There's no way anyone thought that was going to be the highest offer EE was going to get. The Jays offered just enough to look like they tried to resign him but not enough to look more attractive than his expected offers. While it ended up being a competitive offer there is no way Jays management thought he was actually going to jump at that in the first week of free agency when everyone thought the rest of the offers were going to include much more. If we really wanted him we would have kept that offer on the table for longer.
I disagree... EE is an aging player... 4/80 with a 5th year option to 100 is a monster contract.
If he had the loyalty to the club he said he did he would have taken it.
He tried to use the offer to leverage a better deal and failed.
Not the Jays fault at all... and if Morals replaces EE like Happ replaced Price for a fraction of the cost... the Jays made the right decision
The "I want to be in Toronto" was obviously just negotiation talk.
But it worked on some fans, who now blame management.
It was EE who wouldn't negotiate during the season
It was EE whose priority was not the Blue Jays, but to test the market (despite the I love Toronto narrative)
And again, we barely made it in the playoffs last year and the team was too dependent on the long ball. Time for some tweaks