There are a few ways to look at this Blue Jays' off-season.

One line of thinking is that Toronto should be aggressive by spending big in free agency to hasten the rebuild. Another viewpoint is that the Blue Jays should limit their spending to maintain flexibility until the young core is ready to contend. A third stance can be found somewhere in between.

I admittedly fall into the camp that believes the Blue Jays should start spending now, instead of waiting until 2020 or 2021. Toronto's current payroll of approximately $55 million, including projected arbitration figures, offers wiggle room and the Jays are a few years away from needing to break the bank on their star position players. This is the most flexibility the Jays will ever have and they should take advantage of it.

Even though I believe there is a strategic benefit to frontloading deals while payroll is low enough to permit it, I'm not completely oblivious to the other side of this debate. So today I wanted to look at the arguments for the Blue Jays not spending much this winter. I concede a few points, fight back on some others, and the complicated nature of this debate goes to show there are a lot of things for GM Ross Atkins to consider in the weeks ahead.

The following points are a few examples of the feedback I've received on Twitter from those who believe the timing is not right to secure one of the top free agents:

Why would Zack Wheeler, Hyun-Jin Ryu or any top free agent consider signing with the Jays after the year they just had? All will take a bit less to play for a contender.

-- @DieHardJaysFan8

Fair point. The White Sox, Twins, Braves, Yankees and a few others have the upper hand in almost every negotiation because of the standings. Even Philadelphia, despite coming off a disappointing season, can market itself as a top-tier team with Harper and other big-name players on the roster. There's also the issue of playing in Canada. A lot of people fear the unknown and to this day there are misconceptions about taxes, difficulties at the border, the ability for family to visit and a lot more.

Each of those things is true and yet I don't have much time for the argument because this should have been expected. In a rebuild, losses pile up and the team becomes less attractive for those who prioritize winning. The border issue has been around since Toronto’s inception in 1977. Typically, once players settle in, their views evolve, and they become more receptive to staying long term. It's getting them to open their mind in the first place that often proves most challenging.

If convincing a top free agent to sign here is that difficult, the Blue Jays should have done more to keep the big-name players they already had. There should not have been such a tight deadline for Edwin Encarnacion to accept an offer in 2016. There should have been an increased willingness to discuss long-term extensions with Josh Donaldson and Marcus Stroman. The argument of using those assets to acquire prospects loses merit if the team is forced into another trade a year later because nobody is willing to take their money. For the record, this isn’t something Toronto’s front office is openly complaining about, but it has been mentioned elsewhere and deserved to be addressed here.

This isn’t MLB The Show. Jays cannot throw money at free agents and click submit. Many additional variables are not taken into account in these threads.

--jasonedscott

Another solid argument and Wheeler is the perfect example to make your case. Wheeler reportedly turned down more money from the White Sox so he could remain on the east coast with the Phillies and pitch closer to his wife's home state of New Jersey. Even if the Blue Jays came in with the top offer there's a good chance it would have been used for leverage and not much more.

The counter point is that there are just as many examples, if not more, of guys taking the highest offer. Money talks and often the team with the most cash (once taxes are factored in) comes away with the player. A.J. Burnett was hesitant to sign here in 2006 but Toronto offered the most guaranteed money and added enough bells and whistles to make it work for his family. Harper and Manny Machado were adamant about maxing out their salaries last year. Money usually carries the most weight, but apparently not to Wheeler and it would be true with a few others as well.

That flexibility shouldn’t be spent on five years and $118 million for Wheeler though ... I’m glad the Jays balked.

-- @dcarman724

Now this is a stance I can get behind. There has been a lot of pressure on the Jays to make something happen. I've written many columns over the last few weeks about how this is an appropriate time to make big moves. The angst within the fanbase is apparent on social media and a huge drop in attendance is representative of the frustration felt by many.

Toronto's front office can't concern itself with any of that. Once a GM feels his back is up against the wall he starts getting pressured into making moves he doesn't believe in. Mark Shapiro and Atkins came here with a plan, and they'll be judged on how effective it is, but they shouldn't be signing guys just to appease people or quiet the media. They should stick to their beliefs, it’s what they were hired to do.

If the Blue Jays' internal reports suggest that Wheeler isn't going to be worth anywhere close to $118 million they were completely justified in walking away. It's one thing to overpay by a few million per year to convince someone to come to Canada, it's another thing entirely to blow way past your comfort zone just to get everybody off your back. Remember how many people wanted Alex Anthopoulos to sign Prince Fielder in 2014? Well, he hasn’t played since 2016 and the contract he signed with the Rangers still has another year and $20 million on it. Sometimes ignoring the public is for the best.

The Jays are more likely to improve the team via a big trade than through free agency this off-season. Their plan might be to let the kids get better this season and finish around or above .500. Then you spend big next winter with the playoffs being a very realistic expectation.

-- @SDRE12

That is simply not true. Even Atkins admitted on Wednesday that the Blue Jays are more likely to do most of their work through free agency rather than trade. There will be trades, just like there is every year, but they are more likely to be of the minor variety because Atkins' priority right now is mostly centred on free agents.

"I would say probably a little bit more in free agency than trade and that being because of where we are as a team," Atkins said. "Trading or giving up talent that could be paired with Vladdy and Bo (Bichette) and (Nate) Pearson and that group for a player that might be here for only one or two years is a hard thing to do.

"It doesn’t mean that we won’t, it’s just the players that teams are going to want for a player on one or two years with contract years remaining are going to be players that we’re really exciting about matching up with that young core that we have."

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Ryu is who they are after, now they just need to make it happen.

-- @pbroos1

That certainly could be the case and there is legitimate interest in Ryu, just like there was with Wheeler and Jake Odorizzi. Toronto's obviously not saying where it ranked these guys quite yet, but it's reasonable to believe that Ryu has been one of their top targets all along and the fact that he's still available might mean the Jays have nothing to worry about.

The issue is that a lot of other teams figure to be in the mix. Chicago missed out on Wheeler and it’s expected to take a run at a couple of mid-tier starters this winter. Minnesota is looking to replace Kyle Gibson and Michael Pineda. The Rangers intend to be aggressive and big market teams like the Yankees, Dodgers, Angels and Nationals might enter the mix if they miss out on Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg.