Kuzul

There were plenty of expectations placed on the Toronto Blue Jays heading into the 2013 season. The word “expectation” has not been kind to the team, as the reality of the situation is that the Jays have not lived up to them. 

With that in mind, picture yourselves before the first pitch was thrown on this mesmerizingly disappointing Blue Jays season: You look up and down the lineup and the rotation without finding one major glaring hole; you see names like Dickey, Bautista, Encarnacion, Reyes, Johnson and wonder which of them would prove to be the team’s most valuable player come the end of August. 

I bet Colby Rasmus‘ name did not immediately pop up in your mind. 

Nevertheless, in a season defined by disappointment, there have been a few silver linings, and the Jays centre fielder would certainly fit in that category.

Rasmus has very quietly put together his strongest and most complete campaign as a Blue Jay, outperforming the All-Stars like Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion. 

It’s safe to assume that none of the starting pitchers on the Jays roster have been as productive as Rasmus, Encarnacion or Bautista, so let’s compare these three players, starting with the straight, standard offensive statistics: 

Encarnacion: .273 / 31 HR / 93 RBI

Bautista: .259 / 28 HR / 73 RBI

Rasmus: .273 / 18 HR / 60 RBI

If Rasmus is not on the same level as Encarnacion and Bautista for typical run production stats, he’s at least in the same ballpark. While Encarnacion and Bautista have both created just over six runs per game, Rasmus currently sits at 5.9 RC/G. If scoring runs are the name of the game in baseball, Rasmus has been one of the Jays’ top performers. 

However, scoring runs is just one part of baseball, and Rasmus has separated himself from his teammates with his defensive significance. 

Significance is a great word to describe Rasmus’ overall effectiveness in centre field.

The old-school saying is that defence up the middle is hugely important to success on the field. Basically, having strong defenders at catcher, shortstop, second base and centre field is more important than having defensive stalwarts at any of the other positions.   

Rasmus has patrolled the Jays outfield incredibly effectively in 2013. 

While there are certain intangibles with having a reliable and confident centre fielder, there are some metrics that reveal Rasmus’ defensive performance in 2013. 

Last year, Adam Jones won the AL Gold Glove for centre fielders, and Mike Trout is widely regarded as one of the best defensive centre fielders in the major leagues. 

Defensive runs saved above average is a stat that essentially attempts to assign the number of runs a fielder saved or cost his team. Here are the defensive runs saved above average stats for Rasmus, Jones and Trout from 2013, along with their defensive wins above replacement:

Adam Jones: -3 / 0.1

Mike Trout: -9 / -0.8

Colby Rasmus: +7 / 1.1

Statistically, Rasmus is only one of the top pure centre fielders in the majors in terms of defensive ability.

The only players who have a higher defensive wins above replacement with at least 100 games started at centre field are Milwaukee‘s Carlos Gomez and Boston‘s Jacoby Ellsbury. 

If Rasmus was competing with Encarnacion and Bautista for who has been the Jays’ best player in 2013, defence has set him apart. 

Both Encarnacion and Bautista have fairly average defensive numbers, with -1.3 and 0.0 dWARs, respectively. While Bautista is dangerous and flashy in right field, his position is much less crucial to a team’s overall defence, making Rasmus much more valuable. 

Diving into more detailed statistics shows that Rasmus has been as valuable or more valuable than the typical Jays “stars.” He trails only Bautista in total wins above replacement, leads the team in defensive wins above replacement and leads the team in wins added. 

While the numbers support Rasmus’ breakout season, sadly, the easiest part of declaring him the Jays’ best player from 2013 is that his play has been encouraging rather than disappointing. 

It’s a testament to the team’s struggles that Rasmus, who has had a solid but not spectacular season, has been the roster’s most reliable performer.

All statistics via baseball-reference.com.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Toronto Blue Jays are officially part of the discussion. 

The American League is crowded with top-level teams, and now the Blue Jays have to be included in that list. After adding two Cy Young-talented pitchers in R.A. Dickey and Josh Johnson, an above-average inning eater in Mark Buehrle and adding talent at the top of their lineup in Jose Reyes and Melky Cabrera, the Jays are a legitimate threat. 

Looking through each team’s projected lineups, using MLBDepthCharts.com as a reference, there are several teams that could conceivably represent the junior circuit in the 2013 World Series. 

Last year’s AL champs, the Detroit Tigers, have added Torii Hunter through free agency and Victor Martinez will be back after missing 2012 to injury. 

The New York Yankees are always part of the conversation, the Los Angeles Angels added the best free-agent hitter available, the Texas Rangers won 93 games despite their unbelievable collapse and the Tampa Bay Rays had the best pitching staff in baseball in 2012. 

If Alex Anthopoulos and the new look Blue Jays want to make some noise in 2013, they’ll have to deal with these five teams—and the Orioles and Athletics mind you—all year long. 

Here’s a look at how the Jays’ new rotation, lineup and bullpen match up against the top AL contenders. 

Begin Slideshow

The 2012/2013 offseason has seen the Toronto Blue Jays completely overhaul their roster.

Trades with the Marlins and Mets have added three new starters, a new shortstop, a new second baseman and a merry-go-round of catchers. 

Hidden amongst the big names like Dickey, Johnson, Reyes and Buehrle are a few additions that fans and critics have glossed over. Mark Buehrle is still massively underrated in at least one blogger’s opinion, but you can only say “guaranteed 200+ innings” so many times. 

The Jays signing of Melky Cabrera came two days after the Marlins deal. In comparison to the shocking 12-player trade, the Cabrera signing seemed minor, but it has been severely overshadowed. 

Detractors of Cabrera point to his suspension last season after testing positive and admitting to using a performance-enhancing substance. If Cabrera’s numbers were inflated because of high levels of testosterone, then the Jays will likely be disappointed with their new left fielder. 

However, Cabrera had already emerged as a productive hitter before 2012. With the Royals in 2011, Cabrera hit .305 with an .809 OPS while picking up 201 hits. Clearly Cabrera is a productive hitter as shown by his career .284 average.

That’s not mentioning his 2012 campaign. 

As of August 15, 2012, Cabrera led the major league in hits and was second the the NL in batting average. Even if Cabrera’s numbers drop slightly, he’ll be the Jays best pure hitter. Having a player near the top of the order who can hit consistently is something the Blue Jays have needed for the better part of the decade. All too often have the Jays had powerful batters in the middle of the order who lost run production due to a lack of support in front of them. His 7.8 runs created per game in 2012 shows how effective he can be at the front of a batting order. 

Despite his suspension, Cabrera has proven that he’s one of the most talented hitters in the sport and being a free-agent signing, he costs the Jays organization nothing but money. He’s a massive upgrade over the Jays’ unsteady left field spot last season and he’ll be surrounded by Jose Reyes and Jose Bautista in the lineup. 

Cabrera may well end up being the Jays most productive hitter.

Another argument could be made for two players who weren’t themselves last season.

Both Jose Bautista and Ricky Romero—arguably the Jays two most valuable players heading into 2012—fought through injury last season. 

The Jays marquee slugger got off to a slow start, hit 14 home runs in June and missed the majority of the season after tweaking his wrist on July 17. Including Bautista‘s horrendous April, the Jays were without their most productive and dangerous offensive player for four months.

It’s difficult to recover from that big of a loss and it will be that much more helpful to have Bautista back and healthy. Compounded with Bautista‘s return, he’ll fit into a Jays lineup with much more depth and protection. 

Hitting either in front of or behind the reinvented Edwin Encarnacion can only mean that Bautista will see more fastballs. Any easily-obtained youtube video will tell you that more fastballs in the strike zone means Jose Bautista will have a great opportunity return to the top of the MLB home run rankings. He’ll also have the chance to generate more runs than ever before with Jose Reyes and Melky Cabrera—a combined OBP of .369 in 2012—at the top of the Jays order. 

Ricky Romero had a season to forget in 2012. He posted career highs in ERA, walks and WHIP while losing seven-straight decisions in June and July.

However, it came out after the season that Romero required elbow surgery which may have contributed to his loss of control. While the surgery was described as a “cleanup”, if it relieves Romero of pitching through pain, he may regain his control and his top of the rotation stuff.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

It’s always important to stay grounded.

Especially when you’re an MLB franchise that historically has had problems attracting big-name free agents. The Toronto Blue Jays would certainly fall neatly into that category, so if we’re discussing the prospect of Zack Greinke joining the team, fans ought to temper themselves. 

Realistically, the Jays will likely need to be the highest bidder in order to wrap up the 28-year-old pitcher.

Does that mean Greinke won’t sign in Toronto? 

In a word: No. 

Again, when discussing the possibility of free agents landing in Toronto, it comes down to whether or not the organization is willing to spend the money. While the team has clear holes at several other positions, it’s obvious that they need the most help on the mound. 

The Jays have reached a tipping point with their fanbase, and to avoid backlash, they need to inspire hope this winter. Fans have waited very patiently for the team to develop and grow through GM Alex Anthopoulos, and another uneventful offseason would be incredibly unpopular. 

Trades for young prospects aren’t going to cut it this time around.

A big move for a big name is exactly what the franchise needs in terms of re-igniting fan interest. 

Could Zack Greinke be that guy?

He’s got the credentials, having been a consistent producer even before his Cy Young Award in 2009. While Greinke has been traded twice in the last two years, the fact is he’ll be the best free agent pitcher available this offseason. 

Stepping up and handing out a big contract will not only re-establish faith in ownership. It will send a message to players, managers and fans that the Jays think they are ready to commit to winning. Greinke will likely command somewhere in the region of $80 million over five years which would actually be quite tame considering some of the recent contracts we’ve seen. 

Is Greinke a good fit for the Jays? Any proven, quality starting pitcher would fit in well with the Jays right now. Slotting him in behind Brandon Morrow adds depth to a very shallow rotation and perhaps takes some of the pressure off of Ricky Romero heading into 2013. 

Follow those three up with Henderson Alvarez and Kyle Drabek, and the rotation is starting to look a heck of a lot better than it does now. 

Considering the injuries suffered by the Jays’ starters this season, it’s likely that the expectations for the Jays in 2013 will be quite low. But if the team can avoid injury and have Ricky Romero return as even half the pitcher he was before his disastrous performance in 2012, there’s a chance the team could surprise. 

However, signing a talented, inning-chewing, former Cy Young winner would do wonders for appealing to an increasingly disinterested and disillusioned fanbase, while also adding to a potentially surprising roster. 

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com