by Scott Meaney

Created on: November 05, 2010

As opposed to an ownership perspective I would like to address the topic “If I ran the Toronto Blue Jays” from a player personnel perspective, as if I were the General Manager.

As the GM I would approach the position in a similar way that new GM Alex Anthopolous appears to be approaching it.  The age old baseball adage of building up the middle is age old for a reason.  If the best position players on any team are the catcher, shortstop, 2nd baseman, and centre fielder then that team then that team is on the right track.   A solid defensive team is founded in these up the middle positions whereas third basemen, first basemen, left and right fielders are generally more interchangeable and placed in the lineup primarily for their bats and placed on the field where they are least of a liability with their gloves.  With potential phenom JP Arencibia along with John Buck or Jose Molina behind the plate, other potential phenom Yunel Escobar at shortstop, steady Aaron Hill at second base, and veteran Vernon Wells patrolling centre field the Blue Jays are solid up the middle and on the right track defensively.  Time will tell if “potential” is dropped from Arencibia and Escobar’s phenom label or if new talent will need to be discovered at these vital positions.

Of course a dynamic pitching staff is a must for success in the American League East and with the promising young staff of Shawn Marcum, Brett Cecil, Ricky Romero, and Brandon Morrow the onus is on Jays management to make sure their arms stay healthy.  This means that attention to the training and maintenance of the talented young starting pitching staff should be the top priority of management.  The healthier the starting staff is the more success they will have and the less strain there will be on the bullpen, and closer.  And yes the Blue Jays need to find a new closer, absolutely vital if they seriously want to win.

Invest heavily in scouting and hoarding draft picks are the other items I would like to mention for success in running the Blue Jays on field product.  The Jays will never be able to outbid the likes of Boston and New York for high profile free agents.  For one the Red Sox and Yankees have more money to spend, and for two most baseball free agents view Boston and New York as more desirable places to play baseball than Toronto.  That said, the Blue Jays could learn something from the Tampa Bay Rays who benefitted from years of last place finishes with high draft picks that resulted in a well stocked farm system and a team that is now a playoff contender.  The Jays would do well to stockpile draft picks and to invest in the scouting of young undrafted free agents like they did with many players from the Dominican Republic during the 1980s. 

Defensive depth up the middle, big hitters on the corners, a healthy starting staff, and stocking the farm system with young talent are the keys to running the Blue Jays successfully from a player personnel perspective.  If Alex Anthopolous is thinking along these lines (and I think he is) then the team will win, and when the team wins the fans will come out and the owner will make more money.  When that happens we can talk about how we want to run the Blue Jays from an ownership perspective.

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