If the Toronto Blue Jays appear to be standing pat heading into Spring Training, player agent Scott Boras (above) claims GM Alex Anthopoulous is being restricted by Rogers Communication from adding payroll, telling Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, “they’re a car with a huge engine that is impeded by a big corporate stop sign…it’s a premium city. It’s a premium owner with equity. And it’s a very, very good team that with additional premium talent could become a contending team.”
Perhaps recognizing the Jays are in fact, a baseball franchise playing in the AL East and not anything even remotely resembling an automobile, Bluebird Banter’s Tom Dakers sighs, ” I’m tired of the whole ‘cheap Rogers’ thing. Seems just too simple to blame ownership.”
I’m not sure who Boras is talking to by saying this. Is it his players? I’m sure Stephen Drew and Kendrys Morales are getting a little anxious, now that spring training has started. I’m sure they must have questions for Scott and must be wondering if they are going to be playing this year. Maybe they are also wondering if they have the wrong agent. Boras can’t be expecting that the Jays will suddenly sign three guys because some agent embarrassed them.
Baseball-Reference has the Jays sitting third in the AL East in payroll at $131.3 million, Trailing the Yankees ($195.5 million and the Red Sox ($152.1 million), ahead of the Orioles ($87.3 million, with a couple of signings that will move them over the $100 million mark, presuming the physicals go well) and the Rays ($68.2 million). I don’t expect the Jays to be spending as much as the Yankees or Red Sox.