What a wild season for the Toronto Blue Jays. After teetering around the .500 mark going into the trade deadline, general manager Alex Anthopoulos swung massive trades to acquire David Price and Troy Tulowitzki and the team caught fire, finishing first in the AL East with a 93-69 record and making the playoffs for the first time since winning the World Series in ’93. The club had an impressive comeback against the Texas Rangers down 0-2 in the ALCS, but they couldn’t overcome a 1-3 hole against the Kansas City Royals. Despite not bringing the World Series back to Canada, it was an impressive return to form for a team mired in mediocrity for far too long.
Preseason prediction: With the turmoil in the front office this season that included what seemed to be a game of chicken with Dan Duquette to become the team’s new president, Anthopolous has pushed all his chips to the middle of the table in 2015 with the hope of pushing the Blue Jays into the playoffs. If you think where the team could be on the high end of the bell curve, 90 wins isn’t out of the question, but realistically, assuming everyone stays relatively healthy, this team should compete for the AL Wild Card. Most projections have the Blue Jays in the 84-86 win range, which seems about right.
That being said, there’s a high amount of variance here considering the talent of the top of that order, Justin Smoak’s ability to have a season out of nowhere, and the steps taken forward by the team’s young pitchers. Conservative estimates have them in the chase for the wild card, but don’t be surprised if things come together for this team and 2015 finally breaks a curse so old it can enjoy a fine bottle of Molson Canadian (or Labatt Blue, take your pick). (Tim Livingston, February 18th)
What Went Right: The second half run was brought on by Toronto’s explosive offense. Josh Donaldson was an MVP candidate and made the trade with the Oakland Athletics look embarrassingly bad. Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion both hit 30+ home runs, and Russell Martin was justified the cost of his enormous five-year $82 million deal. That offense was even more potent following the trade deadline acquisitions of Tulowitzki and Ben Revere. The Blue Jays ended up with a +221 run differential, by far the best in baseball.
Blue Jays pitching also performed better than expected, with a second half rotation of Price, Marco Estrada, R.A. Dickey, and Mark Buehrle forming a stable group. The bullpen led by Roberto Osuna, Aaron Sanchez, and Brett Cecil was also dynamite for the club in the season’s later months. There weren’t many weaknesses post-deadline for the club.
TORONTO, CANADA – JULY 28: Devon Travis #29 of the Toronto Blue Jays celebrates after hitting a solo home run in the first inning during MLB game action against the Philadelphia Phillies on July 28, 2015 at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Devon Travis
What Went Wrong: The second half for the Blue Jays was easy mode, but the team had struggles.
Marcus Stroman missed almost all of 2015 with an ACL injury which left the club with a struggling rotation pre-Price. Drew Hutchison, despite his 13-5 record, posted an ugly 5.57 ERA and went from being a building piece going forward to an afterthought. Rookie Devon Travis was a Rookie of the Month winner and was a great offensive piece, before going down with a season-ending injury. While Ryan Goins is a fabulous defensive player, he doesn’t have half the bat Travis had. The bullpen was a tad messy outside of the late innings guys – as despite having decent BB/K ration, Aaron Loup didn’t repeat his past success.
In the playoffs, the Blue Jays shot themselves in the foot by falling behind and ultimately it cost them a chance at the pennant.
TORONTO, ON – OCTOBER 21: Marco Estrada #25 of the Toronto Blue Jays throws a pitch in the first inning against the Kansas City Royals during game five of the American League Championship Series at Rogers Centre on October 21, 2015 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Most Surprising Player: Estrada was fabulous for the Blue Jays. Acquired in a one-for-one trade with the Milwaukee Brewers for Adam Lind, Estrada went from reliever to perfect number three starter. Armed with a great changeup, he had a 13-6 record with a 3.13 ERA in 34 games (28 starts) while holding AL batters to a league-best .206 average against. He stepped up his game further in the playoffs, coming up huge for Toronto in Game 3 against Texas and Game 5 against the Royals, posting two of the best starts of his career.
I have to give a nod to Chris Colabello as well. The off-season waiver claim did well as a platoon first baseman, hitting .321 with 15 home runs, and added power to the bottom of a deep batting order.
TORONTO, CANADA – AUGUST 11: Drew Hutchison #36 of the Toronto Blue Jays salutes the fans as he is relieved in the eighth inning during MLB game action against the Oakland Athletics on August 11, 2015 at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
Most Disappointing Player: As I’ve mentioned above, it was a tough season for Hutchison. The 25-year-old was an innings eater in 2014, whose 4.48 ERA didn’t line up with his 3.85 FIP. A clear bounce back candidate, Hutchison regressed and his FIP ballooned to 4.42. One of the few sure things in the rotation entering the season, Hutchison ended the season out of the rotation and off the playoff roster.
TORONTO, ON – OCTOBER 19: Troy Tulowitzki #2 of the Toronto Blue Jays celebrates after hitting a three-run home run in the third inning against the Kansas City Royals during game three of the American League Championship Series at Rogers Centre on October 19, 2015 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)
The Future: Toronto still has momentum entering 2016. The key parts of the offense are still under contract, but the club does face some tough decisions regarding their rotation. Price, Estrada, and Buehrle are all free agents, and Dickey has a club option. Toronto would like to bring them all back, but with only so much money (and Buehrle’s possible retirement) it’s unlikely that happens. Osuna and Aaron Sanchez may be called into action.
The Blue Jays are in win-now mode and had a hugely successful season, so if there’s ever a time for ownership to spend money, it’s now, to carry that momentum into next season. New president Mark Shapiro and AA have some interesting decisions to be make.
