It might not have been his relationship with incoming president Mark Shapiro that led to Alex Anthopoulos turning down a five-year deal, reportedly worth $10 million, to remain as Blue Jays general manager. It could be that, philosophically, Anthopoulos and the team’s ownership had different views.

Major League Baseball’s executive of the year, now an executive vice-president with the Los Angeles Dodgers, might have been intent on winning at any price in 2016 and beyond, with Rogers more fixated on the exchange rate and the bottom line.

Make no mistake, the Jays will head to spring training next month in possession of the necessary horses to defend their AL East title. But in 2017 and beyond, with 32 per cent of the current group eligible for free agency, there are doubts.

When he was still in charge, Anthopoulos indicated he would be interested in extending key players like Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion. He had an obsessive desire to win, as he showed in dealing 13 prospects last summer for a chance to win the 2015 World Series. Ownership hasn’t shown the same will.

Free agency will be a big issue. The eight pending free agents at the end of 2016 include Bautista, Encarnacion, Michael Saunders and Justin Smoak, and pitchers R.A. Dickey, Drew Storen, Brett Cecil and Jesse Chavez. That’s an estimated $59 million in guaranteed salary that could disappear from the books. If the Jays wait until November before dealing with their free agents, it will already be too late.

The Blue Jays ended the 2015 campaign with a payroll of $135.7 million, the 10th highest in baseball and the largest in the team’s 39 seasons. Yes, that looks good on them but, as Forbes reported in December, MLB’s gross revenues increased by $500 million in 2015, to an estimated $9.5 billion. Nobody is losing money.

The Jays, by winning the AL East and battling the Royals to Game 6 of the AL Championship Series, reportedly generated $50 million in unexpected revenues. Where is that money headed? The payroll for the 25-player opening day roster in 2016 projects to $138 million. If winning generated that much extra revenue in 2015, why not try it again?

But time is running out and any momentum is being lost. The goodwill with fans, which was at an all-time high as Bautista’s bat hung forever in the air in Game 5 of the AL Division Series, has been torpedoed. Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki is the only player acquired at the trade deadline who remains. There was no effort to retain David Price. There were no offers for frontline starters. The Jays overpaid J.A. Happ and called him a mid-rotation starter. They stalled on grass at the Rogers Centre. Ticket prices increased.

Shapiro and GM Ross Atkins received word at the winter meetings from Encarnacion’s agent that if the club waits until after opening day to try to extend his contract, Encarnacion will go through the free-agent process. Other important contracts that need to be addressed by the Jays include Bautista, Storen and Cecil. They will talk to them all in the spring.

Then there’s the AL MVP. Can the Jays convince Josh Donaldson to sign a long-term contract and avoid future free agency? Donaldson is headed to arbitration next month and will earn just under $12 million in 2016, with two more arbitration years after that. The Jays need to lock up at least some of their stars as a show of good faith to fans and as a sign to other players that they are intent on remaining contenders.

If the Jays make no serious effort in the next six months to extend their own free agents and if the club is struggling in the standings by the all-star break it all changes. With the trade deadline looming, what will be the message to Jays players that are already locked up long-term? Tulowitzki is signed through 2020, with a total of $98 million guaranteed. Catcher Russ Martin is signed through 2019 and is owed $75 million. And the two men who convinced the Montrealer to come to Toronto, Anthopoulos and former president Paul Beeston, are gone. If the Jays aren’t contending, do they ask out?

But, hey, all is not payroll doom and gloom. The Jays still have at least 14 solid major-leaguers who will be under club control for three to six years of major-league service. In addition to Tulowitzki, Martin and Donaldson, the list includes Marcus Stroman, Kevin Pillar, Aaron Sanchez, Happ, Roberto Osuna, Chris Colabello, Devon Travis, Ryan Goins, Dalton Pompey, Drew Hutchison and Aaron Loup.

The top teams in the AL East have improved this winter, so the Jays don’t need to repeat as much as they need to compete. The intrigue begins anew on Feb. 22 in Dunedin.

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