Yankees need to take the Blue Jays’ aggressiveness seriously after latest updates
The Yankees can’t let the Blue Jays steal the show this offseason.
When you think of the direct threats to the New York Yankees, the easiest ones that pop into your head on an annual basis are the Houston Astros, Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays. But many don’t seem to realize the Toronto Blue Jays are getting larger and larger in that rearview mirror.
The rivals north of the border aren’t messing around. They have a legitimate young core led by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and went out last offseason to spend big on NL Cy Young runner up Hyun-Jin Ryu. Their payroll is only projected to be $77.8 million, according to Baseball Reference, in 2021 and they’ll have money coming off the books (nearly $18 million) after next season.
Though it’s a pandemic offseason and the general consensus is that a lot of teams will be hesitant to hand out big contracts, the Yankees shouldn’t overlook what the Blue Jays could do with that much spending power. They can easily supplement their stable of up-and-coming studs with two big contracts and call it a day.
We were previously terrified of the rumors connecting them to DJ LeMahieu. Then, MLB Trade Rumors came out and predicted DJLM would actually land there to further increase the heart rate. We don’t believe it, but once again, we can’t rule anything out given all the uncertainty.
Now, to pile onto the LeMahieu buzz, there’s legitimate chatter about the Jays making a run at George Springer. Here’s the latest from FanSided’s Robert Murray:
"“The Blue Jays are interested in George Springer, as MLB Network’s Jon Heyman first reported, and are said to “love” the free-agent outfielder.“It is unlikely that Springer, 31, will land a deal as long as Bryce Harper (13 years) or Manny Machado (10 years). MLB Trade Rumors projected Springer will land a five-year, $125 million contract. And as one executive said, “He’s the kind of player I’d have no issue giving $20+ million (per year). His makeup is off the charts.”“It’s why the Blue Jays have identified Springer as an ideal fit in their search to upgrade the offense and improve their up-the-middle defense. And their interest in Springer and early aggressiveness on the free-agent market indicates that they believe they can build off their success in 2020.”"
Though Springer actually has bad stats against the Yankees for his career (.183 average and .592 OPS in 27 career games), we’d definitely prefer if we weren’t facing him 19 times per year.
And if we really need to add to the paranoia surrounding LeMahieu, Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith weighed in on the matter and said, “If there’s a reason that Toronto shouldn’t be a serious bidder here, I have yet to hear it.”
Ugh.
The Springer update further proves there’s at least one big splash in store for the Blue Jays. They’ve also been a rumored destination for Francisco Lindor, which could alter the Yankees’ offseason plans in more ways than one.
If you’re overlooking this team, it’s time to start tuning into what’s going on, because the Jays proved to us this year that they’re built to win, and a few more stars can really put them over the edge and make the Yankees’ lives very difficult.