Just Like Old Times

It’s been 22 years since the Toronto Blue Jays last made the postseason and a lot has changed on the baseball scene in Canada since then. The Montreal Expos left Canada in 2004 to become the Washington Nationals which left the Blue Jays as the only Major League Baseball team to not call the United States home. But the Jays have become a forgotten team in the American League East. Since Toronto won the World Series in 1993, they’ve watched the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox combine to win the Fall Classic eight times while every team in the AL East with the exception of the Blue Jays, has won the division title at least two times over that stretch. But Toronto is out to change that this season.

In recent years, Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos has been active as far as making deals to turn the fortunes of Toronto around. In 2013, the Blue Jays acquired starting pitcher R.A. Dickey from the New York Mets while also making a move to obtain starting pitcher Mark Buehrle and shortstop Jose Reyes from the Miami Marlins. In 2013, the Jays were only able to win 74 games, but last year they went 83-79 as they finished five victories short of the final wild card spot in the American League.

This season the Jays have been a team that is hovered around the .500 mark, but they could be ready to take their game to another level.

Leading up to the MLB trade deadline, Anthopoulos was very active. The Blue Jays traded Reyes to the Colorado Rockies along with three minor league players in exchange for shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and relief pitcher LaTroy Hawkins. This past Thursday would see the Jays strike a deal with the Detroit Tigers to acquire starting pitcher David Price and just prior to the deadline, they were also able to get outfielder Ben Revere from the Philadelphia Phillies. The moves to bring in Tulowitzki and Price have brought excitement to the fan base in Toronto as it could be just what the doctor ordered to get the Blue Jays to the postseason this October.

This year the Blue Jays are 12th in the American League in both quality starts (47) and team earned run average (3.99) But not since the days of starting pitcher Roy Halladay have the Blue Jays had a player in their rotation that was a true ace which changes now with Price. Price fits that mold of an ace as he is a pitcher that you want on the mound to start a winning streak, stop a losing streak, and the Jays are hopeful that he’ll ultimately begin a playoff series for them this October. Price has a career earned run average of 3.13 and he also won the AL Cy Young Award in 2012 as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays. Price is in the final year of his contract as he’s set to become an unrestricted free agent this winter which means that he’ll be in line for a hefty payday. The Blue Jays decided to roll the dice in acquiring Price who should pitch lights out for them coming down the stretch due to the fact that he’s looking to get paid in the off-season.

Price’s presence in the Blue Jays starting rotation also pushes Dickey and Buehrle who are both veteran pitchers further down in the pecking order. Dickey throws the unpredictable knuckle ball while Buehrle is a “junk” pitcher who no longer has to feel the strain of attempting to carry the Blue Jays starting rotation.

But as bad as Toronto’s pitching has been this year, their lineup makes up for it. The Blue Jays have one of the top offenses in Major League Baseball as they are first in the American League in runs scored (556) and slugging (.443), while they are third in home runs with 142, as they have some fierce power hitters in their lineup in the form of Tulowitzki, third baseman Josh Donaldson, first baseman Edwin Encarnacion, and outfielder Jose Bautista. And with all of that power, it is surprising that the Blue Jays have only struck out 732 times this year which is just 11th in the AL as once you factor in catcher Russell Martin whom Anthopoulos signed last winter, there really isn’t a perceived soft spot within Toronto’s batting order.

The Blue Jays entered play today tied with the Baltimore Orioles for second place in the American League East as each team is six games behind the Yankees while Toronto is just a game behind the Minnesota Twins for the final wild card slot on the Junior Circuit. I previously commented earlier this season that the Yankees, Orioles, and Blue Jays will fight for the title in the AL East as now Toronto has a full squad that can close the gap on New York within the division. And what the additional wild card spot has done is to give more teams hope as far as making the postseason which is good news for the Blue Jays who are looking to end the longest current drought in Major League Baseball without reaching the playoffs.

The old adage is that pitching wins championships and if the Blue Jays were to find themselves in a one-game, wild card playoff, they have a guy in Price that can get the job done as he proved that by pitching the Rays past the Texas Rangers in 2013 in a one-game playoff to get Tampa to the American League Wild Card Game. And the Blue Jays definitely have the hitting lineup behind Price and the other pitchers that will keep them in games coming down the stretch of the season.

Toronto has won three out of their last four games and you can feel the buzz that is building there as the folks are coming to the Rogers Centre to support their beloved Blue Jays. From 1985-1993, the Blue Jays won the American League East five times with the last two titles being the prelude for them winning the World Series. Those Blue Jays teams enjoyed tremendous balance as they had tremendous hitting with the likes of Hall of Fame second baseman Roberto Alomar while they had solid starting pitching with the likes of Jimmy Key and Dave Stieb. For Anthopoulos and Blue Jays manager John Gibbons, they could be potentially riding the wave of something special down the stretch of the regular season. And as teams can still put a waiver claim on a player until August 31, the Blue Jays and Anthopoulos aren’t necessarily done upgrading as this team could still use some help in the bullpen. But these next two months could be very special for the Blue Jays and their fan base in Toronto.