If you've listened to Toronto sports talk radio the last couple days, you are hearing less about the NHL lockout at a time when both sides in the struggle are reaching a crossroads of whether to back down and compromise and more about off-season baseball trades.The legal path began late last week with the league preemptively filing suit in US Federal Court in Manhattan to uphold the validity of the lockout, based on the Players Association’s expected next move, which is to decertify the union and sue the league for violating antitrust law to gain the upper hand in the over three month standoff.If fans were frustrated and tuning out before this, all you have to do is hear legal experts saying that the NHLPA doesn't have a leg to stand on and another saying that the owners are in a precarious situation to put you into a hockey deprived coma. The concern is that the clock is ticking on whether a schedule of reasonable length can be played and those still interested are getting fed up with the game of chicken going on between both sides.The Toronto Blue Jays have taken advantage of the vacuum created by the lack of NHL hockey and have stolen the spotlight, pulling off two massive deals to upgrade the club for the 2013 season and becoming the subject of much hype and raised expectations almost 2 months before pitchers and catchers report to Dunedin, Florida.Don't get me wrong, even if the NHL was in full swing and the Maple Leafs were playing well, the bombshells made by Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos would have stolen some of the spotlight away from the Blue-And-White.The deal with the Florida Marlins for shortstop José Reyes, pitchers Josh Johnson and Mark Buerhle and utility man Emilio Bonifacio was not only robbery, it was assault and battery as well. The only deal that it could be compared to is the Doug Gilmour trade with Calgary, orchestrated by Cliff Fletcher over 20 years ago.Yesterday, Anthopoulos added another piece to the puzzle by acquiring National League Cy Young Award winner R. A. Dickey, catcher Josh Thole and a minor leaguer from the New York Mets for prized youngsters Travis D’Arnaud and Noah Syndergaard, veteran backstop John Buck and another prospect.Put those players together with the addition of outfielder Melky Cabrera and the organization that went 73-89 last season is now considered to have the best rotation in baseball and is favored by odds makers to be in the World Series next season.Now let's look at the facts.Barring any future deals, Toronto's outfield is set with the switch-hitting Cabrera, Colby Rasmus and slugger José Bautista. The infield looks to be J.P. Arencibia at catcher, young phenom Brett Lawrie at third, Reyes at shortstop, Bonifacio likely at second and a combination of Edwin Encarnacion and Adam Lind at first and DH.Rasmus was just as enigmatic in his first full year in Toronto, as he was earlier in his career with St. Louis, hitting only .223 with 23 HR’s. Bautista is a feared power hitter, as he slammed 27 home runs in only 92 games last season, but the unknown factor is whether the wrist problems he suffered in last July that effectively ended his season will linger or affect his power stroke going forward.The signing of Cabrera, who hit .346 with 11 homeruns for San Francisco before being suspended for 50 games for testing positive for performance enhancing drugs has to be put in the high-risk, high-reward category. “The Melk Man” was a fourth outfielder for the Yankees, whose best offensive year was as a rookie in 2006. After being traded to Atlanta, he hit only .255 with four home runs in 2010 and was released. His miraculous renaissance in Kansas City two years ago(hitting .305 -18 HR’s) and his success with the Giants last season have to be held in question as they were likely steroid induced. The question is whether a "clean" Cabrera will be able to provide anything close to the totals next season.Arencibia is a good backstop who has the power to hit 20 or more home runs, Lawrie has the tools to be one of the best third basemen in baseball but has to play with a little less reckless abandon to stay healthy and in the lineup.Reyes had a typical Reyes season in Miami, .287, 11 HR’s and stealing 40 bases and should do the same in Toronto, but a factor that has to be of concern is his history of hamstring problems and how they will be affected by playing on turf at the Rogers Center.Bonifacio is a speed merchant who has stolen 70 bases over the last two seasons and coud be an effective weapon at the bottom of the lineup. He will likely fit well in a platoon with middle infielder Maicer Izturis.Encarnacion averaged 19 homeruns over his first two seasons in Toronto, but exploded last year hitting .280 with 42 HR’s and 110 RBIs. The question is whether last season was a coming of age or a flash in the pan. If he regresses to his 2010 or 2011 performance level after signing a long term contract extension, the pressure will fall on Lawrie and Bautista to pick up the offensive slack.Lind declined precipitously after a phenomenal offensive season in 2009. His fortunes turned from bad to worse last May, when he was placed on waivers, removed from the 40 man roster and demoted to AAA LAS Vegas. He did return later in the year and played better, which may earn him a second chance under new skipper John Gibbons, but the Jays need him to recapture his 2009 form.The greatest reason for hope of regular-season success and playoff glory for the Jays next season is the rotation that Anthopoulos has assembled, but talk of their five-man unit being the best in baseball is a slight exaggeration. They may not even be the best rotation in the division, if you take into consideration that the Yankees have former Cy Young winner CC Sabathia, veterans Andy Pettitte and Hiroki Kuroda, youngsters Phil Hughes, Ivan Nova and David Phelps and the unknown commodity of former Mariner Michael Pineda.There is no doubt that the addition of Dickey, who went 20-6 for a below average Mets club, is a serious upgrade. The 38-year-old knuckleballer pitched very well in New York for three seasons, but switching leagues and the move from pitcher friendly Citi Field to the Rogers Center are unknown factors of whether he can have similar success in Toronto.Mark Buerhle is as dependable as they come, good for 200+ innings every year and double figures in victories. Ricky Romero came off a 15 win, under 3.00 ERA season in 2011 and responded with a 9-14 record and a hideous 5.77 ERA. The expectation is that he will bounce back with the pressure of being the number one starter off of him.Brandon Morrow and Josh Johnson both have amazing stuff, but their challenge is to stay healthy.Morrow is a flamethrower, capable of hitting triple digits on his fastball, but an oblique injury cost him over two months last season and coupled with other pitching injuries ruined Toronto's chances of competing last season.The 28-year-old Johnson has already had Tommy John surgery in 2007, made only 14 starts in 2008 and pitched just 60 innings in 2011, missing most of the year with inflammation in his right shoulder. Optimistically, he threw almost 200 innings last year and is on the last year of his contract, which would provide good motivation for him to put up excellent numbers before embarking on free agency.There is every reason for Blue Jays fans be excited about next season and the predictions of success will continue throughout the winter months and into spring training, but the real proof will come at some point next July or August when playing a series in Baltimore, Boston, Tampa or New York, where they have to come through to take that big step from also-ran to contender.Will they be able to do it?For Those on Twitter: Follow @mikeinbuffalo KINDLE USERS: Please sign up for Maple Leafs Buzz, which includes a free-of-charge 14-day trial and is just 99 cents per month afterwards. For more information click here