Blue Jays Notes: Gibbons, Payroll

Despite a disappointing 2013 season, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons will be back in 2014, MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm reports. "I actually think [regarding] the in-game managing, he has done a great job," says GM Alex Anthopoulos. "I think it's so easy to pin results on one person. I think it's convenient. I could say that for myself. I could say that for certain players, for the manager. I just don't think blame falls on one person." Anthopoulos adds that the Jays have not considered firing Gibbons. Here's more out of Toronto.

• The Jays don't expect their payroll to decrease, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca tweets. That doesn't necessarily mean Toronto will go crazy spending in the offseason, however. The Jays had an Opening Day payroll of about $119MM in 2013, and already has about $110MM in obligations for 2014, despite Josh Johnson being eligible for free agency — Mark Buehrle, Jose Reyes and R.A. Dickey are set to receive raises totaling almost $20MM.
• By not firing Gibbons, Anthopoulos showed he wasn't looking for a scapegoat for the team's problems, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca says. Instead, Anthopoulos suggests he needs to investigate the Jays' issues with injuries. "I know injuries happen but we have had our fair share the past two years and that’s something we need to look at," Anthopoulos says. Davidi notes that the Red Sox have enjoyed a dramatic decrease in injuries after restructuring their medical staff last offseason. Of course, as Davidi points out, causation isn't easy to prove there, but it's still worth investigating why, for example, the Jays have suffered so many oblique injuries in 2012 and 2013.