I believe that in the AL East you HAVE to use a combination of trades, prospects AND free agents in order to be successful. The Blue Jays are currently only playing with 2 of 3 of those elements.
I don't know that AA ever promised we would sign big name free agents this year (and frankly I don't really care what he said - I'm not trying to 'catch' him or call him out), but I don't see that there's much debate that Toronto is lacking at a few key spots that will require an above-average player before they will be truly competitive. AA has done terrific work with acquiring undervalued assets from other organizations and in growing the farm system somewhat.
The problem is that if they don't supplement the lineup with a couple of (yes, expensive) free agents is that they're just counting on too many miracles from young kids and guys without established track records.
Players like Lawrie and Hecheverria and Cooper and Arencibia and other young players are certainly of use to a good team. The problem is (and has been for 15 years) that whenever the Jays do have a good young player in the minors, as soon he comes up to the bigs he is immediately expected to carry a larger burden than should be asked of him because the MLB team is lacking and he almost inevitably fails to meet overgrown, unrealistic expectations.
This team is short a few players, but if the Jays refuse to do anything but wait for young players or 'reclamation projects' to fill those holes, they waste the best, surprisingly great years of Encarnacion and Bautista and Rasmus. The breakthroughs of EE, Bautista and Rasmus mean nothing unless they are supported by at least some players you knew you could count on, because their turnarounds are not the 'x-factor' to push a team over the top and into the postseason. They just exist on a stat sheet. Reliable, steady, even unspectacular established MLB players are going to cost money in free agency. A good team makes it hard for a young player to crack the lineup - makes him earn it. The Blue Jays haven't done that much the last two decades.
There's far too much angry rhetoric on this board about this but, without hyperbole or name-calling, I feel that, especially in the rotation, they just haven't been honestly trying to compete. Maybe AA never intended to go for it this season, but that was never going to happen. Toronto had one pitcher in their rotation this year who had ever pitched 200 innings in a season before. That's not honestly competing.
Yes, in the gamble that is free agency, there will be an onerous contract or two that will not pay off. The Yankees, Red Sox, Giants, Reds, Nationals, Braves, Phillies, Twins, Cubs, Marlins and White Sox all own contracts that they'd rather not have. I don't need to point out what the obvious distinction is between us and all of those teams as far as recent postseason appearances go. The odd miss in free agency is the cost of doing (winning) business. Toronto isn't even taking a shot.
What I honestly don't understand is how we, the fans, have been brainwashed into caring about things like whether or not a player is controllable or has what ownership calls a 'good contract'? Personally, I could care less what a player costs ownership. Ownership has a responsibility to bring its fans a chance of winning - at least periodically. That possibility has not been existent for well over 15 years. How they go about rectifying this is of little interest to me, so long as it happens.
Until Toronto's ownership seriously invests and brings in select experienced players with proven track records (not just 'change of scenery' guys) who can create a culture of higher expectations that younger players have to assimilate themselves into, they simply need to 'catch lightning in a bottle' too many times every season for any honest chance at a playoff berth. What got the team over the hump for the World Series years was a couple of judicious free agent signings like Winfield, Molitor and Morris. I feel like one or two reliable free agent starting pitchers this winter would do a great deal to raise the standards this team currently plays at and would give this lineup and revamped bullpen something to REALISTICALLY play for. To win you have to at least sit at the table and roll the dice now and then.