End of the Road 2015: Toronto Blue Jays
After losing Game 6 of the ALCS to the Kansas City Royals on Friday, the Toronto Blue Jays have been eliminated from the MLB postseason. That means they’ve effectively come to the end of the road. As we’ll do with each eliminated team this season, let’s give them a send-off that would make Boyz II Men proud.
We’ll look at the highs and lows of their season, what bright spots their future might hold and what questions need answering as they prepare for 2016.
HIGH POINT: The run the Blue Jays went on over the last two months of the season was incredible. After making a big splash at the trade deadline by bringing in five players, including All-Stars David Price and Troy Tulowitzki, Toronto took off. The Jays won 43 of their final 62 games to race past the New York Yankees to claim AL East title and get into the playoffs for the first since 1993.
LOW POINT: It’s hard to believe considering where they ended up, but after a 6-5 extra innings loss to the Seattle Mariners on July 26 the Blue Jays dropped to 50-50 on the season. Time was running out. The next day they pulled off the blockbuster trade to acquire Tulowitzki, but was it too late? After a 3-2 loss to the Phillies on Jule 28, they were eight games back of the division-leading Yankees. Then came the deal for Price and Toronto went from 0 to 100, real quick.
BEST HIGHLIGHT: This one is easy, even for a team that was perhaps baseball’s most exciting this season. Jose Bautista’s home run – complete with his theatrical bat flip for the ages – in the seventh inning of Game 5 of the ALDS against Texas put the exclamation point on the wildest inning anyone can remember and sent Toronto the the ALCS. And while Blue Jays came up short in their quest to win the World Series, losing to Kansas City in the ALCS in six games, Bautista’s blast (and bat flip) won’t be forgotten any time soon.
HOPE FOR THE FUTURE: All the key players in the best lineup in the league are under contract for next season. With AL MVP candidate Josh Donaldson, Russell Martin, Edwin Encarnacion, Bautista and Tulowitzki making up the middle of the order, opposing teams are once again going to have trouble containing Toronto’s powerful offense. Expect to see the Blue Jays top the runs per game rankings in 2016 and be in a position to make another deep October run.
QUESTION THAT NEEDS ANSWERING: There are two pressing questions in Toronto heading into the offseason. What will the starting rotation look like next season and who will be filling out the roster? General manager Alex Anthopoulos’s contract is up. Will new team president Mark Shapiro decide to keep him or is Anthopoulos’ time done with the Blue Jays? And what does that mean for the future of manager John Gibbons, who is Anthopoulos’ guy?
Once that’s resolved, remodeling the pitching staff becomes the top priority. David Price, Marco Estrada, and Mark Buerhle are all free agents and the club holds a $12 million option on R.A. Dickey. Buehrle is expected to retire, but Price is expected to a command a contract that could be worth close to $200 million and Estrada won’t come cheap either after his excellent play in the second half and postseason. Marcus Stroman is a lock to be one of the five and odds are Drew Hutchison will get another shot to prove himself, but that’s all we can even guess at this point. Will Toronto even make a competitive offer for Price? Could young bullpen stalwarts Roberto Osuna and Aaron Sanchez find themselves in the rotation mix? Besides Brett Cecil, who will pitch in relief? For a team coming off such a great season, the Blue Jays sure do have a number of important areas to address to ensure they can do the same next year.
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Israel Fehr is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr
