Atkins pleased with Meetings progress; still work to do

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The Blue Jays did not make a major splash at this year’s Winter Meetings, but even so, general manager Ross Atkins is pleased with the progress that was made.

Toronto’s biggest move came on Monday morning, when it signed Steve Pearce to a two-year deal worth $12.5 million. That filled one hole, but multiple upgrades are still required, and the work will continue in the coming days and weeks.

• Hot Stove Tracker

The Blue Jays’ biggest priority right now seems to be free-agent outfielder Dexter Fowler, whose representatives left the Meetings without a deal. In addition to another outfielder, Toronto also needs a backup catcher, a couple of arms for the bullpen and additional depth for the rotation.

“We’re excited,” Atkins said Thursday morning. “The Meetings are definitely a time when things pick up, and we feel like we made progress. [We’re] excited about adding Steve Pearce at the beginning, excited about a lot of the dialogue on trade fronts and on free-agent acquisitions that could occur. It’s always a good time of the year for momentum to pick up, and [we] feel like we’re in a good position.”

• Pearce brings gritty all-out style to Toronto

Most of the talk this week centered around the supposed dwindling markets of free agents Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista. Toronto appears to have moved on from both players, and at this point, it would come as a shock if either slugger returned to the ballclub in 2017.

That development is hardly surprising, but it still won’t come as welcome news for a fan base that also saw Boston load up at the Winter Meetings by trading for Chris Sale, setup man Tyler Thornburg and reportedly signing Mitch Moreland to a one-year deal. The …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com