Was making the playoffs worth the dismantling of the Blue Jays’ farm system?
The Toronto Blue Jays were already considered contenders this season, but they wanted to ensure a playoff berth so bad, they willingly gave up some of the most promising players from their farm system.
Perhaps the biggest acquisition of the season was the addition of David Price from the Detroit Tigers, who no doubt played a huge role in getting the Jays to the playoffs, but in the first game of the ALDS against the Texas Rangers, nerves got to Jays ace David Price early and he was never able to recover, giving up a two run homerun and a solo shot. Price allowed five runs on five hits. He also walked two and fanned five on the way to his sixth consecutive post season loss. So far his career playoff ERA was way above 4.00 and it increased to 5.23 after Thursday’s performance.
Price was a stud during the regular season, posting his lowest ERA since his 2008 rookie campaign when he established a 1.93 ERA in five games. With the Blue Jays he posted a 2.30 ERA while striking out 87 batters in just 74.1 innings.
Oddly enough, the cost of landing David Price wasn’t that high. The Jays had 
only to give up one farm hand in Jairo Labourt. Labourt had an ERA of 3.61 in the Florida State League where he played for the Lakeland Flying Tigers and the Dunedin Blue Jays. The Detroit Tigers also got Matt Boyd and Daniel Norris in return for Price. Boyd’s numbers weren’t really impressive but Norris’ numbers were decent with a 3.68 ERA and a WHIP of just above one (1.009).
To get Troy Tulowitzki from the Colorado Rockies, the Jays gave up promising minor league pitchers Jeff Hoffman and Jesus Tinoco as well as Miguel Castro and Jose Reyes. Hoffman played at A advanced level and posted a combined 3.21 ERA. Tinoco performed at A full season level and posted a 2.97 ERA.
The Jays got Mark Lowe from the Seattle Mariners at the end of July. They gave up two low profile pitchers from the rookie Appalachian League: Jake Brentz, who posted a 4.09 ERA and Nick Wells (4.78). They also sent Rob Rasmussen to the Mariners, where he appeared in nineteen games and posted a 10.67 ERA and a 2.302 WHIP. The Jays clearly got the better part of that deal as Lowe appeared in twenty-three games and posted a 3.79 ERA with a 0.842. WHIP.
On the same day, the Jays traded minor leaguers Jimmy Cordero and Alberto Tirado from the Dunedin Blue Jays of the Florida State League to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for Ben Revere. Tirado had a combined record with Dunedin and Clearwater of 5-3 with a 2.68 ERA and a 1.345. WHIP. Cordero posted a 2.84 ERA and a 1.184 WHIP in fifteen appearances with Dunedin.
It is clear the Blue Jays struck deals in which they sent mostly low minor leaguers to the trading partner. Some were really low profile, but others had quite good numbers. For the most part, the Blue Jays traded pitchers and in only in one case, they sent a minor league hitter to another club.
How did the players that the Blue Jays got in return do with them so far?
Troy Tulowitzki didn’t hit as well as he did with the Rockies. With Toronto he did not get any further than .239, while he hit a very respectable .300 in Denver. Perhaps he was helped by the thin air…. On the defensive side Tulo did better with the Blue Jays, where he posted a perfect fielding percentage and turned twenty-six double plays in thirty-nine games.
Tulo went 0 for 4 in game one of the ALDS vs the Rangers and left three runners on base. In game two he didn’t fare any better as he went 0 for 6, with three strikeouts and two runners left on base. He scored one run though.
The Jays also got LaTroy Hawkins in the Tulowitzki trade. Hawkins did rather well in eighteen games. He won one game and got an ERA of 2.76. But in game two of the ALDS, the was beaten up in just 0.2 innings as he gave up the go-ahead run and the sixth run to the Rangers in the fourteenth inning for the loss.
David Price put up some very good numbers, going 9-1 in eleven and posting a 2.30 ERA, a 1.009 WHIP and 87 strike outs. But as mentioned before he didn’t bring his A game Thursday night.
Mark Lowe had twenty-three appearances in which he went 1-2 with an ERA of 3.79. Not bad for a reliever. He kept his WHIP below one (.842) and struck out fourteen in nineteen innings. Decent numbers for a reliever. Though he walked two in 0.2 innings in game two of the ALDS, he kept the Rangers from scoring, confirming his status of being a good reliever.
In 56 games, Ben Revere went 72 for 226 (.319) with an OPS of .734. His fielding percentage was perfect over the 56 games. In game one of the ALDS, he committed a catching error and went 1 for 4 with a run scored and a runner left on base. In game two he lived up to the expectations, going 2 for 6 with an RBI.
We can certainly say these acquisitions helped the Blue Jays reach the playoffs, but will they also bring them further than the ALDS? Further than the ALCS? Can they win the World Series? It remains to be seen. The first game of the ALDS didn’t go well, neither did game two. You can count on the critics saying “See? Giving up your future for short term success is a bad idea”, if they don’t win the World Series, and I have to agree with them. Sure the Jays sent away mostly low minor leaguers. But in that bunch of players were some promising kids. Of course one never knows how a player will pan out, but trading them away for a couple of mercenaries isn’t a good plan.
David Price will become free agent after this seasont and it remains to be seen if he will resign with the Blue Jays. He has said that he likes it in Toronto, but players often say what the fans want to hear.
Ben Revere will be a free agent after this season. He is a good hitter and will surely test the market.
Troy Tulowitzki will be under the control of the Blue Jays until 2020 (with 2021 as a club option). Mark Lowe will be a free agent after the 2015 season as will LaTroy Hawkins.
So with Tulowitzki under contract for the next five/six years, they may have made a good deal. When it comes to David Price, it depends on if they can offer him the money he wants to re-sign at the end this season. You can bet that he wants to test the greener pastures of the FA market, unless he meant what he said about liking it in Toronto.
Tulowitzki was a good addition, but as for the rest of the acquisitions, I believe the team threw away its future. The Jays’ farm system was ranked 15th before they started trading away their promising players. After those trades it dropped to 26th place. Is that worth it? With one game away from elimination, you decide.
- Edited by Troy Clarke