The multiplayer trade between the Marlins and the Blue Jays highlighted by SS Jose Reyes and P Josh Johnson going to Toronto will "likely define" the tenure of Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos, "with his future in the organization tied to its outcome," according to Brendan Kennedy of the TORONTO STAR. The trade "dramatically alters the makeup of the Jays' 2013 roster." The Blue Jays will take on more than $163M in guaranteed salary "for just four players over the next five years." The trade increases their annual payroll over $100M, and "into the upper echelons of the league." As details of the trade last night "spread wildly on Twitter, there was only excitement among Jays players and fans." News of the "monster deal seemed to inject a depressed fanbase with new life" (TORONTO STAR, 11/14). In Providence, Tim Britton writes the trade "represents the long-awaited major move" by Anthopoulos. For years, rumors have "swirled around the Jays' ability to add payroll and about Anthopoulos' creativity in trades" (PROVIDENCE JOURNAL, 11/14). MLB.com's Richard Justice writes it will "take some time to figure out how all these pieces will fit," but for the "first time in a long time, the Blue Jays have a team that looks every bit the equal" of others in the AL East. There is "plenty of risk" in the trade. But "it was time" for such a move, as the Blue Jays "needed to shock the roster with an infusion of veteran talent" (MLB.com, 11/14).
COLOR ME IMPRESSED: In Toronto, Steve Buffery writes under the header, "Jays' Ownership Gets It Right This Time." There is "no guarantee that this deal will take the Jays to the promised land in 2013, though it certainly puts them in the driver's seat." And Blue Jays fans are "over the moon, which is great to see." Buffery: "There's actually a buzz in this town over a sports team. How great is that?" (TORONTO SUN, 11/14). Also in Toronto, Bob Elliott writes, "Make no mistake: This was a franchise-altering deal." Elliott: "Over the years, we've made fun of [team Owner] Rogers Communications for their ability to say they would step forward and spend when the time came, but the clocks on the Rogers campus were broken, so the time never came. Until Tuesday" (TORONTO SUN, 11/14). Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal notes the Blue Jays were “uniquely positioned” to make this trade because “they’ve got amazing financial flexibility backed by one of the richest owners” in MLB in Rogers Communications. Rosenthal: “The Blue Jays have been largely a disappointment the last couple of years … so there’s pressure mounting there and there were fans saying, ‘Hey, let’s go, let’s get involved here’” ("Hot Stove," MLB Network, 11/14). CBSSPORTS.com's Danny Knobler wrote if there was "one team in baseball that needed to make a trade like this, the Blue Jays were the one." If there was one team that "needed to prove to us that they were serious about trying to win, it was the team that won back-to-back World Series in 1992-93, and hadn't sniffed the postseason since" (CBSSPORTS.com, 11/13).
MONEY PLAY: In N.Y., Tyler Kepner writes the Blue Jays "have money, and as the only team in Canada, they believe they have untapped revenue streams" (N.Y. TIMES, 11/14). The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo said this trade is a “stunner.” Cafardo: “Jays are taking on quite a bit of payroll here. I guess they’ve been saving it up for the past few years” (“NESN Daily,” NESN, 11/13). ESPN.com's Christina Kahrl wrote, "When you're a big-market team with
deep pockets, you can afford to pull the trigger on something huge,
especially when it comes to exploiting one of baseball's weak sisters
(or rotten Fish)" (ESPN.com, 11/13).
