It will be an interesting offseason for the Toronto Blue Jays. The 2015 AL East champs have multiple key players looking to get paid this winter, but which ones should the team look to bring back?
We are in the final stretch of the regular season and the postseason is fast approaching. However, clubs are already preparing for how they will attack this offseason. Most winters, general managers have to make tough decisions and this one will be especially hard on Toronto Blue Jays President Mark Shapiro.
Toronto’s front office is going to have one of the more challenging situations with three of their core players’ contracts expiring after this season. Toronto’s designated hitter/first baseman, Edwin Encarnacion, and outfielders Jose Bautista and Michael Saunders are all going to be looking for large sums of money this winter. Even though the Blue Jays would probably like to keep all three of their sluggers, it’s just an impossibility with the money that will be thrown at them in the coming months.
David Price bolted for the Boston Red Sox last offseason after the Jays did not offer enough money to bring back the dominant left-hander. This will create a lot of pressure on Toronto to bring at least one of their key soon-to-be free agents back. But what would be the wisest investment?
We’ll look at what the team’s plan should be this offseason because while the Blue Jays remain right in the thick of the playoff race, free agency will be here before we know it.
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