of these players have done it before. This is the biggest departure from the Alex Anthopoulos moves of year’s past. In recent years, the Blue Jays depth moves included more AAA fodder than anything else. The &#8220;depth&#8221; comprised of the guys like Mauro Gomez, Brad Glenn, Cole Gillespie and Steve Tolleson. They&#8217;d never grabbed many guys who had previously shown the ability to play at an above major league average level.</p>
<p>What changed?</p>
<p>Well, under the last regime, the Jays had an anti-contract-incentives policy. Anthopoulos famously refused to offer them; almost certainly because he was often right up against the ceiling of his budget. In fact, the only time that he deviated from this policy was for Johan Santana, in a situation where he was recovering from injury. In that case, if Santana hadn&#8217;t rebounded, the Jays would have been on the hook for nothing, but if he had, he&#8217;d almost certainly be worth the money.</p>
<p>Until Floyd, it had been a long time since a “healthy” Blue Jay had potential to earn more money simply by staying on the field. If you’re not willing to offer a player the chance to earn extra cash, you’re never going to be able to get high end depth. It’s a simple truth: players will always bet on themselves. They wouldn’t be professional athletes if they didn’t.</p>
<p>With those pickups, the Jays now have at least one major league quality backup at every position, along with solid depth in both the rotation and the bullpen.</p>
<h4>Position Player Backups</h4>
<p>C: Tony Sanchez, Josh Thole<br />
<span style="line-height: 1.5">1B: Justin Smoak/Chris Colabello (whoever isn&#8217;t starting)<br />
</span><span style="line-height: 1.5">2B/SS: Darwin Barney (then Ryan Goins with Devon Travis returns)<br />
</span><span style="line-height: 1.5">3B: Matt Dominguez<br />
</span><span style="line-height: 1.5">OF: Domonic Brown, Dalton Pompey, Junior Lake, Ezequiel Carrera</span></p>
<h4>Pitching Depth</h4>
<p>SP: Marcus Stroman, R.A. Dickey, Marco Estrada, J.A. Happ, Jesse Chavez, Aaron Sanchez, Gavin Floyd, Drew Hutchison<br />
RP: Drew Storen, Roberto Osuna, Brett Cecil, Aaron Loup, Jesse Chavez, Aaron Sanchez, Gavin Floyd, Bo Schultz, David Aardsma, Steve Delabar</p>
<p>Every single one of those position players has spent at least some time as a regular in the big leagues. Then when you a<span style="line-height: 1.5">dd in guys like Pat Venditte, Chad Jenkins, Rule V draft pick Joe Biagini, and prospects Connor Greene and Chad Girodo, the Blue Jays have an awful lot of pitching depth. </span>In fact, a couple of the other players are already showing value. Ambidextrous pitcher Pat Venditte and submariner Chad Girodo are ready to step in as the second lefty in the pen for the first few weeks of the season while Aaron Loup recovers from a forearm strain. In an admittedly small sample size, Venditte held lefties to a paltry .116/.191/.256 line in 2015, and Girodo has dominated lefties in the minors.</p>
<p>This 2016 Blue Jays roster is so talented that the only thing that could&#8217;ve sunk them completely would have been injury. Now that they have depth, one of their stars can go down and someone will be ready to step in. As a result, it&#8217;s a real stretch to imagine this team not being contenders in the American League East&#8230;unless the Baseball Gods simply decide to smite the city of Toronto.</p>
<p>The offseason was a job well done, Mr. Atkins. I look forward to seeing what you can do next.</p>
<p><em>Lead photo: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports</em></p>
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