Toronto Blue Jays Top Five Offseason Priorities

Diversify the Offense

In the previously mentioned interview, John Gibbons also suggested that the Blue Jays needed to become a more multi-dimensional offense:

"“We’re an all-or-nothing type offense. That’s the reality whether we like that or not … A little bit more team speed would go a long way. We weren’t a fast team but [that] kind of goes hand in hand with a lot of slugging type teams.”"

Bashing your way to victory all summer can be fun, and it tends to work against bad teams. But when you get to the postseason and face the best of the best, good pitching always seems to shut down good hitting. Live by the home run, die by the home run – and that’s more or less what happened to the Jays in the ALCS. They scored eight runs over the series’ five games (five of them in Game 4) and hit just two round-trippers. The Cleveland Indians’ lockdown bullpen simply overpowered the Jays sluggers.

Losing one or both of Encarnacion and Bautista could effectively force Toronto to become a different type of offense. But even if they do managed to retain at least one star, it’s probably a good idea anyway. Adding more contact hitters and on-base threats could help diversify the lineup, which is why someone like Votto (.326/.434/.550 this year) seems like such a good fit.

However, the Jays do have some of the parts needed to change their approach already on their roster. Though he’s dealt with injuries the past two seasons, 25-year-old second baseman Devon Travis could use his speed and quickness more often on the base paths. They could also push Kevin Pillar (team-leading 14 steals) to swipe a few more. That goes against the Jays’ philosophy in recent years, but their 54 stolen bases as a team this season ranked 25th in the league, so they could definitely stand to improve in that regard.

Next: Some Relief