Baseball is a hardware store of sorts.
The door isn’t quite closed on Edwin Encarnacion, but the Blue Jays’ window makes a reunion awfully difficult.
Speaking with any certainty about “windows of contention” is a fool’s game, of course. If you think you can project the Blue Jays’ roster in five years, take a look back five years and see how much can change. You’ll find a starting rotation led by Henderson Alvarez, Brandon Morrow, and one Ricky Romero.
Even so, it can’t be ignored. Especially when it comes to signing four and five-year deals like Edwin Encarnacion and Dexter Fowler are expected to land this off-season.