Atkins to wait before mulling potential moves

NEW YORK — The Blue Jays’ series of trades that were made prior to last year’s non-waiver Trade Deadline will have a direct impact on what the club is able to do this July. General manager Ross Atkins believes his current Minor League system is better than most people believe, but he did concede that it lacks “depth.” The lack of a large talent pool means the Blue Jays will have some difficult decisions to make over the next two months.

Atkins did not rule out making a move, and he will have to wait and see how his team is doing in the middle of the summer before making a final decision. He’ll have to balance whether the club should sacrifice more of its future for another run at the division title.

“There’s no question that it impacts it,” Atkins said when asked about the depth issues and potential trades. “We will have to keep our eyes on the future, but we recognize this window and opportunity.

“I think we also recognize how hard it is to win, so if we’re in a good position, we’ll be able to appropriately balance that. And I think, fortunately, we do have enough assets that if we wanted to make a move like that, we could. I think the question then becomes at what expense and at what level of sacrifice.”

Former Toronto GM Alex Anthopoulos made four big deals last summer that saw David Price, Troy Tulowitzki, LaTroy Hawkins, Mark Lowe and Ben Revere join the club. The deals saw the Blue Jays trade away 10 prospects, including top talent such as Daniel Norris and Jeff Hoffman.

The decision clearly paid off, as the Blue Jays went on a memorable run in the second half that resulted in a division title and an appearance in …

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