1. That's become a growing trend around MLB front offices.
2. From whom? Grantland, Fangraphs, BP didn't even project the Jays to even win the division. A bunch of posters here thought they wouldn't even crack 90 wins. And BTW, you usually tend not to depend on guys with extensive injury histories, because they usually get, y'know...injured.
3. Really, you should be able to win with a 140-160 payroll anyway, if you need a Top 4 payroll to simply compete, that's pretty pathetic and you're likely setting yourself up for s***** contracts.