Shout out to Blue Jays reloading farm as window of contending closes + New MLB Power Rankings … (Aug. 15, 2024)

For Blue Jays the reality of the cellar signalled the end as buyers

Aug 15, 2024

The Blue Jays have quite clearly set more modest goals for themselves over the final month and a half as the grim reality of the 2024 failure sets in. The Blue Jays have rightly turned to re-stocking the farm system. Running out of track, hoping for anything but a last-place division finish, the club’s final wins and losses result, as it is likely to be, anywhere between 70-80 wins won’t make one iota of difference in future decisions by the front office.

No longer is it important, for the coaching staff, that the sum of the ’24 parts be greater than the whole. In preparing for the off-season, the management team mandate is to see which individual parts can be counted on to contribute to a quick reload for ’25. It’s the reason why struggling LF Joey Loperfido keeps being run out there every day vs. righthanders. It’s the reason why the infield alignment is shuffled almost every day, in order to better evaluate Spencer Horwitz, Ernie Clement, Leo Jimenez, Will Wagner, Davis Schneider and Addison Barger. Win total be damned! What have we got in the dugout for next year?

Prospect depth is the key to sustainability for any major-league baseball contender. It’s the promise that president Mark Shapiro made when he crossed the lake from Cleveland back in 2016. But when your goal is as perennial contenders, you become buyers at every deadline, meaning your top prospects become the currency necessary to create major-league improvement, even short-term with the big club. So it was that from the COVID shortened 2020 season through this past off-season, the Jays have been chasing the ring, contending hard, earning a post-season berth three times in four years. But finally, the grim reaper loaded up and swung his scythe of surrender at Jays best laid plans and for the first time since ‘19, the Jays have been forced to become sellers.

While Shapiro and GM Ross Atkins were filling perceived holes on the big-league roster, from 2020 through ’23 and well into ‘24, the Jays farm system was spiralling from a Top 10 developmental group to mid-20s this year. While adding needed veterans for those four stretch drives, the organization traded away 33 minor-league prospects while, at the same time, securing just 13 young players in return. It has now turned around. Over the past month, with a last-place division finish staring them in the face, the Jays traded away all six contracts attached to pending free-agents, plus Nate Pearson and Isiah Kiner-Falefa, returning 13 young players, plus veteran LHP Ryan Yarbrough, whose special talent has always been being able to shut down the Blue Jays and logging multiple innings when needed … and there will be plenty of innings to log in this stretch. The Jays have, not coincidentally, snuck under the penalty threshold for payroll on what used to be known as the “luxury tax”. That will allow them to add penalty-free pieces for an attempted quick rebuild

The next section includes lists of key prospects traded/acquired by Jays from 2020-24. Players with major-league experience are in boldface :

Jays 2020-24 prospects traded away as MLB buyers (33): (2020) OF Griffin Conine, RHP Kendall Williams, IF Ryan Noda, OF Alberto Rodriguez; (2021) RHP Yennsy Diaz, RHP Sean Reid Foley, RHP Josh Winckowski, C Riley Adams, IF Austin Martin, RHP Simeon Woods-Richardson, LHP Yaifer Perdomo, C JJ D’Orazio; (2022) IF Jordan Groshans, RH Gunnar Hoglund, LHP Zach Logue, IF Kevin Smith, LHP Kirby Snead, RHP Anthony Castro, RHP Jonatan Bernal, RHP Nick Frasso, LHP Moises Brito, RHP Jeremy Beasley, RHP Max Castillo, 2B Samad Taylor, RHP Vinny Nittoli, C Gabby Moreno; (2023) OF Chavez Young, C Sammy Hernandez, RHP Adam Kloffenstein, RHP Sem Robberse, RHP Matt Svanson, UT Otto Lopez, UT Vinny Capra.

Jays 2020-24 prospects acquired in trade within the window as buyers (13): IF Adrian Pinto, LHP Foster Griffin, C Edward Duran, RHP Bowden Francis, IF Alex deJesus, C Karl Ellison, LHP Adam Macko, C Max McDowell, OF Darlin Guzman, RHP Paxton Schultz, IF Tyler Keenan, C Chris McElvain, RHP Braydon Fisher.

Jays 2020-24 veteran trade acquisitions as buyers/contenders (24): (2020) RHP Taijuan Walker, LHP Robbie Ray, IF Jonathan Villar, RHP Ross Stripling; (2021) LHP Steven Matz, RHP Adam Cimber, OF Corey Dickerson, RHP Trevor Richards, LHP Brad Hand, RHP Jose Berrios, RHP Joakim Soria; (2022) 3B Matt Chapman, OF Raimel Tapia, OF Bradley Zimmer, RHP Anthony Bass, RHP Zach Pop, RHP Mitch White, IF Whit Merrifield, RHP Erik Swanson, OF Daulton Varsho; (2023) C Tyler Heineman, LHP Genesis Cabrera, RHP Jordan Hicks, SS Paul DeJong.

Reloading the System: The 2024 trade deadline brought a different strategy for the Blue Jays, with 13 prospects brought in and zero prospects being included as exiting in those major-league trades. The new count of in-and-out since ’20 is 33 out and 26 in. Plant those seeds down on the farm, gentlemen! In fact, in the revised 2024 Prospect Rankings, now online, MLB Pipeline has added nine of the Jays newcomers within the organization’s Top 30. Note OF Joey Loperfido not eligible on the list because of too much MLB service time. Here are the Jays newcomers and their organization rankings:

Newcomers new Jays Rankings: 3-RHP Jake Bloss (Astros), 7-OF Jonatan Clase (M’s), 9-UT Charles McAdoo (Pirates), 19-OF Eddinson Paulino (Red Sox), 20-IF Will Wagner (Astros), 23-OF Yohendrick Pinango (Cubs), 24-IF Cutter Coffey (Red Sox), 29-RJ Schreck (M’s), 30-IF Josh Rivera (Cubs).

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