Ex-Blue Jays GM Says Team Needs to “ Blow The Whole Thing Up”

The Toronto Blue Jays are in a tough position. They need to sell, but whether to part with the faces of the franchise Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and/or Bo Bichette is the big question. Already, one respected voice in baseball has ridiculed their plan to "contend" in 2025.

Now, another voice, much closer to Toronto, is saying it even more emphatically. JP Ricciardi was the Blue Jays GM for eight years, from 2001 through 2009, and he also feels the team is nowhere near contending, and they should blow it all up, as he told the crew on TSN 1050 in Toronto Friday morning.

Toronto is really barren in the minor leagues. They haven't really done a great job drafting and I don't think they're going to be in a position to have young players come up and compete with the likes of the Orioles, as far as young prospects. So they're in a tough position.
Personally, I think they should blow the whole thing up and start from ground zero and try to rebuild.

When asked if he feels they should trade Vladdy, he replied "Well, did you look at the deal Washington got for Juan Soto? You have to trade Guerrero and bring back three really good (young) players that can speed up your system to replace what you don't have in the system right now."

There are, of course, two problems with that line of thinking: (1) Vlad Guerrero is not Juan Soto. And (2) Jays GM Ross Atkins is no Mike Rizzo (Nationals GM).

In fact, Atkins has a horrendous record of trades with Toronto, and the chances of him "bringing back three really good young players" are probably pretty low. The idea that Jays' management would even let Atkins oversee a complete tear-down is almost ludicrous.

Nevertheless, Ricciardi sums up by saying that, "the problem with keeping Guerrero, unless you're going to build around him and continue to add, there's no point in keeping Vlad Guerrero."