The Toronto Blue Jays are making a serious push to bring October baseball back north of the border for the first time since their last World Series win in 1993.
Yes, it has been a long, depressing time for Blue Jays fans not receiving playoff baseball for quite some time, the longest streak in the MLB to be exact. However, with the recent activity coming from the Blue Jays, it seems as if the city can actually talk about the playoffs without being unrealistic.
Making Waves:
Everyone knew that the Blue Jays would be involved in trade talks, but nobody really knew to what extent they would really be willing to go. By looking at Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos' track record of trades, he really only makes blockbuster deals and this week he made trades heard all around the nation.
On Monday night, the Jays pulled off a blockbuster deal which was announced around midnight eastern time which caught everyone off guard. It was announced the team acquired one of the best – if not the best – shortstops in all of baseball Troy Tulowitzki and also right-handed relief pitcher LaTroy Hawkins from the Colorado Rockies.
The trade made waves around the league since it came out of nowhere unexpectedly, but left many still scratching their heads since it was pitching the team was desperately seeking.
“If you want to look at it as a pure baseball move, I think there’s upgrades in different areas, maybe not necessarily what we need, but it is an upgrade, if you want to look at it that way,” Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista told the media. Ask and you shall receive.
Now just a few days later, the team was linked in talks with a few big names around the league and the team was expected to make a deal for a starting pitcher. It was announced just after noon eastern time that the team had pulled off yet another blockbuster deal by acquiring left-handed pitcher David Price from the Detroit Tigers.
For years the team has had one of the best hitting teams in all of baseball but had no pitching support. The amount of games lost after scoring six runs was more than it should be. The team was lacking their ace, their guy who they could matchup with another teams ace. With their newest addition of David Price, the Blue Jays can now move forward with their first real “ace” since Roy Halladay.
The Price:
It wasn’t cheap acquiring two of the top talents in the MLB. The organization had to pay but what they can achieve in the end is all but worth it.
The organization said goodbye to six pitching prospects in both trades, and also their starting shortstop. Three of the six pitchers happen to be the team’s top pitching prospects, Daniel Norris, Jeff Hoffman and Miguel Castro. The Blue Jays also said goodbye to fan favorite Jose Reyes.
The Time Is Now:
For the Blue Jays the time is now. They have a batting order like no other, defensively they have gotten much better with the acquisition of Tulowitzki, and have now added an ace to their starting rotation.
The team needs to really take advantage of this sort of opportunity. It isn’t everyday a team is able to dress a lineup like the Blue Jays now have. In the end, it will come down to the team’s starting pitching to get them to the next level and into the playoffs. Going into Thursday night’s game against the Kansas City Royals, the Jays trailed the New York Yankees by seven games for the division lead, and two games behind the Minnesota Twins for the final wild card spot.
The team on paper no doubt looks like a team who can take it to the next level, it is now all up to the players to do so.