Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
As the Mets and the Blue Jays remain top candidates when it comes to signing free agent George Springer, it seems both teams are currently facing challenges unique to their situations, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
Despite an offseason that will likely see a lack of spending due to current financial uncertainty, both the Mets and Jays appear willing to pay up – but for the Mets, going over that luxury tax threshold proves to be a key issue.
According to Rosenthal, several industry sources do not believe New York will want to pay Springer $25-30 million per year when they already seem intent on signing newly-acquired Francisco Lindor to an extension (one with a higher annual value) while also extending Michael Conforto (who happens to be three years younger than Springer).
Targeting a name like Jackie Bradley Jr. in place of Springer and turning the rest of their focus to pitching would relieve the Mets of their luxury tax concerns.
On the other hand, the Mets could also continue their pursuit of Springer with the intention of “stretching” a contract for the outfielder, similar to what the Yankees managed with DJ LeMahieu (six years, $90 million). This strategy would also keep the Mets under the threshold.
As for the Blue Jays, their challenges lie elsewhere.
Luxury tax will not prove to be an issue, as they currently sit more than $100 million below the threshold.
However, it will be a task to convince players to come to Toronto, mainly due to the fact that the Jays still do not know where they will start their season due to the pandemic. The team hopes to start off the season in Toronto, but will likely open at their spring training facility in Dunedin, Fl. if government restrictions do not allow them to return to the Rogers Centre.
Looking at their offseason thus far, the Jays have already struggled – they’ve missed out on Francisco Lindor, Kevin Gausman, Tomoyuki Sugano, Liam Hendriks, DJ LeMahieu, and Corey Kluber.
In addition, Toronto has expressed interest in signing fellow outfielder Michael Brantley. If that interest remains true, it will of course be difficult for the team to pull off both Brantley and Springer.
Nevertheless, there are solutions there as well – the Jays could make room in their young, crowded outfield by trading one for starting pitching, or they could simply change direction from Springer to Bauer, who would also fill a key need.
