I think we can officially say that 2017 will not be the year of the Blue Jays.
With Monday’s 4 p.m. non-waiver trade deadline passing, Toronto has clearly indicated two things:
- They are not going to make the playoffs this season, not by a long shot.
- Jays management appears confident that the team will be a legitimate contender in 2018.
General manager Ross Atkins did not unload any of his team’s core players, while receiving depth outfielder Nori Aoki and three prospects in deals that sent starting pitcher Francisco Liriano to the Houston Astros and reliever Joe Smith to the Cleveland Indians.
Atkins could have received a little more if he decided to trade slugger Jose Bautista, or pitchers Marco Estrada and J.A. Happ.
Instead, he will use the remainder of this season to take stock of the current roster and determine what moves will need to be made in the off-season to make this group better.
I can’t lump Toronto in either the trade deadline winners or losers categories because they are not in a position to contend, and I think that blowing up this team is not the way to go.
There are still some good pieces here.
The Dodgers, Yankees and Royals have added some nice pieces and clearly land in the winners circle.
I expected the Astros and Indians to do more to bolster their squads, but they both fell short.
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