The Toronto Blue Jays are facing scrutiny after a string of failed attempts to attract top free agents. Their latest pursuit of Roki Sasaki, a talented Japanese pitcher, has become a crucial test of their ability to convince players that Toronto is a serious contender. The article explores the team's history of courting American attention and its struggles to translate that into on-field success.
There was a time when Toronto Blue Jays management were delighted to be reported courting top free agents. General manager Ross Atkins would get a little smile whenever he was asked about it. It was the look that said, “Yeah, that was us holding hands with Shohei Ohtani behind the portables. We may be official soon.” That was a lot of disappointments ago. Now the Jays must wish they’d kept their romantic lives private. This is what happens to over-sharers who can’t get past the first date.
Their latest swipe right is Roki Sasaki. On Wednesday, the window opens for the 23-year-old Japan-based starter to negotiate with Major League Baseball clubs. He has a week to make a deal. The Yankees have been in his DMs. So were the Mets, the Giants and the Rangers. But, according to various sources, Sasaki has narrowed his list of would-be partners to three – the Dodgers, the Padres and the Jays. Sasaki isn’t the sort of player who’s going to turn a team around by himself, but this is it. It’s Toronto’s last chance to convince anyone that they are a serious concern. This off-season has been a bust for the Jays in a lot of ways, but one in particular. They’ve gone from being one of baseball’s cool kids to one of the burnouts. The same U.S. outlets that used to hold them up as the thinking man’s contender now laugh at them in print. “The Blue Jays keep offering mountains of cash, but can’t find anyone to take it,” USA Today insider Bob Nightengale wrote a few days ago.No Canadian pro team is more anxious to be liked by Americans than the Jays. This is why everyone knows every twitch they make, while the Toronto Raptors, for instance, are able to do business in relative secret. A determination to be admired by strangers is a key management strategy of the Atkins/Mark Shapiro regime. As long as they keep American baseball influencers on side, they’ll be okay. Canadians? What do Canadians know about baseball? They should feel lucky they’re allowed to buy tickets. Former general manager J.P. Ricciardi had the same approach. American writers loved him. According to them, his team was always on the cusp of breaking out, or signing so-and-so. Ricciardi’s Jays were the best team in baseball for eight years, aside from the fact that they never won anything. When Ricciardi’s bit finally wore thin, he left Toronto and never worked as a GM again. That was the moment the rest of baseball realized that Toronto wasn’t just a fun city to visit. It was also the league’s easiest mark. You can get away with things here that you wouldn’t even think of trying in the U.S. Atkins and Shapiro have run this game better than Ricciardi, though with similar results. They’re about to start their 10th season in charge. The stadium has been rebuilt into a 30-storey cash register. Those in attendance can now buy an entire bottle of wine at the grab-and-go to take to their seats. Against that kind of progress, what’s a playoff berth? If you’re confused about the difference, the Jays will explain to you that this is a process. When you ask how the process works, they’ll repeat to you that this is a process, but slower and louder. They’ll keep doing that until you give up. This treat-your-fans-mean-to-keep-’em-keen way of doing things worked because there was always an American willing to vouch for it. The Blue Jays were doing great. Not in terms of wins and losses, mind you. But everywhere else – player development, facilities upgrades, back-end something or other and the … well, you know what I mean. Nobody’s doing that any more. The tastemakers at ESPN have discovered what close followers of Toronto baseball have known for years – there is no there there. The Blue Jays are the only 100-per-cent green team in baseball, powered entirely by hot air.There are still free agents the Jays could, and maybe will, get this off-season. There are trades they could make. But that’s the club acquiring players who are either a) desperate, b) too greedy to know better or c) have no choice in the matter. Sasaki has nothing but choices. Owing to baseball’s rules about international signings, he’s ridiculously cheap, and just as ridiculously talented. He can go wherever he likes. Shapiro, Atkins and their American cheerleaders have told us over and over again how much baseball players love the Jays organization. Okay then. Prove it. Go out and get a guy whose criteria isn’t the largest cash offer or living a drive away from his McMansion in Arizona. He just wants to land somewhere professional. If that’s the Jays, then a lot (though not all) will be forgiven. Sasaki’s arrival would send a bat signal to other players: Toronto is a safe harbour. The theoretical arrival of a free agent such as Anthony Santander is not going to change anyone’s mind about anything. Then it’s a countdown to Vlad Guerrero leaving and the crash landing that follow
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