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DUNEDIN, Fla. — In the span of a few hours Thursday, the Toronto Blue Jays saved some money, spent some money, and improved their ballclub.

But they also have a pair of disappointed starting pitchers on their hands because of it all.

First, Marcus Stroman broke the news that he lost his arbitration case and will be paid $6.5 million in 2018, rather than the $6.9 million he thought he was worth.

He did it in dramatic fashion, too, sending out a series of tweets that included the comment “The negative things that were said against me, by my own team, will never leave my mind.”

While that tweet was deleted a few hours later, after wondering aloud on Twitter why he wasn’t informed of the exit of his good friend Ryan Goins, it’s the second case this winter of the 26-year-old not being happy with the organization.

A couple hours later, the Jays announced they had spent the $400,000 they saved by beating Stroman in arbitration and then some, signing 31-year-old left-handed starter Jaime Garcia to a one-year deal with a base salary of $8 million for 2018.

The contract also includes $2 million in innings incentives this season, as well as a $10 million club option for 2019 that comes along with a $2-million buyout. The maximum value of the contract could end up being $22 million over two years.

That second disappointed starter?

Well, that’s Joe Biagini, who had been pencilled into the fifth and final rotation spot now owned by Garcia.

While Biagini is still going to be stretched out as a starter this spring, his destination is now either the bullpen or Triple-A to continue his transition and provide depth.

That, of course, is if all five projected starters are healthy and ready for Opening Day six weeks from now.

Manager John Gibbons prefers the ’pen for Biagini, but GM Ross Atkins left the door open for the demotion.

In Garcia, the Jays are getting a serviceable southpaw who’s been worth 6.1 fWAR over the past three seasons.

Garcia has been well-travelled recently, being traded three times in the span of eight months.

Last December, he was dealt from the St. Louis Cardinals to the Atlanta Braves, before the Braves shipped him to the Minnesota Twins in July, and finally to the New York Yankees less than a week later.

Garcia ended up making 27 starts and posting a 4.41 ERA in 157 innings.

Atkins was attracted to Garcia’s deep repertoire and 56.2% groundball rate.

“The shape of his fastball, which sometimes has cut action, the shape of his slider, the shape of his breaking ball, his curve, the feel for his changeup, he has the ability to adapt and adjust those pitches for different types of hitters in a unique way,” Atkins explained.

The Jays won’t be asking for 200 innings out of Garcia — he’s never hit that mark in nine seasons — but Atkins is confident he can at least give them 160 or 170 innings of quality work.

What happens with Biagini may depend on which bullpen piece Atkins can add via free agency, as he noted the remaining resources — likely somewhere in the range of $5 million — will be directed to relief.

“The bullpen relief market has been a solid market this year for the players,” Atkins said. “A lot of the relief pitchers were signed and signed early, but there still are some interesting arms out there that are available, some of them former starters and some guys we might look at in a more creative way.”

Atkins can understand if Biagini is disappointed by the turn of events, especially if he’s sent to Triple-A to start the year.

“That would probably be less than ideal for Joe, but I also think Joe understands that’s his career and it’s not just about the month of April for the Toronto Blue Jays,” Atkins said. “We’ll see where that goes, but a lot of information to come, and if we have that challenge, that means we have five very healthy starters.”

As for Stroman, Atkins said he had not talked to his likely Opening Day starter about the venting, but he wasn’t about to publicly scold his player for itchy Twitter fingers.

“Arbitration is a tough process,” Atkins said. “What I can tell you is we remain objective in arbitration and we also use outside resources. It impacts players in different ways. I think a lot of Marcus, and his ability to impact a baseball game and his ability to be a starting pitcher.”

Atkins believes his relationship with Stroman is solid, but there may be another arbitration dance or two in the cards prior to him becoming a free agent following the 2020 season.

“Really, our only concern is how we can help him prepare on a daily basis to be the best Toronto Blue Jay, the best Major League Baseball player, and everything we factor in, for sure,” Atkins said. “The human being, not just the pitcher, the teammate, the member of the organization, so it’s all factored in.”

TULOWITZKI TROUBLE

Troy Tulowitzki has yet to arrive in Dunedin, but already there’s concern surrounding his ability to be ready for Opening Day.

While Gibbons was optimistic a bone spur on his right heel wouldn’t keep him off the field long next week, Atkins’ worry Thursday told a different story.

“It’s a chronic issue that arose from the ankle sprain and the procedure he had done prior to that,” Atkins said of the season-ending right ankle injury Tulowitzki suffered July 28. “It was something that was a mild aggravation that we did not initially anticipate to impact spring training and I think given the information that we have today could have a subtle impact on that. What we know today is we’re hopeful he’ll be our Opening Day shortstop.”

A winter spent acquiring middle infield depth will come in handy, with Aledmys Diaz and Gift Ngoepe being the likely options if Tulowitzki isn’t ready.

Gibbons doesn’t envision Yangervis Solarte playing much at the six-spot other than in a pinch, but Atkins threw Richard Urena’s name into the mix.

“Richard Urena has proven he can play defence at the major-league level and has shown flashes of being competitive offensively and (I) love how aggressive he is as a base runner,” Atkins said.