The 2010 Toronto Blue Jays season was the 34th season of Major League Baseball's Toronto Blue Jays franchise, and the team's 21st full season of play (22nd overall) at the Rogers Centre. The 2010 season was the first under general manager Alex Anthopoulos, who replaced J. P. Ricciardi after the 2009 season.
After a poor 2009 season in which the Blue Jays finished with a 75–87 record, 2010 saw the team improve by 10 games, finishing with an 85–77 record and in fourth place in the American League East. Led by José Bautista, whose 54 home runs set a franchise record and led the Major Leagues, the team also set a franchise record with 257 home runs.
Offseason
"The Doc Deal"
One of the biggest trades in Blue Jays history (known as "The Doc Deal") was executed on December 16, 2009, when the Blue Jays traded Roy Halladay and US$6 million to the Philadelphia Phillies for Kyle Drabek, Travis d'Arnaud and Michael Taylor; Taylor was then traded to the Oakland Athletics for Brett Wallace. Halladay signed a contract extension with the Phillies worth $60 million for 3 years, with an option for another year worth $20 million. The Phillies were scheduled to play in Toronto on June 25, 26 and 27, however due to the G20 summit meeting in Toronto, those games were held in Philadelphia. Halladay made his first start against his old team in spring training, allowing 4 runs on 5 hits.
Arrivals and departures For more detailed information about arrivals and departures see Free agency and Waivers.
In total, the Blue Jays lost 16 players in the offseason, 4 as free agents, but one re-signed. It was a trade-filled offseason, including The Doc Deal, which landed the Jays three players for Roy Halladay. The Jays made five trades in total. The Jays traded cash considerations for two pitchers in separate deals, and traded a player to be named for Zach Jackson. All told, the Blue Jays added 26 new players to their roster.
Free agency
Of the five major league free agents of the Blue Jays, John McDonald was the only one to re-sign with the team, accepting a two-year, $3 million deal. Michael Barrett and Kevin Millar were designated for assignment and subsequently released, becoming minor league free agents. Rod Barajas declined salary arbitration, signing a contract with the New York Mets in February 2010; this gave the Blue Jays a supplemental first-round compensation draft pick for the 2010 Major League Baseball draft (pick 41). Marco Scutaro signed a contract with the Boston Red Sox, giving the Blue Jays Boston's second-round draft pick (pick 81) and a supplemental first-round compensation draft pick (pick 32).
The team non-tendered Raúl Chávez, then signed him to a minor league deal. The Blue Jays signed shortstop Álex González to a one-year, $2.75 million contract on November 26, 2009, and catcher John Buck to a one-year, $2 million contract on December 16, 2009.
On January 13, 2010, the Blue Jays signed four minor leaguers, Chris Lubanski, Willie Collazo, Jorge Padilla and Jesús Merchán. On January 19, they also signed Jeremy Reed and Steven Register to minor-league contracts, and on January 22 the Blue Jays signed Shawn Hill.
On January 19, 2010, José Molina signed a one-year deal with an option for 2011 with the Blue Jays, and on February 2, 2010, relief pitcher Kevin Gregg signed a one-year, $2.75 million deal with the Blue Jays.
Blue Jays minor league free agents signed by other teams include Fabio Castro (Boston), Bill Murphy (Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan), and Bryan Bullington and Buck Coats (both signed by the Kansas City Royals).
Waivers The Blue Jays made some moves with potential on the waiverwire. Alex Anthopolous made his first transaction ever when he picked up reliever Sean Henn from the Orioles in late October 2009. He acquired Jarrett Hoffpauir on November 3. Once free agency started to kick in, he claimed shortstop Mike McCoy from Colorado, and never made a transaction for the rest of 2009. Anthopolous made his first waiver claim of 2010 on January 7, when he claimed Brian Bocock from the San Francisco Giants. Bocock was waived and picked up by the Phillies on January 26. The Blue Jays' only waiver loss during the 2009–2010 offseason was utility player Joe Inglett, who was claimed by the Texas Rangers.
Salary arbitration On January 15, 2010, six Blue Jay pitchers filed for salary arbitration. Shaun Marcum re-signed with the Blue Jays on January 18 to a one-year, $850,000 contract. The next day, Jeremy Accardo, Shawn Camp, Jason Frasor, Casey Janssen and Brian Tallet signed one-year deals with the club.
Staff With three games left during the 2009 season, articles about Cito Gaston in the Toronto media suggested that some players had turned against him. Gaston responded to the accusations by saying "I've treated everybody with respect, so I am not sure what their bitch is." There was also a report that Gaston's managerial techniques caused Scott Rolen to request a trade out of Toronto. Vernon Wells stated that "Obviously, there are issues". On the same topic, Wells was asked if he could play for the Jays next season, and he replied with "I cannot answer that at this point in time". One day later, Blue Jays General Manager J. P. Ricciardi was fired. Ricciardi had received criticism for signing bulky, no-trade-clause contracts to players such as Vernon Wells, Frank Thomas, Alex Ríos and B. J. Ryan; three of the four were eventually released. Problems were also raised with Ricciardi's drafts and scouting. He had drafted more than 200 players during his tenure, and had only six were the major league players at the time of his firing. One of his biggest failures was drafting Russ Adams 14th overall in the 2002 entry draft, passing by future All-Stars pitchers Scott Kazmir, Cole Hamels, and Matt Cain, also missing out on Nick Swisher. In other drafts, such as the one in 2005, he narrowly missed out on a franchise player, like Ryan Braun and one pick later, got Ricky Romero, who took more time to develop. Some others criticized him for not drafting 30-home run slugger Troy Tulowitzki. Ricciardi made one of his biggest mistakes publicizing a trade for the face of the Blue Jays, Roy Halladay. In an interview on the FAN 590, he was asked if he was interested in trading Halladay, and he replied by saying "We would not be doing our job if we did not entertain offers from other teams". He went on to make numerous trade offers to the Phillies for top pitching prospects, primarily Kyle Drabek, or J. A. Happ. The Phillies stuck with reigning Cy Young winner Cliff Lee instead, closing any door on Halladay being traded. The Jays had just lost three of four in a crucial series in New York when the rumours started, and the Jays' season went downhill. Affected by the trade talks, the Jays went from seven games behind to 13, and the Rays surpassed the Jays for good during the slide. On October 30, Cito Gaston announced that he will retire after the 2010 season, but he signed a four-year consulting deal with the Jays for post-retirement. The Jays had two other members of the coaching staff leave; Brad Arnsberg left to be the Pitching Coach of the Houston Astros, and hitting coach Gene Tenace also announced that he will retire, only he will not be present for the 2010 season. These moves resulted in former bullpen coach, Bruce Walton becoming the pitching coach, and the former first base coach Dwayne Murphy took over at hitting coach. The two new coaches are Rick Langford, who took the helm as Bullpen Coach, and Omar Malavé became the new first base coach. Brian Butterfield moved from first to third giving Malave room at first, and bumping Nick Leyva up to be the bench coach.
Ownership After the death of Blue Jays owner Ted Rogers following the 2008 season, speculation has also surrounded a potential change in team ownership. Home attendance reached its lowest since the 2003 season, and the Jays' management pursued attempts to shed payroll, including the releases of B. J. Ryan and Alex Ríos and the trade of Scott Rolen to the Cincinnati Reds. These moves spurred fans to speculate that Rogers Communications was attempting to make the franchise more attractive to potential buyers. On October 21, 2009, during an interview with radio station Fan 590, Tony Viner, the president and CEO of the company's media division that also controls the Blue Jays, stated emphatically that, "the team is not for sale. We are committed to winning and to doing the things that it takes to win."
Timeline
2009 September 15: Blue Jays and the rest of the MLB release the 2010 schedule.
October 3: J. P. Ricciardi is fired as GM of the Toronto Blue Jays, and was replaced by Assistant General Manager Alex Anthopoulos. He had been criticised "for poor free agent signings and off-field missteps". October 9: The Blue Jays make their first offseason moves in the front office, changing up their scouting officials. Andrew Tinnish has been named Director of Amateur Scouting, Perry Minasian was named Director of Professional Scouting, and Jon Lalonde has been named their Professional Scout. These moves resulted in Rob Ducey being relieved of his duties. Alex Anthopoulos makes changes to the Jays Player Development Department as Tony LaCava and Charlie Wilson are named Directors. Doug Davis was named Minor League Field Coordinator, resulting in Mike Basso being relieved of his duties; Dick Scott was also let go. October 13: GM Alex Anthopoulos hires former scouting director of the Washington Nationals Dana Brown as a special assistant. Alex and Dana were together in 2002, with the Montreal Expos. October 26: Blue Jays name Mel Didier and Mel Queen as Senior Advisors to the player development staff. October 27: Blue Jays sign Paul Beeston as their president and CEO for 3 years. October 28: The Jays designated catcher Michael Barrett for assignment. Blue Jays claim left-handed relief pitcher Sean Henn off waivers from the Orioles. Blue Jays name Mike Mordecai Roving Minor League Infield Instructor. October 30: Cito Gaston announces that 2010 will be his final season as a manager; he signed a four-year consulting deal with the team, starting from 2011. Pitching coach Brad Arnsberg quit, then signed a contract with the Houston Astros, and hitting coach Gene Tenace announced his retirement from baseball. Bullpen coach Bruce Walton was reassigned as the pitching coach, and the former first base coach Dwayne Murphy was named the hitting coach. Rick Langford was signed as the bullpen coach, and Omar Malavé as the first base coach. Brian Butterfield and Nick Leyva switched roles, the former becoming the third base coach and the latter the bench coach. November 3: Blue Jays claim second baseman Jarrett Hoffpauir off waivers from the St. Louis Cardinals. This triggered the Jays to designate relief pitcher Bill Murphy for assignment, making room for Hoffpauir on the 40-man roster. Blue Jays also announced that third baseman Edwin Encarnación underwent surgery on October 30 for a damaged left wrist, the same procedure center fielder Vernon Wells was scheduled to undergo. This is the same wrist Wells damaged in early 2008 while making a sensational diving catch in Cleveland. Wells underwent successful surgery on November 13. November 6: 1B/ DH Kevin Millar files for free agency. November 8: Blue Jays call off a trade that would have sent Lyle Overbay to Arizona for Chris Snyder. November 9: Rod Barajas files for free agency. November 12: Adam Lind and Aaron Hill are awarded the AL Silver Slugger for their respective positions for their performance in 2009. Alex Anthopoulos adds even more scouts, naming Gary Rajsich a professional cross-checker, Brandon Mozley as a regional cross-checker, Brian Parker as the professional scout, and Dan Cox as an area scout. November 16: The Blue Jays release their 2010 spring training schedule.