The Blue Jays have likely capped off their offseason by signing veteran DH Justin Turner to a 1-year, $13.5 million deal. There was no doubt that the Blue Jays had to address their offence after a poor collective performance in 2023. However, the lackluster offseason for Toronto shows that GM Ross Atkins believes in the core (Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Daulton Varsho, George Springer, etc.) to have bounce-back seasons in 2024. This optimism from the Blue Jays front office is clearly the reason why they believe they can take free agency rather slowly.
The Problem in 2023
The theory begins at the start of the offseason when Dave Hudgens was reassigned to another sector of the Blue Jays. Hudgens served as Toronto’s hitting strategist for the 2023 season. Ross Atkins and the front office believed that Hudgens was responsible for most of the issues offensively in 2023. Because of this reassignment, Toronto clearly believes that many hitters, specifically Vladimir Guerrero Jr., will lead the Blue Jays to a successful season offensively.
The problem in 2023 was that the Blue Jays didn’t have the personnel to accomplish what the hitting coaches wanted to do. Toronto wanted the Blue Jays hitters to prioritize spreading the baseball to all directions. However, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Daulton Varsho, and others are all hitters that pull the baseball and hit dingers. Bo Bichette, Whit Merrifield, and Kevin Kiermaier excelled in this system, but when majority of the hitters are like Vladimir Guerrero Jr., it is very difficult to be successful.
It’s crucial for Toronto to either change the personnel to be able to fit this approach or change the approach in order to fit the personnel. Changing the approach is a much cheaper and more convenient option for the front office, resulting in the Dave Hudgens reassignment. With Hudgens (and the “spreading to all fields” approach) likely gone, Vladdy and the rest of the lineup is expected to bounce-back from an underwhelming 2023.
Key Word is Optimism
Overall, the reason the Blue Jays are finished this offseason is because of the optimism that the front office has for the talent that they have. With the approach that Hudgens seemed to install into the lineup gone, the lineup collectively should return to 2021 form.
[…] made an article earlier this week called “The Blue Jays are Done this Offseason, Here’s Why” and while I believed that to be true at the time, GM Ross Atkins has to make a combat move to […]