As off-season opens, Blue Jays face end of current cycle and try to build another

Last updated Nov 1, 2024

TORONTO — Contained in the champagne-soaked clubhouse at Dodger Stadium after Los Angeles beat the New York Mets within the Nationwide League Championship Sequence, Max Muncy made a remark that’s particularly salient for the Toronto Blue Jays with the off-season underway.

“Every single team when they get to spring training, they have their meeting and they say, ‘Hey, our goal is to win a World Series this year,’” Muncy, amid the celebratory mayhem, advised a small group of reporters. “We’re one of the few teams where that’s a realistic goal every single year. There’s a lot of pressure, there are a lot of expectations, especially this year when you’re talking about some of the names that we added. It definitely weighed heavy all year long. But we were able to fight through it.”

The Dodgers, thanks to a stage of depth no membership can match, fulfilled their aim Wednesday evening and turned deserving champions by rallying previous the New York Yankees 7-6, taking the World Sequence in 5 video games. And, Thursday, as they and the remaining of baseball started racing for the 2025 title, Muncy’s level about how few groups could make annual championship competition a practical aim underlined that the Blue Jays aren’t amongst them.

var adServerUrl = “”;
var $el = $( “#video_container-101091” );
var permalink = $el.closest(‘.snet-single-article’).knowledge(‘permalink’);

/*
if ( “1” == true && ‘undefined’ !== typeof window.getIndexAds ) {
var so = {preroll:{1:{1:{siteID:191888},2:{siteID:191889}}}};
adServerUrl = window.getIndexAds( ‘http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640×360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300×250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6364016199112&cmsid=384’, so, permalink);
} else {
adServerUrl = “http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640×360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300×250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6364016199112&cmsid=384”;
}
*/
adServerUrl = “http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640×360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300×250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6364016199112&cmsid=384”;
var adServerUrl_result = adServerUrl.consists of(“cust_params”);
var queryString=”;
if(adServerUrl_result){
var gettheDUFI = false;
if (localStorage.getItem(“consent”) !== null && localStorage.getItem(“consent-targeting”) !== null)
gettheDUFI = localStorage.getItem(“theRED_loc”);

if(gettheDUFI){
queryString += “dufiid=” + gettheDUFI + ‘&’;
queryString += “ppid=” + gettheDUFI + ‘&’;
var ppid = “ppid=” + gettheDUFI + ‘&’;
}

var DUFI_IP = false;
if (localStorage.getItem(“consent”) !== null && localStorage.getItem(“consent-targeting”) !== null)
DUFI_IP = sessionStorage.getItem(“DUFI_IP”);

if(DUFI_IP){
queryString += “dufiip=” + DUFI_IP + ‘&’;
}

adServerUrl = adServerUrl.substitute(/cust_params=/, ppid + ‘cust_params=” + encodeURIComponent(queryString) );
}

$el.after( unescape(“%3Cscript src=”” + (document.location.protocol == “https:” ? “https://sb” : “http://b”) + “.scorecardresearch.com/beacon.js” %3E%3C/script%3E”) );

$( doc ).one( “prepared’, perform() {
$( “#video_container-101091” ).SNPlayer( {
bc_account_id: “1704050871”,
bc_player_id: “JCdte3tMv”,
//autoplay: true,
//is_has_autoplay_switch: false,
bc_videos: 6364016199112,
is_has_continuous_play: “false”,
adserverurl: adServerUrl,
part: “”,
thumbnail: “https://www.sportsnet.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3049783.3fd63ffb-0bff-4f60-a0e3-d44a4333f512-1024×576.jpg”,
direct_url: “https://www.sportsnet.ca/mlb/video/gotta-see-it-dodgers-clinch-world-series-win-with-buehlers-strikeout/”
});
});

var adServerUrl = “”;
var $el = $( “#video_container-733819” );
var permalink = $el.closest(‘.snet-single-article’).knowledge(‘permalink’);

if(gettheDUFI){
queryString += “dufiid=” + gettheDUFI + ‘&’;
queryString += “ppid=” + gettheDUFI + ‘&’;
var ppid = “ppid=” + gettheDUFI + ‘&’;
}

var DUFI_IP = false;
if (localStorage.getItem(“consent”) !== null && localStorage.getItem(“consent-targeting”) !== null)
DUFI_IP = sessionStorage.getItem(“DUFI_IP”);

if(DUFI_IP){
queryString += “dufiip=” + DUFI_IP + ‘&’;
}

adServerUrl = adServerUrl.substitute(/cust_params=/, ppid + ‘cust_params=” + encodeURIComponent(queryString) );
}

$el.after( unescape(“%3Cscript src=”” + (document.location.protocol == “https:” ? “https://sb” : “http://b”) + “.scorecardresearch.com/beacon.js” %3E%3C/script%3E”) );

$( doc ).one( “prepared’, perform() {
$( “#video_container-733819” ).SNPlayer( {
bc_account_id: “1704050871”,
bc_player_id: “JCdte3tMv”,
//autoplay: false,
//is_has_autoplay_switch: false,
bc_videos: 6364016199112,
is_has_continuous_play: “false”,
adserverurl: adServerUrl,
part: “”,
thumbnail: “https://www.sportsnet.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/3049783.3fd63ffb-0bff-4f60-a0e3-d44a4333f512-1024×576.jpg”,
direct_url: “https://www.sportsnet.ca/mlb/video/gotta-see-it-dodgers-clinch-world-series-win-with-buehlers-strikeout/”
});
});

Proper now, it is a workforce dealing with the end of the second cycle beneath the current entrance workplace of president and CEO Mark Shapiro and GM Ross Atkins.

The primary ran from 2016-2019 and was inherited from the earlier regime of Paul Beeston and Alex Anthopoulos, throughout which the Blue Jays made a second consecutive journey to the ALCS earlier than the core aged out and was, partially, finally bought off.

The second started in 2020 and runs to the current, constructed round a gaggle that emerged from the previous teardown and produced three wild-card berths and zero post-season wins.

With Shapiro, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette among the many foundational items heading right into a walk-season, and Atkins, Kevin Gausman and George Springer all up after the 2026 season, the Blue Jays are in limbo between seeing by means of the current group, and constructing for the following cycle, both a 3rd for this entrance workplace or a primary for another.

As such, each resolution they make over the following few months carries deeper implications because it’s a pull in a single path or another.

A failure to signal Guerrero and/or Bichette to long-term offers, for example, pushes the Blue Jays down the primary street, leaving open the chance of another deadline sell-off subsequent summer season as half of a deeper rebuild. An extension for one or each, then again, locks in a pillar for the following cycle and if accomplished nicely, can be accompanied by significant provides.

var adServerUrl = “”;
var $el = $( “#video_container-485654” );
var permalink = $el.closest(‘.snet-single-article’).knowledge(‘permalink’);

/*
if ( “1” == true && ‘undefined’ !== typeof window.getIndexAds ) {
var so = {preroll:{1:{1:{siteID:191888},2:{siteID:191889}}}};
adServerUrl = window.getIndexAds( ‘http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640×360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300×250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6362784473112&cmsid=384’, so, permalink);
} else {
adServerUrl = “http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640×360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300×250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6362784473112&cmsid=384”;
}
*/
adServerUrl = “http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640×360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300×250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6362784473112&cmsid=384”;
var adServerUrl_result = adServerUrl.consists of(“cust_params”);
var queryString=”;
if(adServerUrl_result){
var gettheDUFI = false;
if (localStorage.getItem(“consent”) !== null && localStorage.getItem(“consent-targeting”) !== null)
gettheDUFI = localStorage.getItem(“theRED_loc”);

if(gettheDUFI){
queryString += “dufiid=” + gettheDUFI + ‘&’;
queryString += “ppid=” + gettheDUFI + ‘&’;
var ppid = “ppid=” + gettheDUFI + ‘&’;
}

var DUFI_IP = false;
if (localStorage.getItem(“consent”) !== null && localStorage.getItem(“consent-targeting”) !== null)
DUFI_IP = sessionStorage.getItem(“DUFI_IP”);

if(DUFI_IP){
queryString += “dufiip=” + DUFI_IP + ‘&’;
}

adServerUrl = adServerUrl.substitute(/cust_params=/, ppid + ‘cust_params=” + encodeURIComponent(queryString) );
}

$el.after( unescape(“%3Cscript src=”” + (document.location.protocol == “https:” ? “https://sb” : “http://b”) + “.scorecardresearch.com/beacon.js” %3E%3C/script%3E”) );

$( doc ).one( “prepared’, perform() {
$( “#video_container-485654” ).SNPlayer( {
bc_account_id: “1704050871”,
bc_player_id: “JCdte3tMv”,
//autoplay: true,
//is_has_autoplay_switch: false,
bc_videos: 6362784473112,
is_has_continuous_play: “false”,
adserverurl: adServerUrl,
part: “”,
thumbnail: “https://www.sportsnet.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/6362784473112-1024×576.jpg”,
direct_url: “https://www.sportsnet.ca/mlb/video/blue-jays-have-path-to-retain-guerrero-jr-with-significant-extension/”
});
});

var adServerUrl = “”;
var $el = $( “#video_container-472485” );
var permalink = $el.closest(‘.snet-single-article’).knowledge(‘permalink’);

/*
if ( “1” == true && ‘undefined’ !== typeof window.getIndexAds ) {
var so = {preroll:{1:{1:{siteID:191888},2:{siteID:191889}}}};
adServerUrl = window.getIndexAds( ‘http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640×360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300×250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6362784473112&cmsid=384’, so, permalink);
} else {
adServerUrl = “http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640×360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300×250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6362784473112&cmsid=384”;
}
*/
adServerUrl = “http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640×360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300×250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6362784473112&cmsid=384”;
var adServerUrl_result = adServerUrl.consists of(“cust_params”);
var queryString=”;
if(adServerUrl_result){
var gettheDUFI = false;
if (localStorage.getItem(“consent”) !== null && localStorage.getItem(“consent-targeting”) !== null)
gettheDUFI = localStorage.getItem(“theRED_loc”);

if(gettheDUFI){
queryString += “dufiid=” + gettheDUFI + ‘&’;
queryString += “ppid=” + gettheDUFI + ‘&’;
var ppid = “ppid=” + gettheDUFI + ‘&’;
}

var DUFI_IP = false;
if (localStorage.getItem(“consent”) !== null && localStorage.getItem(“consent-targeting”) !== null)
DUFI_IP = sessionStorage.getItem(“DUFI_IP”);

if(DUFI_IP){
queryString += “dufiip=” + DUFI_IP + ‘&’;
}

adServerUrl = adServerUrl.substitute(/cust_params=/, ppid + ‘cust_params=” + encodeURIComponent(queryString) );
}

Ovechkin’s 861st goal a game-winner as Capitals clip Predators

Kerala Blasters FC vs. Hyderabad FC Prediction, Match Preview…

The Not-So-Great Defector Bake Off Contemplates The Melting Method…

NBA Best Bets Today: Top Sports Betting Picks, Predictions November…

Max Verstappen: Red Bull driver’s spectacular and turbulent…

NFL Week 10 Pick ‘Em: Why Joe Burrow will save the day for the…

Free agent frenzy: Origin stars, veterans and young guns

After Tuesday | Defector

$el.after( unescape(“%3Cscript src=”” + (document.location.protocol == “https:” ? “https://sb” : “http://b”) + “.scorecardresearch.com/beacon.js” %3E%3C/script%3E”) );

$( doc ).one( “prepared’, perform() {
$( “#video_container-472485” ).SNPlayer( {
bc_account_id: “1704050871”,
bc_player_id: “JCdte3tMv”,
//autoplay: false,
//is_has_autoplay_switch: false,
bc_videos: 6362784473112,
is_has_continuous_play: “false”,
adserverurl: adServerUrl,
part: “”,
thumbnail: “https://www.sportsnet.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/6362784473112-1024×576.jpg”,
direct_url: “https://www.sportsnet.ca/mlb/video/blue-jays-have-path-to-retain-guerrero-jr-with-significant-extension/”
});
});

Looming giant for the franchise is the Dec. 10 draft lottery, by which the Blue Jays, at 7.48 per cent, have the fifth-highest odds of touchdown the No. 1 choose within the 2025 draft.

Irrespective of the place they end up, they’ll have entry to the most effective out there expertise and one of the larger draft-bonus swimming pools to work from, creating a chance to turbo-charge the farm system. Nailing it could actually assist bridge from the current window to the following one with no main step backward.

All of which raises the stakes on the hiring of a brand new newbie scouting director to substitute Shane Farrell, who left for a player-development position with the Detroit Tigers.

The Blue Jays’ current drafting document wants just a few extra years to be pretty assessed, however that they haven’t built-in a homegrown place participant since Alejandro Kirk in 2020 and starter since Alek Manoah in 2021 underlines how they merely haven’t produced sufficient expertise internally.

Discovering somebody to appropriate that’s additional sophisticated by exterior candidates being weary of becoming a member of a entrance workplace with so little seen runway, another means the limbo between cycles impacts the group.

Two key hirings already in place are David Popkins, who takes over as hitting coach, and Justin Lehr, employed to the newly created position of director of pitching, overseeing the player-development facet.

Teaching workers vacancies nonetheless in want of filling embrace a brand new bullpen coach to substitute Jeff Ware and a brand new subject coordinator to cowl for Gil Kim, whereas assistant pitching coach David Howell was being thought-about for re-assignment.

var adServerUrl = “”;
var $el = $( “#video_container-627043” );
var permalink = $el.closest(‘.snet-single-article’).knowledge(‘permalink’);

/*
if ( “1” == true && ‘undefined’ !== typeof window.getIndexAds ) {
var so = {preroll:{1:{1:{siteID:191888},2:{siteID:191889}}}};
adServerUrl = window.getIndexAds( ‘http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640×360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300×250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6363608589112&cmsid=384’, so, permalink);
} else {
adServerUrl = “http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640×360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300×250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6363608589112&cmsid=384”;
}
*/
adServerUrl = “http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640×360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300×250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6363608589112&cmsid=384”;
var adServerUrl_result = adServerUrl.consists of(“cust_params”);
var queryString=”;
if(adServerUrl_result){
var gettheDUFI = false;
if (localStorage.getItem(“consent”) !== null && localStorage.getItem(“consent-targeting”) !== null)
gettheDUFI = localStorage.getItem(“theRED_loc”);

if(gettheDUFI){
queryString += “dufiid=” + gettheDUFI + ‘&’;
queryString += “ppid=” + gettheDUFI + ‘&’;
var ppid = “ppid=” + gettheDUFI + ‘&’;
}

var DUFI_IP = false;
if (localStorage.getItem(“consent”) !== null && localStorage.getItem(“consent-targeting”) !== null)
DUFI_IP = sessionStorage.getItem(“DUFI_IP”);

if(DUFI_IP){
queryString += “dufiip=” + DUFI_IP + ‘&’;
}

adServerUrl = adServerUrl.substitute(/cust_params=/, ppid + ‘cust_params=” + encodeURIComponent(queryString) );
}

$el.after( unescape(“%3Cscript src=”” + (document.location.protocol == “https:” ? “https://sb” : “http://b”) + “.scorecardresearch.com/beacon.js” %3E%3C/script%3E”) );

$( doc ).one( “prepared’, perform() {
$( “#video_container-627043” ).SNPlayer( {
bc_account_id: “1704050871”,
bc_player_id: “JCdte3tMv”,
//autoplay: true,
//is_has_autoplay_switch: false,
bc_videos: 6363608589112,
is_has_continuous_play: “false”,
adserverurl: adServerUrl,
part: “”,
thumbnail: “https://www.sportsnet.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/6363608589112-1024×576.jpg”,
direct_url: “https://www.sportsnet.ca/mlb/video/what-we-know-so-far-about-new-blue-jays-hitting-coach-david-popkins/”
});
});

var adServerUrl = “”;
var $el = $( “#video_container-427206” );
var permalink = $el.closest(‘.snet-single-article’).knowledge(‘permalink’);

/*
if ( “1” == true && ‘undefined’ !== typeof window.getIndexAds ) {
var so = {preroll:{1:{1:{siteID:191888},2:{siteID:191889}}}};
adServerUrl = window.getIndexAds( ‘http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640×360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300×250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6363608589112&cmsid=384’, so, permalink);
} else {
adServerUrl = “http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640×360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300×250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6363608589112&cmsid=384”;
}
*/
adServerUrl = “http://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640×360&cust_params=domain%3Dsportsnet.ca&iu=%2F7326%2Fen.sportsnet.web%2FVideo&ciu_szs=300×250&impl=s&gdfp_req=1&env=vp&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&ad_rule=1&vid=6363608589112&cmsid=384”;
var adServerUrl_result = adServerUrl.consists of(“cust_params”);
var queryString=”;
if(adServerUrl_result){
var gettheDUFI = false;
if (localStorage.getItem(“consent”) !== null && localStorage.getItem(“consent-targeting”) !== null)
gettheDUFI = localStorage.getItem(“theRED_loc”);

if(gettheDUFI){
queryString += “dufiid=” + gettheDUFI + ‘&’;
queryString += “ppid=” + gettheDUFI + ‘&’;
var ppid = “ppid=” + gettheDUFI + ‘&’;
}

var DUFI_IP = false;
if (localStorage.getItem(“consent”) !== null && localStorage.getItem(“consent-targeting”) !== null)
DUFI_IP = sessionStorage.getItem(“DUFI_IP”);

if(DUFI_IP){
queryString += “dufiip=” + DUFI_IP + ‘&’;
}

adServerUrl = adServerUrl.substitute(/cust_params=/, ppid + ‘cust_params=” + encodeURIComponent(queryString) );
}

$el.after( unescape(“%3Cscript src=”” + (document.location.protocol == “https:” ? “https://sb” : “http://b”) + “.scorecardresearch.com/beacon.js” %3E%3C/script%3E”) );

$( doc ).one( “prepared’, perform() {
$( “#video_container-427206” ).SNPlayer( {
bc_account_id: “1704050871”,
bc_player_id: “JCdte3tMv”,
//autoplay: false,
//is_has_autoplay_switch: false,
bc_videos: 6363608589112,
is_has_continuous_play: “false”,
adserverurl: adServerUrl,
part: “”,
thumbnail: “https://www.sportsnet.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/6363608589112-1024×576.jpg”,
direct_url: “https://www.sportsnet.ca/mlb/video/what-we-know-so-far-about-new-blue-jays-hitting-coach-david-popkins/”
});
});

Then, of course, there’s the roster. And because the Blue Jays’ 74-88 end suggests, there are important holes to fill.

FanGraphs’ RosterResource at the moment tasks the Blue Jays at a CBT payroll of $199.4 million factoring within the $115 million in ensures to seven gamers plus arbitration projections for 10 gamers, led by Guerrero at an estimated $29.6 million.

Throughout his end-of-season media availability on Oct. 2, Shapiro mentioned he didn’t see the payroll “either growing or decreasing in a big way,” which suggests the Blue Jays might end up within the $230-$240 million vary once more.

In different phrases, they’ve cash to work with.

That ought to give them the house to add an affect bat, a lesser however productive hitter and a mid-range leverage reliever. Nearer Jordan Romano is projected to make $7.75 million in arbitration but when his standing after elbow surgical procedure is simply too unsure, he might be non-tendered to create extra spending room.

The return from final summer season’s deadline sell-off, whereas not altering the franchise’s trajectory, offers the Blue Jays extra property to work with on the commerce market, though each system and 40-man roster depth stay obvious organizational points.

All of which brings us again to Muncy’s level, about how each workforce talks about successful a World Sequence within the spring, however for a way few of them it’s really a legit and sustainable aspiration.

The Blue Jays, irrespective of how you chop it, merely aren’t anyplace shut, the street they’re on is about to end and the time for them to select a path is nigh.

Extra from Sportsnet

Former Blue Jays Teoscar Hernandez, Kevin Kiermaier have a good time World Sequence win

Tim Mayza goes from ‘lowest of lows’ with Blue Jays to ‘highest of highs’ with Yankees