Sheehan: Blue Jays' momentum 'developing'

TORONTO -- With MLB’s Winter Meetings (virtually) underway, the Blue Jays are standing on the edge of something.

What is that something and when will it materialize? That part isn’t as clear, but at this point in the offseason, Toronto has put in the foundational work necessary to pounce when the time -- or price -- is right. As a team that’s expected to have the financial flexibility required to potentially drive the market, that door could crack open at any moment.

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The market recently creaked to life with the Reds trading Raisel Iglesias to the Angels and the Rangers dealing Lance Lynn to the White Sox, so the Blue Jays are hoping that the dominos will continue to fall. That tends to happen best when a player at the top of the market, like a George Springer or a Trevor Bauer, signs a deal and creates a trickle down, but Toronto feels good about its progress so far.

"I think some of that momentum, in our heads at least, is developing,” said assistant general manager Joe Sheehan on Tuesday, “but you never really know until something is there that's done."

Sheehan’s comments represent well the variables of moving through the offseason, as the control is not solely in the hands of the Blue Jays. Players and agents make up another third of this picture, then opposing teams bidding on these same players complete it. Sure, Toronto should be able to drive the market, but the club is not alone on this road regardless of the level it's shopping at.

The Francisco Lindor talk isn’t going away
The potential availability of Cleveland’s star shortstop is a fine example of how these processes can be drawn out, especially for top assets. The discourse around Lindor has focused heavily on how good a fit he’d be with the Blue Jays, but when one of baseball’s best infielders is on the market, multiple clubs will have serious interest and only the highest bidder will walk away with a new franchise shortstop.

Appearing on MLB Network on Tuesday morning, general manager Ross Atkins addressed Lindor's potential fit, but he had some fun while carefully walking the line discussing another club’s player.

“Frankie’s a great player. There’s not a team in baseball that wouldn’t be thinking about how he can complement them. What I’m going to do is just step out of the way and let you guys make some deals for us right now,” Atkins joked. “We think the world of the organization. We think the world of Frankie, and we do have some history with him.”

Evaluating Ha-seong Kim
Korean shortstop Kim has been posted by his KBO team, the Kiwoom Heroes, giving MLB clubs a Jan. 1 deadline to sign the versatile 25-year-old.

On paper, Kim makes plenty of sense for Toronto. He’s coming off a career year, where he hit .306 with 30 home runs, 23 stolen bases and a .921 OPS. Kim recently dined with Blue Jays ace and KBO great Hyun Jin Ryu, and with his ability to play both shortstop and third base, Kim fits Toronto's model of positional flexibility.

The challenge, of course, is projecting Kim’s transition from the KBO to MLB. Does he project as a star, a starter or just a good role player? The answer will vary between clubs and evaluators, but it adds another fascinating wrinkle to the market for a team willing to take on more risk.

“Our margin of error on projections on a guy that’s been in North America are just smaller,” Sheehan explained. “You’ve got a little bit better of a sense of what those players are, and you’re relying less on that translation to a new league. I think [with] Kim, the performance in the KBO has been quite strong. Just looking at players that have come over, he fits into that infield market really well.”

The Blue Jays' most obvious infield need is at third base after they non-tendered Travis Shaw. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has trimmed down and will work on the position in winter ball with the hope of earning some reps back, but returning to a starting role at third seems very unlikely. Toronto can freely target infielders at other positions though, such as second base, given the versatility of players such as Cavan Biggio.