Toronto Blue Jays Now Have Another Off-Season Need to Fill After Organizational Departure

The Blue Jays are looking for more than just offensive help this season...

The Toronto Blue Jays Batting helmets and bats sit in the dugout during batting practice before a game against the Colorado Rockies at Rogers Centre in 2024. / Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

After finishing in last place in the American League East this past season, the Toronto Blue Jays have several needs. They could stand to upgrade at both second and third base, while they could also use multiple arms in the bullpen and a No. 5 starter.

However, the needs go beyond just the major league roster now: They also need a new Director of Amateur Scouting. This is the position that runs the draft for the organization.

Per Ben Nicholson-Smith, who covers the team:

The BlueJays’ off-season to-do list now includes finding a new amateur scouting director as Shane Farrell is leaving Jays to join the Tigers, industry sources tell @shidavidi & me

@elliottbaseball reported this first

The Blue Jays’ off-season to-do list now includes finding a new amateur scouting director as Shane Farrell is leaving Jays to join the Tigers, industry sources tell @ShiDavidi & me@elliottbaseball reported this first

— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) October 19, 2024

Davidi correctly pointed out in this article that it's too soon to understand how Farrell performed in his job for Toronto. He'd been with the Jays since the 2020 season and while the team lacks a lot of top-end talent in the organization, there are some exciting prospects that he was responsible for drafting. Other teams have also valued his selections, as the Jays have traded multiple top prospects in big deals over the last few seasons.

Austin Martin was selected with the fifth overall pick in Farrell’s first draft during the pandemic summer of 2020, with the Blue Jays choosing Gunnar Hoglund, Brandon Barriera, Arjun Nimmala and Trey Yesavage in the first round the following four years.

Martin was used to acquire Jose Berrios from the Minnesota Twins ahead of the 2021 trade deadline while the next spring Hoglund was the centrepiece sent to the Oakland Athletics for Matt Chapman. 

Nimmala and Yesavage are both highly-regarded prospects and there's a chance that Yesavage could even make his debut in 2025. He was the team's first-round pick this past season out of East Carolina.

The Blue Jays went 74-88 this past season. They had been to the playoffs in both the 2022 and 2023 seasons, but failed to win even a single playoff game.

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