Opinion | Blue Jays Mailbag: Could a proven closer like Kenley Jansen be on the radar?

Nothing spurs Major League Baseball teams into action quite like a deadline.

Clubs often go weeks or months without making any noteworthy moves but once they’re given a specific timeframe to get something done, a flurry of activity typically follows.

Over the next week, there are two deadlines that help explain the recent slew of signings. Thursday is American Thanksgiving and next week there’s a looming lockout with the collective bargaining agreement set to expire Dec. 2.

Teams and agents appear motivated to get some of their work done before a shutdown. Anthony DeSclafani, Alex Wood and Alex Cobb are among those who either recently signed or appeared close to a deal with the Giants. Before that Andrew Heaney joined the Dodgers and on Tuesday the Rays finalized an extension with young star Wander Franco.

To date, the Jays’ work has been limited to re-signing Jose Berríos to a $131-million deal. Meanwhile, one of their free agents, Steven Matz reportedly was weighing as many as eight offers, including one from the Jays, and is expected to reach a decision sometime this week.

There’s a lot going in MLB and the activity won’t last much longer, so it’s the perfect time for another Blue Jays mailbag. As always, if you have questions for future editions, please send an email with your first name and hometown to [email protected], or reach out via Twitter: @GregorChisholm.

The following questions have been edited for length and grammar:

What are the odds that Berríos, Hyun-Jin Ryu and Alek Manoah are the Jays’ top three starters come Spring Training? Put another way, what are the odds they get someone like Robbie Ray, Kevin Gausman or Max Scherzer? — Jon, Deerfield, Il.

I wouldn’t bet on the Jays landing any of the top free agent starters. They have the money and long-term flexibility to get something done, but I question their willingness to table the highest offer when there appears to be so many other teams involved in the bidding process.

Scherzer is a perfect fit, it just seems hard to believe the Jays outspend the Dodgers and others by enough that he would want to sign here. There’s a limit to how high they’ll go on Ray and I don’t think it’s as much as they just gave Berríos. Based on their past interest in him, Gausman makes a lot of sense, it just remains to be seen how high his market will go and there will be a limit there too. If it’s a choice between the Jays and the field, I’m taking the field.

Under a scenario in which the Jays pass on free agency, it likely means they’ve identified realistic trade targets instead. Cost-cutting Oakland remains an ideal match while deals will continue to be explored with Miami, Cincinnati and anyone else who has impact arms available. There are a lot of options so it’s hard to say exactly which one the Jays will pick, but they remain committed to making a significant add. If Ryu opens next year as the No. 2 guy, it should be by reputation only. Moves are coming.

With Ross Atkins saying Jordan Romano is willing to fill any role in the bullpen, what are the chances the Jays sign a proven closer like Raisel Iglesias or Kenley Jansen? — Kevin, Barrie

Making a substantial investment in a new closer doesn’t appear to be a priority. It’s not Plan A, B, C or even D but that doesn’t mean it won’t eventually happen because this off-season is particularly fluid for the Jays, and depending on what happens elsewhere, a big arm for the bullpen could still be in play.

The argument for not signing a closer to a long-term deal is to avoid paying a premium for saves. The Jays already have a competent ninth-inning guy in Romano and despite the rise of analytics, saves are a traditional stat teams pay a lot to acquire. That money could be better spent on other areas with a smaller amount used to bulk up other high-leverage jobs in the bullpen.

A bounce back candidate to compete for the closer’s job could still be in play, just like it was a year ago with Kirby Yates, but I wouldn’t expect an Iglesias or Jansen. However, that could change if the Jays strike out elsewhere and have a lot of money to throw around.

Do you believe the Jays this off-season will take on two more contracts north of $20 million? — Matt, Ancaster, Ont.

There should be enough room in the budget to make it happen, if not north of $20 million than at least a pair of players with salaries that come close. My expectation is that the Jays will sign one external player to a substantial multi-year contract with the rest of their deals limited to shorter-term commitments.

Thanks to some excellent reporting from Joel Sherman of the New York Post, we already know the Jays took a strong run at Noah Syndergaard. If they agreed on a $20-million-plus deal, it wouldn’t have been the end of the Jays’ off-season. There still would have been another hole to fill in the rotation, second or third base and the bullpen. A team with that many holes to fill wouldn’t throw that much money at one player this early unless it had a lot more to work with. Whether they spread that cash around or use it on a couple players depends on where these markets end up.

This past weekend the federal government announced that unvaccinated professional athletes will not be permitted to cross the border as of Jan. 15, 2022. How does this impact the Blue Jays? — Dan, Thornhill

Pretty much exactly as one might think. Unless the Canadian government changes its mind before January, unvaccinated players will no longer be able to cross the border. That means not only will the Jays have to re-evaluate their targets in free agency or trade, but it will also lead to some difficult discussions with their own guys.

Teams are extremely protective of their medical information, citing confidentiality reasons. It has yet to be publicly revealed how many Jays have received the vaccine; all we know is that at least 85 per cent got the shot to ease safety protocols previously mandated by the league. However, not everyone did and while that remains a secret for now, it won’t for much longer.

There are scenarios in which the Jays could have unvaccinated players remain in the United States and only play on the road. But that doesn’t seem sustainable so it would appear Jays players have two choices: either get the vaccine or risk becoming the next Kyrie Irving.

I agree signing Berríos was astute, given his durability and skill level. However, before declaring it Atkins’ best move we should wait and see how good Austin Martin and Simeon Woods Richardson become. They were Grade A prospects. If Woods Richardson turns into an ace and Martin a star infielder, then maybe the price was too high and the balance of the trade tips to Minnesota. Anyway, just my two cents, I enjoy reading your work and look forward to more baseball coverage. — Gary F.

Gary is referring to a column I wrote last week where I praised Atkins for sealing the deal with Berríos, and he raises some good points. Whenever prospects are involved, it takes three or four years — sometimes even longer — before a winner and loser can be declared. Baseball, perhaps more than any other professional sport, requires patience at every level.

The reality for a lot of GMs is that they can’t be properly judged until long after they’ve already left the job, but what’s the fun in that? Part of the appealing thing about being a sports fan, or in my case a columnist, are the debates that happen in and around each team. How we view transactions is no different; an opinion is formed and it evolves over time.

Final judgment on Berríos might not be known for another five years and part of the reason I go on the record early is to avoid Monday morning quarterbacking as much as possible. If I like a move based on the perceived market value of the players involved, underlying stats, etc., I’ll write it. If I don’t, I’ll write that too. What shouldn’t happen is taking a stance and then criticizing the organization months or years later if the opposite becomes true. It’s why I never ripped Alex Anthopoulos for acquiring R.A. Dickey — the high cost was acknowledged at the time and yet it made sense given the context of what was happening elsewhere with the team.

The reason I think Berríos is Atkins’ best work isn’t just because of the trade, it’s also because he convinced someone who was adamant about testing free agency to what arguably should be considered a below-market deal. Five, six, seven years down the road, will this be Atkins’ best move? Who knows? But in this moment, it’s possible to acknowledge the work that went into it and based on the current factors and I do think it’s his most impressive to date. We’ll see how that holds up over time.

Is there any Blue Jays’ interest in getting Marcus Stroman back? —@briangm11

OK, that’s an easy one: No. I’d explain why, but I’m not sure that’s necessary. Just google any quotes Stroman made about the front office, or direction of the team, from 2019-20, and you’ll have an answer. These two sides don’t see eye to eye and that’s not going to change any time soon. The lack of a fit here isn’t a knock on the abilities of the pitcher, it’s just representative of a fractured relationship.