Toronto Blue Jays batter Edwin Encarnacion celebrates his walk-off home run off Los Angeles Angels pitcher Garrett Richards (R) during the 12th inning of their MLB American League baseball game in Toronto September 22, 2011.MIKE CASSESE/Reuters
Everyone knows another big bopper in the batting order next season would go a long way toward making the Toronto Blue Jays a relevant force again in the city that once worshipped at their feet.
Ditto for another proven pitcher to help shore up the front end of a youthful rotation where the only consistent piece during an uneven 2011 major-league baseball season was Ricky Romero.
Alex Anthopoulos, the club's wunderkind general manager, knows this better than anybody else.
But don't expect the 34-year-old to be pulling out the cheque book this coming off-season to lavish unworldly amounts on players such as Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder or C.J. Wilson, some of the top free-agent talent that will be headlining the market.
"With free agency, if I can I prefer to avoid it," Anthopoulos said on Thursday. "But I also know it's part of trying to build a contending team and a winning team.
"I'd like to try to go through the draft, go through trades first and foremost. And in a perfect world I'd like to use free agency to supplement the team and maybe find the final piece rather than a building block."
Anthopoulos made his comments during an interview in the Toronto dugout several hours before the Blue Jays wound up the home portion of the regular-season schedule with a exciting sendoff for their fans – a 4-3 walk-off victory over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
It was Edwin Encarnacion who proved the hero, taking a Garrett Richards pitch over the wall in left-field for a home run in the bottom of the 12th inning to end the marathon battle.
As per the custom, Encarnacion was mobbed by his teammates who formed a scrum around him as he fought his way to home plate.
The game was taken in by a gathering of 22,769 at Rogers Centre, giving the Blue Jays an annual average home attendance of 22,446, a decent increase from last season's average of 20,068. Overall home attendance on the year was 1,818,103.
The Blue Jays will now conclude the season on the road, beginning Friday night in Tampa Bay where they'll play the first of a three-game set against the Rays.
After that the Blue Jays will move on to Chicago to finish up against the White Sox.
In his second full season on the job, Anthopoulos is a draft pick hoarder who is trying to rebuild the Blue Jays fortunes from within whenever possible.
He believes the trade route is the most useful tool to land a desired player or players to fill a need.
"In a trade you could be more specific for what you're shopping for," Anthopoulos said.
"In free agency you're basically limited to what's available. If you're going to try and build a team through free agency, it will probably be an older team, there will be a lot more risk and it will be a lot more expensive."
Anthopoulos realizes his aversion to free agency might rankle the casual fan, who would point out that Toronto's salary base this year of roughly $70-million (all currency U.S.) does not exactly place the club among the major-league high rollers.
And the club is not exactly in poor hands with owner Rogers Communications Inc. bankrolling the operation.
Anthopoulos counters the team is not afraid to spend; it just wants to spend wisely.
"I think we spent money signing Jose Bautista," Anthopoulos said, referring to the five-year, $65-million contract given the slugger last February. "We spent $10-million on an amateur player, Adeiny Hechevarria. It's the highest signing bonus we've ever handed out. So we're spending money. We're just spending it where we see value."
The Blue Jays are headed for another fourth-place finish in the AL East, the fourth year in a row they will have landed there.
Asked if the team step forward next season, Anthopoulos said he has no idea, that will depend on the players.
"I just think when you look at longer-term players that are here, that are controllable, we're in a lot better shape than we were last year," he said.