The future couldn’t feel brighter.
It seemed like they were ready to become a dominant force in the American League.
They never won a playoff game.
It’s over for the Blue Jays.
They reached the level of “pretty good” but couldn’t get over the hump past that.
Now they sit at 44-52 with a dreadfully boring roster and a payroll close to $225 million dollars.
They went from being the team of the future to a cautionary tale.
They need to tear it all down and start over.
Vladdy Jr and Bo Bichette each are under control until the end of next year.
The sooner you move them both, they more you’ll get back.
Bichette is having a terrible season.
You do see this sometimes with great contact hitters.
Wade Boggs had a pretty awful 1992 (in a contract year no less).
The good news is he did rebound and had a nice few years with the Yankees after that.
The bad news is he was never quite as good as he was before 1992.
He’s only 26.
You’d get a ton back for him right now.
You’d get even more for Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
He’s only 25 (!!!!)
and he’s having a nice enough season.
He’s still nowhere near the great player we saw in 2021.
I don’t know where that guy went.
But he’s a very good hitter with a mile high ceiling.
He could get you a team’s 2-3 best prospects.
The real value in young guys is that they are under club control.
Paying these guys $30 million/year isn’t what a rebuilding team needs to do.
I do think there is also value in being truly terrible for a couple years.
Those high draft picks and focus on a farm system can be a blueprint to winning.
Look at the Astros from a couple years ago or even the Orioles now.
Then again, look at the Blue Jays.
It doesn’t always work.
They do have some horrific contracts on this team.
None is worse than George Springer.
He’s due $24 million for the next two seasons.
He’s 34 years old and hitting .225/.310/.366.
That’s coming off last year which wasn’t good either.
I think the smart play is to hold onto him and hope he can somehow build some value back.
If not, you’re trying to win the next years anyway so who cares.
They need to move anyone and everyone.
Gausman is having a mediocre year but I could see someone wanting to have a go at fix him?
Jose Berrios is a different challenge.
He’s only 30 but signed through 2028 (owed $86.8 million).
I think you could find homes for all of these guys.
You might not get great prospects but they can be moved and anything back would help move forward.
Keeping them does nothing.
They’ve kind of started.
Toronto DFA’d Kevin Kiermaier last week.
The trade deadline is 15 days away.
This shit ain’t easy.
The Blue Jays built a great team in the early 1990’s.
That was a long time ago.
They haven’t been to a World Series in over 30 years.
They have only made it to an ALCS twice in that time.
It’s so frustrating rebuilding after a rebuild that didn’t work.
But as painful as that is, it’s the only path forward.
The Orioles and Yankees have such a huge edge in that division over the rest of the decade.
If the Red Sox ever spend money again, you’re free to’t count them out either.
The only way forward for the Blue Jays is to go backwards.
