TORONTO – Whether economic uncertainty is the driving factor, or that teams are just using the pandemic to extend the drawn-out leverage plays inherent to recent winters, a slower-moving off-season remains the expectation after the virtual GM meetings wrapped Thursday.
Even in the absence of the usual formal talks at a swanky resort, informal chatter during happenstance run-ins, and clandestine conversations in secluded alcoves, the game’s business trudged along via text, phone and Zoom. Toronto Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said he was pleased with the amount of groundwork laid with agents and teams, and intriguingly said, “We’ve actually been close on another deal,” that didn’t come to fruition.
Then, tellingly, he added: “I do expect the value of discipline to be real.”
There’s truth to that, as clubs sweating out free agents has proven to be an effective strategy in recent years. The impact on the market has been so drastic that the players union has suggested free-agency is under attack and hinted at collusion among owners.
Coupled with the industry-wide flux created by COVID-19’s ongoing fallout, there’s an opportunity for a team like the Blue Jays – on the rise, with money to spend, in need of impact – to separate itself from the pack by being aggressive.
If the majority of clubs are content to be passive, why not jump the market and force the issue?
“If we can, we will,” Atkins said on a Zoom call. “The discipline part comes into understanding value, our internal assessment of those values, what are early-strike prices for us that we would be willing to move on. We worked through that process and have been exhaustive in thinking about every opportunity that that will present itself, and not just the ones that will present themselves later.”
To be fair, the Blue Jays were the first team on the board this off-season with the re-signing of Robbie Ray to an $8-million, one-year deal last weekend. Then there’s the near-miss Atkins declined to detail, and Sportsnet colleague Arden Zwelling had an interesting thought when he wondered if Kevin Gausman, whom Ken Rosenthal of The Athleticreported mulled multi-year deals before accepting the $18.9-million qualifying offer from the San Francisco Giants, might have been their target.
The Blue Jays pursued Gausman in free agency last winter, so they’ve liked him in the past. Whether it was him or someone else, that the well-regarded righty took the qualifying offer – as did fellow free agent Marcus Stroman – is indicative of the anticipated frugality in the market.
Now, spending recklessly just to get things done is bad business. But so too is grinding down free agents for savings that might be negligible, especially when there’s value to the bird in hand amid the current circumstances.
Complicating matters for the Blue Jays is that while they’ve mapped out an ideal set of moves this winter, no team gets its complete wish list and they have multiple ways to upgrade a versatile roster. They also must weigh what making a move now could cut them off from later — and how to end up with the best package of upgrades for a team with needs in the rotation, bullpen, infield and outfield.
“That is a significant challenge for us, making sure that there aren’t missed opportunities that are stabilizing,” said Atkins. “What we’re focusing on is the impact being larger earlier in the market at this point. If we were to move earlier, that the impact would be significant and that doesn’t take us out of significant impact later.
“We’ll continue to have opportunities to move the needle further,” he continued. “We just always have to balance that, what that means for us to have a substantial impact over the course of the off-season. Earlier in this off-season, what we’ll be focused on is bigger impact, at the same time thinking about opportunities that could present themselves later.”
That kind of talk will continue to raise expectations for the Blue Jays, who have an opportunity to go against the industry grain, potentially to their great benefit.
Some other highlights from Atkins’ Zoom call:
• The Blue Jays have largely built their bullpens through internal options and value-play free agents, but head into the winter without an established closer as both Ken Giles and Anthony Bass hit the market. Rafael Dolis finished out the season in the role, but is this the time for a splurge?
“We do believe strongly in the importance of having at least one individual, and ideally, you have several individuals who have the mindset to handle extremely high leverage and being the individual on the mound that is out there when you win or lose,” said Atkins. “It’s not just a matter of who can get outs and who can’t. The ability to turn the page is a significant one. The characteristic traits of those individuals is certainly important. We feel that Jordan Romano has those attributes. We feel that we have several individuals that could potentially handle that type of leverage and that type of situation. But we will be looking for other individuals that also have those character traits, and also could potentially be in that role.”
• Despite enviable depth behind the plate, the Blue Jays kicked the tires on free agent catcher Yasmani Grandal last winter, and J.T. Realmuto and James McCann are now available this one. Even in a down year offensively, Danny Jansen was worth nearly a half-win above replacement, as calculated by FanGraphs, while Alejandro Kirk very much impressed during a brief stint. So, is Atkins satisfied with the teams catching situation?
“Extremely satisfied,” he replied. “but are you ever good enough? You’re always thinking about getting better. There are several ways to do that. You could acquire talent. You could trade away talent. Or you can get better. Jano actually finished really strong, he’s working out already down in Florida. … What he’s done thus far has been more than enough for us to be extremely encouraged. Alejandro Kirk has obviously exceeded our expectation thus far. (Prospects Gabriel) Moreno and (Riley) Adams are extremely exciting prospects. Reece McGuire will be better than he was for sure, was fine defensively, and just never got anything going offensively. So it’s definitely an area of depth for us.”
• As hopeful news about a potential COVID-19 vaccine emerged this week, Atkins said Major League Baseball is discussing what the expectations would be for clubs and staff in terms of inoculation, if and when they become available. Asked if he’d expect a uniform MLB policy or a team-based one, Atkins replied: “I would think the union would have a lot of say in that.”
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe remain undefeated in women’s doubles at the WTA Finals.
The 2023 U.S. Open champions, seeded second at the event, secured a 1-6, 7-6 (1), (11-9) super-tiebreak win over fourth-seeded Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in round-robin play on Tuesday.
The season-ending tournament features the WTA Tour’s top eight women’s doubles teams.
Dabrowski and Routliffe lost the first set in 22 minutes but levelled the match by breaking Errani’s serve three times in the second, including at 6-5. They clinched victory with Routliffe saving a match point on her serve and Dabrowski ending Errani’s final serve-and-volley attempt.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will next face fifth-seeded Americans Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk on Thursday, where a win would secure a spot in the semifinals.
The final is scheduled for Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Nov. 5, 2024.
EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.
The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.
Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.
TAKEAWAYS
Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.
Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.
KEY MOMENT
New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.
KEY RETURN?
Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.
OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN
The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.
The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.
UP NEXT
Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt pounded into the end zone from two yards out in overtime to give the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs a 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
DeAndre Hopkins had two touchdown receptions for the Chiefs (8-0), who drove through the rain for two fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left. But then Kansas City watched as Baker Mayfield led the Bucs the other way in the final minute, hitting Ryan Miller in the end zone with 27 seconds to go in regulation time.
Tampa Bay (4-5) elected to kick the extra point and force overtime, rather than go for a two-point conversion and the win. And it cost the Buccaneers when Mayfield called tails and the coin flip was heads. Mahomes and the Chiefs took the ball, he was 5-for-5 passing on their drive in overtime, and Hunt finished his 106-yard rushing day with the deciding TD plunge.
Travis Kelce had 14 catches for 100 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching from a suite, and Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 yards as the Chiefs ran their winning streak to 14 dating to last season. They became the sixth Super Bowl champion to start 8-0 the following season.
Mayfield finished with 200 yards and two TDs passing for the Bucs, who have lost four of their last five.
It was a memorable first half for two players who had been waiting to play in Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bucs’ Rachaad White grew up about 10 minutes away in a tough part of Kansas City, but his family could never afford a ticket for him to see a game. He wound up on a circuitous path through Division II Nebraska-Kearney and a California junior college to Arizona State, where he eventually became of a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft.
Two year later, White finally got into Arrowhead — and the end zone. He punctuated his seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, which gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead, by nearly tossing the football into the second deck.
Then it was Hopkins’ turn in his first home game since arriving in Kansas City from a trade with the Titans.
The three-time All-Pro, who already had caught four passes, reeled in a third-down heave from Mahomes amid triple coverage for a 35-yard gain inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes found him in the back of the end zone, and Hopkins celebrated his first TD with the Chiefs with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”
Tampa Bay tried to seize control with consecutive scoring drives to start the second half. The first ended with a TD pass to Cade Otton, the latest tight end to shred the Chiefs, and Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead.
The Chiefs answered in the fourth quarter. Mahomes marched them through the rain 70 yards for a tying touchdown pass, which he delivered to Samaje Perine while landing awkwardly and tweaking his left ankle, and then threw a laser to Hopkins on third-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ five-yard line to give Kansas City the lead.
Tampa Bay promptly went three-and-out, but its defence got the ball right back, and this time Mayfield calmly led his team down field. His capped the drive with a touchdown throw to Miller — his first career TD catch — with 27 seconds to go, and Tampa Bay elected to play for overtime.
UP NEXT
Buccaneers: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
