Blue Jays fans were taught and/or reminded of a very harsh lesson last winter: never count a penny until it’s in your pocket.

I remember a friend of mine using that phrase when talking about the music industry a decade ago, and it’s a lesson that I’ve continued to apply to almost all areas of my life ever since. That said, like many Blue Jays fans, I threw that wisdom out the window when there were reports last December that Shohei Ohtani was on a plane headed for Canada and was about to sign with our beloved bluebirds.

I’m all but certain that I don’t have to tell you how that worked out in the end, and those recent scars combined with last season’s 74-88 record have left many Jays fans feeling a wee bit jaded. I’ll readily admit that when I first read the reports that Ross Atkins and the front office team were going to pursue this winter’s top free agent, Juan Soto, I all but scoffed at the idea. At the very least, I refused to let myself get excited and dream of that scenario playing out.

I will say, there are practical reasons for why I felt that way, and why I mostly still do. The Blue Jays have a lot of work to do to right the disaster that was the 2024 campaign, and time is running out on the contract control for core pieces like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette. They need to turn over the majority of their bullpen from a year ago – especially after the recent non-tender news of Jordan Romano – add an impact bat or two, and probably need to bring in some rotation depth at the very least, if not an impact arm. In addition to the immediate needs, there’s a strong argument that working out an extension with Guerrero Jr. and/or Bichette should be the first step to the offseason, and maybe especially if they want Soto to seriously entertain them as his next team.

All that said, shouldn’t we be celebrating that Atkins and his team are among the small group that has taken a meeting with Soto? Hear me out.

Last offseason most of us were reminded that celebrating too early just leads to disappointment and even heartbreak. However, as I’ve read various threads and fan comments over the last few weeks, I feel like some of us are missing the more important point, and I’ll admit that I’m still working on this too. Rather than learning to expect disappointment when the front office pursues major free agents, why not be thankful that we’re rooting for one of only a handful of franchises that can afford to swim the deep of the pool?

It’s not as if the Blue Jays are an afterthought for impact free agents either. Over the last five years, we’ve seen near-top-of-the-market talents like George Springer, Kevin Gausman, Hyun Jin Ryu and more choose to wear a Jays uniform, and we should recognize that as a step in the right direction that was at the time. We’ve even heard super-agent Scott Boras talk about the Blue Jays in a positive light as far as being one of the more aggressive teams over the last few years, and that wasn’t always the case in the past.

With 30 teams across the league, including financial giants like the Mets, Yankees, Dodgers, and more, the Blue Jays aren’t going to sign every star that becomes available even if they start handing out blank cheques. Some variables are out of their control, like a player wanting to live in Los Angeles for example, and I think most of us understand the reality that some players aren’t overly motivated to move their families north of the border. What is in their control are things like giving free agents a chance to join a real contender, providing them with the resources they need to be at their best, and arguably the most important factor, making the highest bid.

When it comes to what happened with Ohtani last winter, multiple reports are stating that the Blue Jays basically did all they could to convince the Japanese phenom to sign on the dotted line, but he ultimately chose to join the Dodgers. That doesn’t mean that it was a mistake for the Blue Jays to make that all-out effort, or that they should shy away from a similar approach in trying to sign Juan Soto. You can argue that a stronger backup plan is important compared to what we saw a year ago, but otherwise, I’m all for their pursuit of the 26-year-old superstar even if I’m not overly optimistic.

At the end of the day, you’ve gotta buy a ticket if you want to win the lottery, and the fact that the Blue Jays are lining up to purchase a few dozen should be seen as a good thing, even if you don’t like the person in charge of buying the tickets.