Spring has Come Early in Toronto

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 Simon B

    I think I should just write about what I want to happen to my favorite teams because so far when I write about what I think should happen, it happens. On Monday I wrote about how the Toronto Blue Jays hadn't made a major move like they said they would. 

    Late Tuesday the Jays finally broke the ice signing the biggest free-agent position player on the market. George Springer and the Jays agreed to a 6-year deal worth 150$ million. This is the largest signing in franchise history. The center fielder has been to 2 of the last 4 World Series, won it all back in 2017 (although there was the sign-stealing scandal that taints it), and brings a lot of playoff experience to this young Jays' team. 

    I mean, what a way to start a great day in history! Toronto sports is absolutely buzzing about today! The Raptors are facing the defending eastern conference champion Miami Heat, Auston Matthews, and Connor McDavid are going head-to-head in the NHL and the Jays sign the biggest free agent on the market.



The Details

So the Jays are using up 150 million dollars of payroll. What are they getting? Springer is one of the premier players in the entire league. He's hit 174 home runs over his 7-year Astros career. He has a batting average of .270 with 458 RBIs (Runs Batted In) in 3087. That's a lot of numbers. Those numbers don't do justice to what this really means to the Jays and the city of Toronto.

What This Means For The Jays 

For the longest time, the Blue Jays were never linked to a big name free-agent. Now it's a different story. Last year, the Jays signed Hyun-Jin Ryu and now Springer. Toronto may not be the top baseball city but They are a really good young team on the rise and now they are seen by other teams and players as a top free-agent destination. Springer will probably be in one of the top 2 spots in the batting order. In my opinion, he should be hitting second. Cavan Biggio is an excellent leadoff hitter last season and I think they should keep it that way. Why? Having Biggio ahead of Springer in the lineup allows the newly acquired center fielder to be hitting with runners on base. This will put Springer in a position to score a maximum amount of runs at the dish.  

The Wrap

It was a bit of a smaller post today but there is a lot still to say about this monstrous signing. Management will probably speak to reporters. Springer needs to pass his Physical test with the team, he will speak to the media in the coming days too. I can't wait to write more about this All-Star Player and what he will mean to this team. This is a big stride towards contention and 2021 is going to be an exciting year, to say the least

Thanks for reading! I’d love your comments and questions. 

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Location: Toronto, ON, Canada

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