"Unmitigated disaster" - baseball analyst calls out Blue Jays front office
It would appear that Blue Jays fans have an analyst on their side.
Jeff Passan, MLB insider for ESPN was recently quoted as saying that the Blue Jays offseason has been an unmitigated disaster.
He was recently asked to grade the job that Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins have done in upgrading the roster this winter. His remarks were as follows:
The Blue Jays have a lot of good things to sell. Toronto is an incredible city. The team's spring complex and renovated Rogers Centre are both top facilities. They have money and are willing to spend it. But in an AL East with a Yankees team that made the World Series, an ascendant Red Sox team, an always-competitive Tampa Bay squad and a Baltimore Orioles unit that could be the best of them all, the Blue Jays don't rate quite the same. And with an uninspiring farm system -- multiple free agent players took notice -- and next to no foundational players under contract beyond 2025, ultimately the good is counterbalanced by the not so good.
While the acquisition of Andres Gimenez will help the Blue Jays defensively, and the bullpen will be better off than last year with the return of Yimi Garcia, a return to form by Erik Swanson and the addition of Nick Sandlin, many Blue Jays fans would agree with Passan, criticizing Atkins almost hourly for his perceived inaction in getting anybody, especially when it comes to Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s contract extension.
There is still time to make deals happen, and January has been a historically strong month for the Jays in terms of acquisitions. At that point though, it may be seen by some as too little, too late.
