Backup Plan

DAN CEARNS The Standard

Another possibly exciting offseason is beginning, for the Toronto Blue Jays, with the team, rumoured to be one of a few teams, in the race to sign Juan Soto.

While it’s an exciting rumour, with the Jays listed as one of three frontrunners, along with the New York Mets and his present team the New York Yankees, I think the Jays need a solid backup option.

A lot of fans will remember, the Jays were in on, then free agent, Shohei Ohtani before he ended up signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The result was an underwhelming offseason for the team, with their biggest acquisition being Justin Turner. With Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette in their primes, the Jays can’t afford to repeat that type of offseason again. Soto would absolutely add another superstar to the team and could help propel them back into the playoffs next season. However, if they miss out and he stays in New York, the Jays still need to add more heavy hitters.

This past season, the Jays were 26th in home runs and 23rd in runs, across Major League Baseball (MLB). For context, the two teams who made it to the World Series ranked first and third in home runs in the league. In terms of runs scored, the Yankees and Dodgers were second and third in the league. The Jays need to add to their offense.

There are a number of players on the market who could fit the bill, to help the team out. Some examples include: Alex Bregman, Anthony Santander, Pete Alonso and Teoscar Hernandez. It’s not often Major League Baseball free agent periods are this full of talent, so the Jays need to take advantage of this.

This is a Blue Jays team which hasn’t won a playoff game since 2016. The team has been swept in three straight first round playoff series, before missing the playoffs entirely, this past season. It’s time for, general manager, Ross Atkins to prove he can make this team a contender, and that starts with making solid additions to the team this winter. The Jays can’t afford to head into another season without at least one big splash trade or free agent signing.