As the GM Meetings began on Nov. 11 in Scottsdale, Ariz., it was becoming clearer to clubs that the free-agent market was going to develop faster than the trade market. Most of their meetings there were with agents, rather than other clubs. The Nov. 14 deadline for players to accept or reject qualifying offers brought about an early pressure point in talks with Odorrizi. The Minnesota Twins had extended the 2019 all-star the requisite $17.8-million, but there was an opportunity to buy him out. His connection with manager Charlie Montoyo from their time together with the Tampa Bay Rays worked in Toronto’s favour, too, but the sides got stuck on both length and dollars. As the meetings came to a close, Odorizzi took himself off the market by accepting the strong one-year guarantee from the Twins.

Disappointed, the Blue Jays still had plenty else on the go. They extended an offer to Gibson and were actively engaged with the other starters on their priority list. Simultaneously, they met with the agent for free-agent catcher Yasmani Grandal, some due diligence in case the trade interest they’d gotten on Jansen and Reese McGuire opened a door. They also kept tabs on the market for first basemen, checking in on Justin Smoak, Edwin Encarnacion and Japanese slugger Yoshitomo Tsutsugo.

The message agents consistently heard was that pitching was the first priority and that the Blue Jays needed more clarity there before fully delving into the position-player market. They needed clarity on another front, too, as they were making a push on Moustakas, whose market was beginning to take shape, and his fellow Boras client Ryu.

Atkins met with Boras in Scottsdale, a year after the agent chastised the organization for contracting a “Blue Flu” that caused a sharp decline in attendance. This time, during his always entertaining post-meetings media session, he took a far more conciliatory stance. “I think [given] the spirit with which they want to return the franchise to where I think it should be,” Boras said of Blue Jays management, “[it] is more likely we have a common thought about that today.” The change in tone was so notable that his words amounted to a public acknowledgement that Toronto was a legitimate option for one of his clients.