And on the flip side....
The Blue Jays might not have a large, productive, and highly controllable "core", but they do have a LOT of future payroll flexibility, which is a very good thing.
Just look at this image. Toronto has significantly less longterm payroll commitments than teams like Seattle, Texas, Cincinnati, New York, Atlanta, Boston, Colorado, Milwaukee, Minnesota, Philadelphia, other New York, and both Chicagos.
I think you'd have to agree that talent-wise, in the immediate future, the Blue Jays are as good as or better than (almost?) all of those teams. So while Toronto might not have a 5 year core, what they do have is a pretty talented short term team that carries almost no significant burden of commitment. That's f***ing good! Lots of money down the line to make commitments to free agents and/or extend the in-house talent that develops.
http://o0tp7mzzn32msux2jkg8kga0.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/images/2014/11/future-obligations1.png
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2014/11/future-payroll-obligations-by-team.html