So how do you like the Blue Jays now?

Steve Phillips

TSN Baseball Insider

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So how do you like them now?

Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins got off to rough starts. You only get one shot at a first impression and as you recall the Alex Anthopoulos departure pretty much ruined that opportunity for Shapiro.

Then, well, Atkins was Anthopoulos’ replacement, so that was held against him.
 
There seemed to be a lingering fan resentment that has carried over, despite the better record this season heading into the trade deadline. Maybe that will change: the new guys did really well.

In my mind, it was the right thing for Alex to go all in last year. The club rallied and they made the playoffs for the first time in two decades. The momentum carried over and the Jays are leading MLB in attendance. Sure it depleted the farm system, but it led to direct results from a baseball and business perspective.

I understand why Mark Shapiro was disappointed to start his tenure with a depleted farm system, despite the club's success. I completely get it.

But Shapiro and Atkins are making their own mark on this franchise now. They didn’t feel victimized by the lack of talent and resources in the minor leagues. They didn’t use that as an excuse. They accepted it as a reality and made the best of what they had.

They showed creativity and intelligence in executing their plan, both for what they accomplished and what they tried. They were involved in discussions on every pitcher available. They weren’t discouraged when teams told them the Jays’ farm system didn’t have anything that interested them. They kept digging.

They even considered pursuing offensive players when their values seemed better than the pitchers. No stone was left unturned.

Once they were able to secure Scott Feldman and Mike Bolsinger in the deals with the Astros and Dodgers respectively, it gave them the depth to be able to trade Drew Hutchison.  But this doesn’t just happen. It is the unfolding of a plan. Just because they secured the two pitchers before finalizing the deal with the Pirates for Francisco Liriano doesn’t mean that is the order in which the conversations happened.

They knew they wanted Liriano. They also knew they had to put Hutchison in the deal if they wanted the Pirates’ lefty. Just making the Liriano deal wouldn’t have given them the depth they needed moving beyond the non-waiver trade deadline. So if they wanted Liriano, they were going to have to build depth to replace their safety net in Hutchison.

Everyone called the Blue Jays losers at the deadline until they heard about the Liriano acquisition about half an hour after the deadline. Once that deal was announced it gave the Feldman and Bolsinger trades context.

In addition to Liriano, the Jays also acquired two of the Pirates' best prospects as a reward for taking the remainder of Liriano’s salary for this year and $13.7 million for next year.

So in a day’s work they added a potential front-end of the rotation starter in Liriano, two capable major league pitchers and two prospects. Not bad for a team with a depleted farm system.

The other focus of the Jays at the deadline is that they are trying to build some foundation for next season while focusing on this season. The trade with the Padres for Melvin Upton Jr. didn’t make a ton of sense on the surface. But considering the Jays have 11 potential free agents at the end of the year, it makes all the sense in the world. I don’t love Upton as a player but he protects the Jays from the loss of both Jose Bautista and Michael Saunders at the end of the year. Liriano’s salary for next year slots in to the R.A. Dickey line item in the budget. The signing of Justin Smoak to a two-year, $8.25 million deal secures another potential hole as well.

Atkins and Shapiro nailed it at the deadline. They have an eye on winning this year and maintaining success beyond this season.

I think it is time to accept that Alex is gone and the new guys know what they are doing.

Further evidence that the Jays' brass knows what they are doing is the success of the Cleveland Indians. Shapiro and Atkins won’t admit it but they must have a sense of pride that their former team is finding great success this year.

Many found it ironic that the Mark Shapiro-trained execs left behind in Cleveland seem to “Anthopoulos” at the deadline. They pushed all their chips in and went for it.   They traded four prospects to acquire catcher Jonathan Lucroy, who ultimately vetoed the trade as was his right in his contract.

The Indians, who tried to acquire Aroldis Chapman as well, were disappointed when the Yankees traded him to the Cubs.

But they didn’t feel sorry for themselves, they moved forward.

They stepped up and acquired the other Yankee closer, Andrew Miller, for four more prospects. This gives the Indians the best pitching in the American League because they now have exclamation points at the start of the game and at the end of the game. They have power arms in their rotation and a dynamic duo at the end of the game with Casey Allen and Andrew Miller.

The addition of outfielder Brandon Guyer from the Tampa Bay Rays gives them a guy who crushes left-handed pitching and can platoon with Tyler Naquin or Lonnie Chisenhall.

The Indians are legit. They placed Daniel Salazar on the DL with elbow inflammation, which could be a major blow if it extends beyond the expected two weeks.

The Texas Rangers shocked everyone last year when they made a deal to bring Cole Hamels from the Phillies to Arlington. Once again this year they were tied to just about every pitcher available. Their rotation has been in flux behind Hamels, as Yu Darvish continues to work back into form from Tommy John surgery. Plus injuries to Colby Lewis and Derek Holland have challenged their depth and consistency. The bullpen has been a bit of a mess too, as they have the worst bullpen ERA in the AL.

Jon Daniels, the Rangers’ general manager, went big game hunting for pitchers but when he realized that Chris Sale and Chris Archer weren’t going to be available he got creative. He decided to improve their strength, the offence.

Brewers’ catcher Jonathan Lucroy didn’t have the Rangers on his no-trade list so Texas did what the Indians couldn’t; they acquired the veteran catcher. This obviously improves their catching, but also improves their pitching and offence as he is an upgrade in every way.

In addition to Lucroy, the Rangers were able to nab a power arm for the bullpen from the Brewers, Jeremy Jeffress. Jeffress was 2-2 with a 2.22 ERA and had converted 27-of-28 save opportunities. He will fit in nicely in the Rangers’ bullpen.

Texas also pulled off a deal to bring veteran switch-hitting outfielder Carlos Beltran on to their roster. He instantly leads the team with 22 homers and an .890 OPS. He has a post-season pedigree as well. His leadership and performance should make a big difference.

To add insult to injury, the Rangers added Beltran, who was hotly pursued by the Indians as well. This means the Lucroy and Beltran acquisitions were double wins for the Rangers as they got them and the Indians didn’t.

The Rangers and Indians will both be tough matchups for the Jays. Good news for Toronto though is that neither the Red Sox nor the Orioles separated or distinguished themselves with deals.

The Orioles added Wade Miley and Steve Pearce. Miley is a veteran pitcher who has shown flashes but has never been consistently good. Pierce, acquired for the fourth time by Dan Duquette since 2012, will be a complementary player in their powerful lineup. They just didn’t have the farm system depth to fish in any bigger ponds.

The Red Sox added Brad Ziegler a few weeks ago when they lost Craig Kimbrel to knee surgery. The veteran side-winder stabilized the bullpen as a place-holder until Kimbrel returned this past Monday. They also added Aaron Hill to platoon at third base with Travis Shaw. Drew Pomeranz was thought to be an answer in the rotation when he was acquired from San Diego, but he has been less than stellar so far.

The Red Sox were thought to be aggressively pursuing Chris Sale of the White Sox but weren’t able to pry him away.

As currently constituted the Blue Jays have the best roster even with the move of Aaron Sanchez to the bullpen after his next start. They should win the division followed by the Red Sox and then the Orioles.

The Yankees will finish the season in fourth place but don’t get used to it. Brian Cashman, their general manager, did a masterful job of disassembling his roster by trading Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller, Carlos Beltran and Ivan Nova. He brought back seven top-100 prospects to the Yankee farm system. Cashman convinced ownership to sell for the first time in decades and he crushed it.

The Yankees now have one of the better farm systems which will allow them to get younger at the major league level as well to make trades to improve. The free agent class this winter is pretty weak so the way to upgrade will be through the trade market.

It may take a few years but the Yankees will be back battling for the division title before you know it.

Amazingly, the Detroit Tigers and Houston Astros both just failed at upgrading their roster. They didn’t make any deal to add to their major league rosters. The Tigers window to win is closing fast with their aging roster but their lean farm system made a deal nearly impossible. The Astros went for it last year and none of their deals delivered so they may have been a bit gun-shy this season. Whatever the reasons, both clubs lost opportunities to close the gap in the playoff race.

In the National League the rich got richer. The Cubs added lefty closer Aroldis Chapman; lefty set-up man Mike Montgomery, and righty Joe Smith to their bullpen. Chapman and his 105 MPH fastball can dominate the ninth inning and it moves former closer Hector Rondon to the eighth inning. Smith and Montgomery can ham and egg the seventh inning with the full support of several other quality relievers including former closer Joe Nathan. The Cubs' bullpen is stacked. They are as well rounded a team as there is in the NL.

The Giants and Dodgers both improved their clubs on Monday. The Dodgers acquired outfielder Josh Reddick and lefty starter Rich Hill from the A’s. Both players will really help L.A. become a more consistent team. Hill does need to get over a blister on his pitching hand but he will be okay. The Giants matched the Dodgers' moves by adding lefty starter Matt Moore from Tampa and lefty reliever Will Smith from Milwaukee. Neither team is perfect but the Giants seem to have the better roster to prevail in the division, plus their big three of Madison Bumgarner, Johnny Cueto and Matt Moore could make them a tough matchup in October.

Both deals did sting a bit as the Giants had to trade hard-nosed third baseman Matt Duffy in the deal to Tampa. He was very highly regarded in the Giants’ clubhouse. But you have to give up something to get something. Duffy is a corner infield without power or speed and in my opinion a guy worth trading no matter how much of a gamer he is.

The Dodgers had an emotional reaction to their moves from Yasiel Puig. Puig was informed that he would either be traded or demoted to the minors after the deadline. His time in L.A. has run out. Puig left the stadium in disgust. I know he feels like he is a big leaguer but his performance and behaviour conflict with that notion. Hopefully, this is rock bottom for him and he will finally accept that he needs to make changes. It will likely take a change of scenery, as his baggage has gotten too heavy in Los Angeles. Someone will take a chance on him.

So the Cubs, Dodgers and Giants are all winners at the deadline. So too are the Washington Nationals. They “papelbonned” Papelbon. They were able to pry former Pirates closer Mark Melancon away for a bargain of a price. They surrendered a middle reliever and a prospect for the MLB saves leader over the past two seasons. After losing out on Chapman and not being able to make a deal for Miller, general manager Mike Rizzo got a save by dealing for Melancon.

The New York Mets added MLB leading RBI man Jay Bruce in a trade with the Reds. Bruce certainly will help the Mets this year but he may not be enough as their offensive woes are lineup-wide. The fact that the Mets control Bruce for next season as well is critical as he protects them if Yoenis Cespedes opts out of his contract. If the Mets are going to get to the playoffs again this year they are going to need multiple other hitters to turn things around. Bruce alone won’t solve all of their issues.

The Marlins settled for Andrew Cashner as a starter, acquiring him with Colin Rea from the Padres. Rea has since been traded back to the Padres for one of the prospects the Marlins shipped to San Diego. Rea left his first Marlins start with a sore elbow so the two teams settled the potential pre-existing injury dispute. Sure the Marlins added Fernando Rodney earlier this season to the bullpen but overall it was a ho-hum deadline for them.

The Cardinals added Zach Duke in relief, which was a solid small move that added depth and balance to their pen.

The Pirates found themselves on a bit on the bubble and their moves reflected that. They tried to buy and sell. We know they gave Francisco Liriano and his contract to the Blue Jays. To entice them to take the pitcher and his contract they gave the Jays their eighth- and ninth-best prospects. It is a very odd use of prospects for a small market team. It shows me they had their doubts Liriano can be fixed. They cut their losses. I already mentioned that they made a bad deal with the Nats for Mark Melancon. Then they traded to acquire Ivan Nova from the Yankees. The Nova deal is window dressing trying to cover up waving the white flag on the season. The Pirates' players are demoralized by the moves.

With all of this being said here are my division and wild card predictions based upon the new roster moves:

AL East: Toronto Blue Jays
AL Central: Cleveland Indians
AL West: Texas Rangers
AL Wild Card Winners: Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros
 
NL East: Washington Nationals
NL Central: Chicago Cubs
NL West: San Francisco Giants
NL Wild Card Winners: L.A. Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals