The Blue Jays held their introductory press convention for big-ticket free agent acquisition Anthony Santander on Tuesday. Basic supervisor Ross Atkins advised the Toronto beat that the membership nonetheless has some monetary flexibility after finalizing that five-year pact (hyperlink by way of Keegan Matheson of MLB.com).
Atkins didn’t present a lot in the best way of particular targets. He famous typically that the entrance workplace will proceed to pursue upgrades on each the place participant and pitching sides. Toronto has been linked to the likes of Max Scherzer and Jurickson Profar throughout the previous few days. They’ve lengthy been tied to Alex Bregman and Nick Pivetta and have been talked about as a possible Pete Alonso suitor. A lot of the prime remaining free brokers have been not less than loosely linked to the Jays in some unspecified time in the future over the offseason.
If the Jays make a transfer on the pitching aspect, they may deal with the rotation. Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet wrote on Monday that they’ve been “much less aggressive” in attacking the bullpen since they signed Jeff Hoffman to a three-year deal. Toronto had acquired Nick Sandlin and re-signed Yimi García earlier within the offseason. They be a part of holdovers Chad Inexperienced and Erik Swanson as potential leverage choices. That’s nonetheless not essentially the most formidable bullpen, but it surely’s much better than the group which Toronto carried into the offseason.
A rotation pickup may additionally not directly enhance the reduction corps. Yariel Rodríguez can pitch in both function. He’s presently penciled in because the fifth starter behind Kevin Gausman, José Berríos, Chris Bassitt and Bowden Francis. Signing a starter would permit the Jays to make use of Rodríguez as a multi-inning reliever if everyone seems to be wholesome popping out of camp.
There are just a few areas for attainable improve on the place participant aspect. Even after including Santander, they may accommodate a nook outfielder. Including a left fielder would permit them to maintain Santander in proper subject and use George Springer as a chosen hitter and rotational outfielder. Their third basemen are largely unproven on the main league stage, although a second huge infield pickup (following the Andrés Giménez commerce) may block the trail for the likes of Will Wagner, Orelvis Martinez and Addison Barger to get alternatives to show themselves.
The Jays dipped narrowly under the posh tax threshold final yr. They’re effectively past the $241MM base quantity this season. RosterResource calculates their CBT determine round $263MM — $2MM above the second penalization tier. That features an $18.5MM estimate for Santander, although the deferrals in his contract are anticipated to push the “true” common annual worth nearer to $14MM. That might drop the Jays again into the primary tier as soon as the Santander phrases are absolutely reported, however any acquisition of significance is more likely to push them again into the second tier.
Toronto can pay a 20% tax on spending between $241MM and $261MM and might be taxed at a 32% fee for spending between $261MM and $281MM. The penalties escalate additional in the event that they go previous $281MM, which might additionally push their prime decide within the 2026 draft again by 10 spots.
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