How the Toronto Blue Jays built the most powerful team in baseball
The Toronto Blue Jays were once the premier team in baseball. From 1985-1993 the Jays reached the ALCS five teams. They won the World Series in back-to-back seasons from ’92-’93. They had sluggers and Cy Young candidates, and winning over 90 games was not an aspiration, but rather an expectation.
Since then, things have been much different.
The Jays have not won more than 88 games or finished higher than second place in the tough AL East since Joe Carter walked off the Phillies and Mitch Williams. But the Jays have been showing promise over the last few years, playing around .500 ball in a tough division. They finished with 83 wins in 2014, good for third place in the division — their best showing since 2007. But GM Alex Anthopoulos knew that if Toronto wanted to ascend to the top of the American League’s toughest division, he would need to make a few changes. He made more than just a few changes, and the results have been magnifying.
The Jays have become one of the best teams in baseball this year and are threatening to win more than 90 games and the division for the first time since ’93. Their unbelievably potent offense is a big reason why.
Let’s take a look at how the team was constructed.
Anthopoulos decided to let Colby Rasmus and Melky Cabrera test free agency because little did we know, he had much bigger plans for the club. Toronto already had big bats in their lineup with the likes of Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion, but Anthopoulos knew that one way to mask mediocre pitching is by creating a dangerous lineup.
In November, the Jays acquired second baseman Devon Travis in a trade with Detroit and signed All-Star catcher Russell Martin. Though Travis is on the 60-day DL with a shoulder injury, he batted .304 with an .859 OPS in 62 games and produced a 2.5 WAR while he was healthy — an absurd amount for such a short period of time, especially for a second baseman who was a former 13th-round pick.
Martin was an All-Star for the Dodgers in 2007 and 2008, and in 2011 with the Yankees. But where some were turned off by Martin’s low career batting average — he hit between .211 and .237 each season from 2011-2013 — Anthopoulos saw a solid defensive catcher with a career .352 on base percentage who is also known for his elite pitch framing skills. He won the bidding for the catcher by signing him to a five-year, $82 million deal and has been rewarded with one of Martin’s most powerful career seasons (he has 19 home runs).
On Nov. 28, 2014, Anthopoulos executed arguably the biggest trade in recent franchise history by acquiring All-Star third baseman Josh Donaldson in a deal with the rebuilding Oakland Athletics. Donaldson was a former first-round pick by the Cubs out of Auburn who took a while to develop. His breakout season came at age 27 with the A’s when he batted .301/.384/.499 and played stellar defense to finish in the top five in AL MVP voting. He produced a 7.6 WAR that season in 2013, and last year Fangraphs had him at a 6.5 WAR despite batting just .255. Acquiring Donaldson did not come without a cost; Toronto traded Kendall Graveman, Brett Lawrie and Sean Nolin, but the move paid off in ways beyond Anthopoulos’ dreams. Batting in a stacked lineup, Donaldson’s power exploded to the tune of 38 home runs thus far and an absurd .581 slugging percentage. Donaldson continues to be ranked highly by defensive metrics and is the favorite to win AL MVP.
On Dec. 8, the Jays claimed an undrafted outfielder off waivers from the Twins, and he has paid huge dividends. Chris Colabello had 13 career home runs and a .214 batting average when Toronto claimed him. He was a 31-year-old journeyman whose acquisition would not have raised a single eyebrow. Yet the Assumption College product has been a boon for the Jays as he has hit .329/.376/.528 with 14 home runs, all for the league minimum salary.
Even Justin Smoak, a former No. 11 overall draft pick regarded as a bust with Seattle, has exceeded his past levels of production. Batting at Rogers Centre instead of Safeco Field, Smoak has a career-best .469 slugging percentage and .770 OPS. He has been particularly good against left-handed pitchers, crushing them for a 1.054 OPS this season.
Adding Donaldson gave Toronto another weapon to add to Bautista and Encarnacion in the heart of what has become MLB’s deadliest lineup.
Even though they weren’t moves from the offseason, Anthopoulos needs to be recognized for successfully extending Encarnacion and Bautista at bargain prices, helping to secure one of the best 3-4 punches in baseball for a major discount.
Anthopoulos extended Encarnacion amid a breakout 42-homer season in 2012 for four years at $37 million (including the $10 million option the Jays are sure to pick up next season). Encarnacion has surpassed 32 home runs in each season since signing the deal. He has given the team about a win of value for every $2.5 million, a fraction of the amount wins cost on the free agent market. Fangraphs estimates his value of production at around $29 million annually the past three seasons while he was only earning about $9 million.
Anthopoulos also gave Bautista a five-year, $65 million extension in 2011. Thought to be a large amount at the time for a guy who had been unproven prior to the breakout year, Bautista has paid for his deal many times over. He has given the team an estimated $190 million in value during the span of his contract according to Fangraphs.
Having two of the three biggest sluggers in the AL on their team for a third of what they would be worth on the open market helped give the Jays the financial flexibility to pursue bigger deals and add more contracts to supplement the lineup.
