The Toronto Blue Jays’ 2016 season came to an anticlimactic end by way of shutout loss to the Cleveland Indians in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series. Given that the Jays had the best pitching staff in the AL and one of the game’s most potent offences, I have to say, I’m a little disappointed. I expected more from the club, especially after they mashed the Texas Rangers in the American League Division Series.

That’s why, as your new, hastily elected general manager, I intend to do something about it. I will make the Blue Jays great again through a series of skillful trades, measured contracts, and no-nonsense negotiations that propel Canada’s team back to its former championship glory.

Actually, I can’t back any of that, but I can tell you what I would do if I was in the driver's seat.

Here goes:

Jose Bautista

I don’t think that anyone can say Bautista hasn’t played a monumental role in the resurgence of interest in baseball in Canada. Actually, let me rephrase that. I don’t think that anyone can say that Bautista hasn’t been monumental for the resurgence of an interest in the Blue Jays in Canada.

Baseball will never be hockey in Canada, and the Jays will never be the Maple Leafs in Toronto. But after Bautista hit and pimped that mammoth home run off Sam Dyson in the 2015 ALDS, the Jays were everything. It wasn’t enough to usurp hockey from the sports throne in the great white north, but it was enough, at least for a little while, to shift the spotlight to the Jays. That’s meaningful.

Bautista will never be forgotten. That doesn’t mean I need to keep him around. Indeed, given his penchant for condescending or dismissive commentary in the local media and lack of offensive fireworks this postseason, I think he’s outlived his political shelf life. Toronto will always love him, but absence will make the heart grow fonder. When he retires, he’ll be paraded back to Toronto, throwing out ceremonial pitches and hot takes in the media with the best of us. He’ll be a hero, as he should be.

But, in the present, he represents an expensive and aging bat on a team that needs to get younger and faster. It’s time to part ways with Joey Bats, for both Joey and the Jays. I’ll throw a qualifying offer at him, but I think we both know he’s not going to take it.

Edwin Encarnacion

As for Encarnacion, I’d love to keep him, but I don’t think I can splash around the kind of money that a team like the Red Sox, Dodgers, or Rangers can.

Fans will be upset by this, but they shouldn’t be. My hope is that fans will have grown up a little over the past few years. When a team doesn’t win in a while, it’s reasonable to be upset when a star player leaves. But now, after seeing what it takes to win both in the regular season and the postseason, and the back-to-back years of success, Jays fans should realize that it takes more than loud baseball and known names to compete. It takes versatility, sustainability, and a flexible payroll.

The next stop in Canada's modern re-education with baseball should be the end of dividing players into studs and duds, and the beginning of seeing the role-playing potential of underrated talent and its importance in keeping the team’s payroll and prospect pool healthy and flexible.

I’m not talking about a shameless public relations campaign about how lead is really gold. I mean role players with experience who can produce when plugged in around my core squad of Josh Donaldson, Devin Travis, Troy Tulowitzki, Kevin Pillar, and the furious five in my rotation. Guys who can help me win without draining my organization of prospects.

Thus, I offer Eddie qualifying money, but only because I want the compensatory draft picks to help build up the depleted farm system. In fact, given that there will be plenty of established, slugging, designated hitter/first basemen out there, I think I can find a diluted and discounted version of Encarnacion without really hurting the team’s production. If I want to go big, I could. If Royals slugger Kendrys Morales buys out of his option, I make a run at him. He’s a switch hitter —which solves my right-handed-heavy lineup issue — and has pop in his bat. He’d cost less than Encarnacion (though not a huge amount less) and address more needs.

There is also Carlos Beltran. He’s older and slower, but is a proven switch hitter and could be a very effective stopgap until I get a more suitable replacement in place, like prospect Rowdy Tellez. In fact, with Encarnacion looking to get five years and $100 million, I might be able to get both Morales and Beltran for that price. If, however, I really like Tellez, I could just go with Beltran until the rookie is ready to take over. 

Then, of course, there are all the other guys who play second, third, and even the outfield who could play first base and add to the lineup — like Canada’s own Michael Saunders.

Michael Saunders

Despite a great start to what looked to be an amazing breakout year, the post all-star break Saunders was a real let down. He hit below the Mendoza line in September and just above it in August. Which one is the real Saunders?

I think the market will have a lot of outfielders who can give me 10-15 homers, but offer superior foot speed and defence to Saunders. I need someone who can steal some bases and beat out double plays in my lineup. But that doesn’t mean I want to get rid of him. I still like the upside on Saunders, especially how well he hits lefties considering he’s a lefty. If I could talk him into taking a split roll at first base, I may have something special. I’ll talk to his agent about it. It would be nice to have him around, though I’m not sure Justin Smoak would be happy about it. Dalton Pompey, on the other hand, would love to see Saunders at first. 

Brett Cecil

Speaking of lefties, I’m going to miss Cecil. But not the way the fans and media brutalizes the kid for a rough month, then continue talk bad about him after he stretches a couple months of scoreless baseball together. He may just want a change of scenery, and I wouldn’t blame him. 

Still, if I could keep him, I would. A lefty who can get outs is not something to balk at. The bullpen needs an overhaul and Roberto Osuna needs help. I need lefties. Aaron Loup is a fallen star, Jason Grilli and Joaquin Benoit may not come back. It’d be nice to keep a lefty I have a track record with. The fact that he’s got very little ego and works hard fits well into any team I construct.

Josh Donaldson

He’s part of my core group, and I’m getting him for a steal on his current contract. But, I’m not going to leave him or anyone else off the table in trade talks. No player is untouchable for me, except for maybe Aaron Sanchez, who is going to be a Cy Young winner in the next few seasons.

The thing about Donaldson is, he’s at the apex of his value and I have a real problem on my hands with the Red Sox and Yankees. They’ve both got a head start on me in the prospect development pool. They’re going to have some good players coming up through their system — plus their top-level threats that have already arrived — for the next few years. I can’t match that in my current situation, and Donaldson hits arbitration in 2018. 

My non-Donaldson moves could make the team a lot better by then, or they could all implode and the rotation could explode. All I know is it doesn’t hurt to explore what I could get for Donny baseball on the trade market before I’m forced to think about making him available. If I have to commit to a full rebuild because of injuries, regressions, or both, it’d be nice to know what my best assets are worth now, as opposed to getting squeezed by a GM who knows I have to deal him before I lose him/can’t afford him. A lot of fans will balk at this, but you hope for the best and prepare for the worst. 

R.A. Dickey, Scott Feldman, Darwin Barney, Jason Grilli and Joaquin Benoit 

I have to let R.A. Dickey go, if only because I can’t afford to carry around his pet catcher, Josh Thole. Seriously, great kid, but I can’t have him clogging up my roster anymore. If I could get someone else to catch Dickey, I’d keep him around. His ability to eat innings is fantastic, and his production isn’t really that bad considering he’s devolved fully into a fifth man in any rotation. He’s insurance, but not the kind I can keep in Triple-A. He’d want to pitch or retire, and I respect that. Besides, having him on the team would cannibalize my book sales. 

Barney is solid for what he does, and cheap too. Defensive replacements of his calibre are worth replacing. Feldman, on the other hand, totally disappointed. Tough way to end a season for him, but I’ll pass. Grilli might make the cut here, but if I go after Benoit as well, then I have two older guys on my squad, which means two role players in my bullpen. Depends on the price, but if Grilli believes he could win with this this squad, the chance at legacy will talk louder than money. Benoit, on the other hand, has to be managed with kid gloves — if what I’ve heard from my sources are true — and I don’t need a guy that can’t go in any situation. I’m trying to move away from old, inflexible, injury magnets. I like his results, but I’m not sure how long he can sustain them or his body. 

I want Navarro back, and I want him to catch more. I hate the Russell Martin contract because I think he’s going to age poorly which will only exacerbate the problem. Unfortunately, Navarro will want to play more frequently. But Navarro’s switch-hitting bat and familiarity with my staff gets undersold. I don’t think he hits bombs like Martin, but I think he hits, calls a good game, and gives my lineup options. I’ll get him out there every five days to catch Estrada, for sure, but I’d like to work toward splitting duty with Martin. They’re both excellent, but Martin has been beat up and it really showed this season, especially toward the end of the postseason. I’m not sure how fast he’ll decline next season as a full-time catcher. 

Final Thoughts

The biggest mistake I could make would be to think of the team as seriously crippled by the loss of slugging. The truth is, the emergence of the team’s rotation is now its best asset, one that allows me more breathing room. If I lose my sluggers and replace them with defensive upside, table setters, speed, bench depth, and some pop, I’m still winning, just on different metrics. Plus, while the minors are depleted, they’re not empty. I do have few names on the rise. Next season will be very different, but different doesn’t mean worse.