A year ago, the Toronto Blue Jays were odds-on favourites to win the World Series.
Today they're favoured to finish last in a very competitive AL East and rate as the 15th best choice among MLB teams to capture the Commissioner's Trophy.
What a difference a year makes, huh?
Funny thing is that the team brings back nearly the exact same roster as a year ago with the exception of two players, both of whom had rather large hands in severing the hopes of Blue Jays Nation a season ago.
Catcher J.P. Arencibia, who turned in one of the worst offensive campaigns (.194/.227/.365 avg./obp/slg/) for someone who hit more than 20 homers (21) in the history of baseball, and whose defence was in the nether regions below average, was summarily dimissed and replaced with Dioner Navarro.
Pitcher Josh Johnson, one of the handful of "gems" acquired by GM Alex Anthopoulos in the previous offseason, turned in one of the worst performances by a starting pitcher in 2013 (2-8, 6.20 ERA) before he was mercifully shut down with injury. Drew Hutchison, who's coming back from Tommy John surgery and was the team's best hurler in spring training, takes his spot.
Fifth starter J.A. Happ, who was fooling no one in Florida, is another addition by subtraction. He starts the year on the disabled list, with the fragile former flamethrower Dustin McGowan taking his spot.
Should either Hutchison or McGowan struggle, the club's top prospect, Aaron Sanchez, showed in spring training (2-0, 0.00 ERA, 1.04 WHIP) that he's ready for a trial run. Buck Martinez, the club's broadcaster and former catcher, thought Sanchez - not Hutchison - was the team's best pitcher in Florida.
Regardless of that debate, the point is that the Jays may be less proven but better armed to this season to compete in the rugged AL East.
The club was ravaged by injuries to stalwarts Jose Reyes and Brett Lawrie in the early part of the season, creating a massive gap on the left side of the infield, and, in the second half of the campaign, to outfielders Jose Bautista and Melky Cabrera. Throw in a season-ending injury to No. 2 starter Brandon Morrow and you get the idea that the club did not enjoy the best of baseball luck in 2013.
The underlying faults in Anthopoulos' master plan, however, turned out to be a lack of attention to team defence. Emilio Bonifacio, part of the blockbuster trade with the Marlins that brought in Johnson, Reyes and pitcher Mark Buehrle, was a disaster with the glove at second and had a terrible time trying to get on base to utilize his speed. He was dealt to Kansas City during the season.
Free agent acquisition Maicer Izturis proved to be a step too slow on the Rogers Centre turf at second base. So much that when Reyes went down a month into the season, the club turned to minor league free agent Munenori Kawasaki, whose kamikaze effort and offbeat personality turned him into a cult hero among the fanbase.
It wasn't until the end of the season that the club got a lift defensively at second base with the arrival of Ryan Goins. The former shortstop played a flawless second base and hit well enough to earn an "audition" for the full-time job in spring, which he "earned" by hitting .169.
Newcomers R.A. Dickey and Buehrle had trouble initially adjusting to pitching in the AL East's bandboxes and they were also hampered by teammates like Cabrera, hobbled by what would turn out to be a tumor in his back, Arencibia, Bonifacio and Izturis who provided too many extra outs -- outs which they discovered are harder to erase in the AL.
This year's Jays team is, safe to say, better defensively. And if injuries don't rain down again, provide the most dangerous bats in the division, anchored by the game's most underrated player, first baseman Edwin Encarnacion. Only two players have hit more home runs than Encarnacion (78) in the last two seasons, Miguel Cabrera (88) and Chris Davis (86).
The starters may rank at the bottom of the division (not by
much) but they are bolstered by one of the game's better bullpens. The Jays'
two set-up men made the all-star roster last season, Steve Delabar and
Brett Cecil.
Put together, they club is a wild-card contender. They're a more cohesive group defensively and have a chance, with breakout seasons from players like Lawrie or Hutchison, to create a lot of discomfort in Baltimore, Boston New York and Tampa.
Are they favoured to win the World Series? No, but paper champs rarely make it to the final dance. You've been warned, Dodgers.
