DUNEDIN, Fla. — With a week to go before Opening Day, Toronto Blue Jays president and CEO Mark Shapiro held his annual springtime session with the media on Thursday.
The team president spoke for nearly an hour inside a boardroom on the second floor of the Blue Jays’ player development complex. He touched on topics including the intense, yet unsuccessful pursuit of Shohei Ohtani during free agency, the perceived understated offseason that followed, expectations for the 2024 squad and the latest on the Rogers Centre renovations.
On the Shohei Ohtani pursuit
The Blue Jays were a finalist to sign Ohtani this offseason, with the two-way superstar even going so far as to visit the team’s player development complex in Dunedin in the days before he ultimately decided to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers for $700 million.
The Blue Jays president spoke candidly about his excitement around the pursuit of Ohtani, detailing that there were moments up until the very last night that Shapiro began to think, “This feels like this could really happen.”
Shapiro said Ohtani demonstrated a keen interest in the city of Toronto.
“He knew neighbourhoods, he had spent time (there), he was thoughtful. He appreciated what was unique about Toronto, the same things that we all feel are unique,” Shapiro said. “He appreciated the diversity, the international nature, the progressiveness. He appreciated the safety, some of the differentiation from big American cities.”
The Blue Jays ultimately fell short of signing Ohtani, who is currently dealing with the abrupt firing of his long-time translator Ippei Mizuhara over Mizuhara’s alleged involvement with illegal gambling and allegations of “massive theft.” But Shapiro said the experience was another reminder that Toronto’s reputation as a city where major free agents do not sign is all but a myth now.
“Nine years ago, I was told free agents wouldn’t sign here. You got to pay a premium,” Shapiro said of when he joined the club in 2015. “It’s clearly not the case right now. I’m sure there are still some (who won’t sign in Toronto), but I think for me it was like, OK, that’s definitely not the case. We’re having a conversation with the most pre-eminent free agent in the history of modern baseball and we are among the few teams he’s considering.”
Justin Turner was the team’s most notable offseason acquisition. (Frank Gunn / The Canadian Press via Associated Press)
On what has been characterized as an uninspiring offseason
The Blue Jays were reportedly willing to offer Ohtani the same $700 million deal he received from the Dodgers. It obviously would have been an unprecedented amount of money for the Blue Jays to outlay, but Shapiro said the uniqueness of both Ohtani’s skill set and international brand appeal made for a logical business case to present to ownership. However, once Ohtani was off the table, the Blue Jays didn’t reallocate that money elsewhere because “no one else could justify for us a contract that large,” Shapiro said.
But the Blue Jays’ ambitious pursuit of the reigning AL MVP followed by a conservative offseason focussed on complementary, floor-raising deals created frustration among fans expecting more of a splash.
Shapiro pointed out that “Ohtani is a very unique case that generates revenue and extreme levels of performance” and while the cost is justifiable, it was “still an extensive conversation with ownership.” But after Ohtani was off the table, the Blue Jays president said the club pivoted to fill holes on their roster and double down on the core they had already built.
“The core of this offseason, without a doubt, was built upon the belief in our players,” Shapiro said. “I do understand and sympathize that from maybe some media and from a fan perspective, core avid fan perspective, offseasons are won or lost by sensationalism, by big names.
“In my career, teams that win the offseason don’t often or sometimes don’t win the regular season. We just took the best strategy we could build based upon the players in place.”
On expectations this season and belief in the team
Despite diminished external expectations for the Blue Jays this season — FanGraphs gives Toronto only a 49 percent chance of making the postseason — Shapiro said he believes the team they assembled is capable of winning a championship because of the talent they have on their roster and the maturation process he’s seen from the young players who are entering their prime.
“It’s been clear that guys came in with a sense of purpose. Guys came in with a sense of determination and they’re ready to take the next step, especially those younger players in their career. To me, it’s moving from young player into the prime of their careers. And so that’s what I’ve seen this spring,” Shapiro said.
As for the segment of the fan population that remains skeptical of the team’s chances, especially in light of back-to-back playoff disappointments, Shapiro acknowledged that winning is the cure-all for a dissatisfied fan base but didn’t agree with the characterization of calling last year’s 89-win season a failure.
“We’re never going to be satisfied until we win the last game played, but 89 wins in a game where … it’s hard to win 89 games, particularly in the AL East, that’s not failure. It’s a fifth straight year of contending baseball in Toronto, that’s not a bad thing. It’s not acceptable and it’s by no means satisfactory. It’s bitter that it ends that way,” Shapiro said. “When you’re thinking about, how do you get better? How do you improve? How does 89 turn to 93 wins? Or how do you play deeper into the postseason? Those are good questions to have to ponder. Much better than, how do you turn a 104-loss season into a contending team? Those are not good questions to have to ponder. So we’re thinking about those things internally.”
On the second phase of the Rogers Centre renovations
The Blue Jays are scheduled to unveil the second phase of the Rogers Centre upgrades when they play their home opener on April 8.
Following last year’s renovation of the upper bowl and the introduction of the new outfield districts, the Blue Jays have reimagined the lower bowl, reorienting the seats toward home plate and making it feel “like a baseball field,” Shapiro said, and “not like a circle dropped in the middle of a big concrete circle.” New premium clubs will be introduced too, although they won’t open until mid-season when construction concludes.
The new angles mean the field will have its foul territory reduced by 3,000 square feet in total. In theory, that may make Rogers Centre a more hitter-friendly environment, but Shapiro cautioned against making assumptions considering many expected the new outfield dimensions introduced last year would make the ballpark more hitter-friendly and it was anything but.
“We did model it,” Shapiro said. “I guess the conclusion was, yeah, it’s going to prolong some at-bats, but I don’t think it’s going to impact the game in a way that’s noticeable to the fans.”
Other changes to the stadium include redesigned dugouts and player facilities, including a new batting cage and a 30-yard running track behind the dugouts as well as “the best, biggest clubhouse in Major League Baseball — by far, it won’t even be close,” Shapiro said.
As for the visiting team facilities, those will be improved too, although Shapiro quipped they wouldn’t match what they have on the home side.
“My philosophy on visiting spaces are good enough they don’t complain, but not too good that we get compliments,” he said.
All told the Blue Jays and Rogers Communications will have spent just under $400 million on this two-year project. The result is a modernized ballpark experience for avid and casual baseball fans.
As for what comes next, Shapiro said the club will continue to look for ways to improve the game-day experience with smaller-scale projects — a kids-designated area and nods to team history are two prioritized projects — but for now, the team will take a step back for a couple of years until it’s time to begin thinking about the long-term viability of the stadium.
On exploring long-term extensions for players
The Blue Jays have yet to sign any homegrown players who make up their current core to long-term extensions, including Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, Danny Jansen, Alejandro Kirk or Jordan Romano, among others. When asked about the possibility of striking those deals, Shapiro said, “We’ve got to keep those conversations private. Those are ongoing.”
The Blue Jays president did, however, speak generally about what the club is thinking about when considering those types of significant pacts, including health, dependability, performance track record, future performance projections, character and compatibility with the team.
It’s also about assuming the shared risk alongside the player, who has to consider forgoing maximizing his potential free agency earnings in exchange for a guaranteed deal.
“That’s a really hard needle to thread,” Shapiro said. “We continue to have those conversations with our existing players, not just two or not just three, many of them at different levels and different lengths. We did have more than two this offseason and then at a certain point, you say, ‘OK, we got to focus on the job at hand,’ and that’s what we’re doing.”
(Top photo of Mark Shapiro: Vaughn Ridley / Getty Images)
