After watching the Toronto Blue Jays essentially crash and burn during the 2013 Major League Baseball campaign, a year in which many an expert had Canada's team slated as World Series "favourite," most had no idea what to expect from them in 2014.

While the Jays ultimately fell short of reaching the post-season, something this franchise has been unable to accomplish since winning back-to-back titles in 1992 and 1993, it was a year in which this organization could at least build upon -- especially after posting 74 wins and finishing dead last in the American League East in 2013.

With the emergence of Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez as legitimate Major League pitchers and Drew Hutchison showing real signs of possibly being a front of the rotation guy, albeit not your prototypical #1, many felt the time had come for Toronto to seriously consider trading one of Mark Buehrle or R.A. Dickey.

From a financial standpoint, there is no question it would have certainly helped the Blue Jays, but following through with such a move would have placed an unnecessary burden on the rest of the rotation, something which likely would have had disaster written all over it. Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos decided to go in a different direction, and that decision may have very well have saved Toronto's 2015 campaign before it even got under way. 

While there is no question the addition of Russell Martin behind the plate will go a long way in helping these kids along during their first kick at the can at the Big League level, the thought of this pitching staff having to make up for not only the loss of Stroman but also the 200 plus innings they would have lost with either one of Buehrle or Dickey being shown the door, is simply unimaginable.

Granted, both men are clearly on the back ends of their careers but let us call a spade a spade, shall we? Pitchers who toss 200 plus innings a year out do not exactly grow on trees, and outside of Hutchison's 185 during 2014, it is a rotation that has essentially zero experience at eating innings at this level. Add to that the Blue Jays bullpen being anyhting but a sure thing, and suddenly, all those innings become even more important.  

Obviously, had Anthopoulos chose to move one of his two veteran starters, a replacement would have been brought in via trade or free agency to shore up the hole. With that said, let us not forget that there was a grand total of thirty-four pitchers who threw at least 200 innings in 2014; finding a replacement likely would not have been that easy. Again, with this staff as green as it is, the general manager clearly felt it was a risk not worth taking.

Kudos to the Montreal native for not giving into temptation and pulling the trigger on a deal most Blue Jays fans were hoping, if not counting on, him making. Hindsight can be a wonderful thing when it works in one's favor, and as of this moment, that is exactly how things have played out for Anthopoulos.

By no means does this mean the Blue Jays are guaranteed to finally put an end to their lengthy playoff drought, but at least they still have a fighting chance. Much of that can be attributed to keeping the so-called "old guys" around for another year.