The Toronto Blue Jays have done what nearly their entire fan base thought would never happen again: they landed big name players midway thru the season in order to make a run for the World Series, which is something that hasn’t happened north of the border since 1993 (or 1994 if you’re an Expos fan).
The Blue Jays’ trade deadline flurry started off three days before the actual deadline as Toronto landed arguably (okay, not arguably, but legitimately) the best shortstop in the world in Troy Tulowitzki, sending shortstop Jose Reyes and pitchers Miguel Castro, Jeff Hoffman and Jesus Tinoco to Colorado for the five-time All-Star.
‘Tulo’ as he’s known around the baseball world, is an upgrade everywhere for the Jays at the shortstop position. He has power (189 career homeruns), yet hits for average as well (career .299 hitter).
He’s also one of the best defensive shortstops in the league, recording just 74 errors over a 10 year career that has seen him net two Gold Glove awards (2010 and 2011).
Also coming to Toronto in the deal was veteran relief pitcher (and oldest active MLB player) LaTroy Hawkins, who adds not only a veteran presence in the bullpen, but a very capable arm as well.
Canada’s Team then made Bob Barker proud by declaring that the Price was indeed right, netting the best pitcher on the market, dishing top pitching prospect Daniel Norris as well as prospects Matt Boyd and Jairo Labourt to Detroit for five-time All-Star and former Cy Young winner David Price.
Price, as everyone knows, is an absolutely dominant pitcher. A left-handed starter capable of going very deep into a game, the former Tiger was 9-4 with an ERA of 2.53 and 138 strikeouts so far with Detroit in 2015. He then showed his brilliance by absolutely dismantling the Minnesota Twins in his Toronto debut.
Toronto General Manager Alex Anthopoulos then made a deal for a quality bullpen arm, trading pitchers Rob Rasmussen, Jacob Brentz and Nick Wells for right-handed reliever Mark Lowe.
So far this season Lowe has an ERA of 1.00 and a strikeout to inning ratio of 11.6, making him one of the most impressive relievers of 2015.
The final major trade saw the Blue Jays upgrade their outfield general position, acquiring centrefielder Ben Revere from the struggling Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for a pair of pitching prospects (Jimmy Cordero and Alberto Tirado).
Revere’s speed (24 stolen bases this year) replaces Reyes as the teams’ leadoff man while his defensive ability (14 errors in 560 games) and ability to get on base (led the National League with 184 hits last season) will also endear him to the Blue Jay faithful.
The trades that were made declared one thing to the rest of the MLB: The Toronto Blue Jays are here to win in 2015.
The addition of Tulowitzki to an already power-laiden lineup with Edwin Encarnacion, Jose Bautista, Josh Donaldson and even Russell Martin makes the 2015 Toronto Blue Jays’ lineup the modern Murderers’ Row capable of dismantling any and all opponents while the addition of Price to the rotation makes Toronto a big-time threat (and should give them 12-13 extra wins this year).
Revere’s talents at the top of the order should see him score a plethora of runs because of the dangers that lurk behind him in the modern Murderers’ Row, while Lowe and Hawkins turn one of the league’s weaker bullpens into one of the league’s best.
To put it bluntly, the 2015 Toronto Blue Jays went from pretenders to absolute contenders. The playoffs are not just a possibility now, but a necessity and an expectation.
In fact, the Blue Jays now have a legitimate shot at their third World Series title in franchise history and could most certainly chase down the New York Yankees for the A.L. East title to get into the MLB postseason through the front door.
And as a bold statement, I’m going to say that the Toronto Blue Jays WILL win the 2015 World Series.
Bank on it.
