Going into the Blue Jays off season there was alot of concern from the fan base. All the optimism that was present in the Winter of 2012 had evaporated because many of the prospects that were going to be relied upon to play significant roles, were not as dominant as projected when called into action this past year. Now that five year plan was quickly turning into a 10 year plan. Along with the players not being in place, there was major concerns that Rogers would not fulfill its promise to spend more money to bring in front line players if there was an opportunity to do so. Fans cited the Yu Darvish situation as an example of the owners being tight with the payroll. Then the Jays lost their manager to Boston and still have not replaced him and the names being thrown around haven't really impressed most.
All the worries about this not being a productive off season were wiped out with one big move from General Manager Alex Anthopolous on Tuesday evening. A blockbuster of a trade with the Miami Marlins were 12 players are changing uniforms. The Jays acquired several all-star, proven big league talents, while sending back trouble makers and prospects. So who got the better of the deal? Immediately the reaction is that the Jays have robbed the Marlins blind. The Jays World Series odds dropped from 45/1 to 15/1 when the trade was announced. A whopping 89% of people on ESPN responded that the Jays won the trade. The cynics in Jaysville will say that we gave up the farm (prospects) and will pay for it later on, but will they care when they are celebrating a World Series on Yonge Street?
This is the type of move that winning franchises, Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, Angels have made for the past decade. Acquire players that are ready to win now. You know the talent level that you are acquiring, you are happy with it and you know that it will make an immediate impact. These franchises trade away prospects. Prospects are always fun to have because you can dream about how good the future is, but you are never sure if that five-star prospect will actually be able to hit or find the strike zone once they are in the show. You don't win World Series trophies by having the most prospects ranked in the top 100 by Keith Law.
The players that the Jays sent to Miami may or may not become major league stars or even just major league players, we don't know right now, but what we do know is that the Jays acquired two top of the rotation players and an all-star.
Once again, Jays fans have a Winter of hope. Spring Training can't come fast enough...
For a full list of names involved in the big trade,
check the ticker...
