Offseason roster thread 2014

[BTS]

That is worst-proportioned neck I've ever seen.

[Brenner]

I didn't think the Blue Jays were that old of a team. Yeah we have some old dudes but we also have plenty of young talent. Would have expected to be average.

[GD]

I didn't think the Blue Jays were that old of a team. Yeah we have some old dudes but we also have plenty of young talent. Would have expected to be average.

 

I think that's an old photo

[BTS]

I didn't think the Blue Jays were that old of a team. Yeah we have some old dudes but we also have plenty of young talent. Would have expected to be average.

 

Young, contributing talent is really just Stroman and Hutchison. Possibly Pompey but that remains to be seen. A lot of the key players are geezers.

[Frenchsoup]

wat

 

He's a s*** defender and not heady at all. The bat really has to play up and I don't see it.

[Deadpool]

I think that's an old photo

 

Can't be that old, if you're talking average team age, Red Sox were the oldest in the league last year...

 

http://www.statista.com/statistics/236223/major-league-baseball-clubs-by-average-age-of-players/

 

Edit: I'm assuming this is more current:

 

http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/rosters/_/sort/average_age/order/true

[GD]

Can't be that old, if you're talking average team age, Red Sox were the oldest in the league last year...

 

http://www.statista.com/statistics/236223/major-league-baseball-clubs-by-average-age-of-players/

 

Edit: I'm assuming this is more current:

 

http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/rosters/_/sort/average_age/order/true

 

I mean like from before last year. That's why we're not further along the "competing" axis

[GD]

Nope today: http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2015/1/14/7546735/baseball-predictions-math-hella-graphs

 

O's are projected to be better than us, thus, this is broken.

[Angrioter]

Arbitration deadline tomorrow.

 

Long term deal canditate: Cecil, Donaldson and.......................... Michael Saunders?

[Deadpool]

So... Minor league deal wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, right?

 

http://calltothepen.com/2015/01/13/can-ex-boston-red-sox-reliever-daniel-bard-go-back-time/

[Deadpool]

Brett Cecil and the Blue Jays have avoided arbitration by settling on a one-year, $2.475MM pact, tweets Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. The 28-year-old Cecil has been excellent over the past two seasons in Toronto, pitching to a 2.76 ERA with 11.5 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9. He’s at times stepped up in the ninth inning as well, picking up six saves along the way. Cecil was projected to earn $2.6MM.

 

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2015/01/cubs-avoid-arbitration-with-felix-doubront.html

[Angrioter]

Brendan Kennedy ‏

File-to-trial #bluejays expected to reach agreement w/ 3 remaining arb-eligible players before today's 1pm deadline to exchange figures.

[Boxcar]

I wonder what the Astros want for Dexter Fowler. Depending on the cost, he'd be a pretty nice bridge to Pompey.

[KingKat]

I wonder what the Astros want for Dexter Fowler. Depending on the cost, he'd be a pretty nice bridge to Pompey.

 

That was discussed earlier in the off season and pooh-poohed a lot more than it should have been IMO. Astros can be a bitch to deal with though so it's probably safe to assume the price won't be appealing.

[Laika]

I don't really see the appeal of Fowler. He's a league average OF that's going to make about 10M in arbitration. He's a s*** defender in CF so Toronto would probably put him in left and Saunders in CF, at which point you're increasing the injury risk of Saunders...

 

I don't even know if he would be a WAR upgrade, really, if you line everything up. Pillar compliments Saunders pretty well and by Steamer600 Pillar is only about a half win worse than Fowler. I also think projections are low on Pompey, as you'd imagine they would be with such a fast riser. Dirks is fantastic COF depth too.

 

I think Fowler actually makes the OF situation worse, or at best it's a lateral move that makes the OF less fluid / more rigid, and at cost.

[Boxcar]

His Steamer projection feels light to me. While he was pretty bad last year, he's usually not a really bad defender. I get regression and all, but he has a career .348 BABIP, dunno why he's pegged to go down to .311 for this year.

[Laika]

His Steamer projection feels light to me. While he was pretty bad last year, he's usually not a really bad defender. I get regression and all, but he has a career .348 BABIP, dunno why he's pegged to go down to .311 for this year.

 

Coors has a notable effect on BABIP (check team stats from past years). I don't think the difference between Fowler's steamer and true-talent BABIP would be big enough to change his projected WAR total by more than a smidge.

[Laika]

His Steamer projection feels light to me. While he was pretty bad last year, he's usually not a really bad defender. I get regression and all, but he has a career .348 BABIP, dunno why he's pegged to go down to .311 for this year.

 

And he's been a consistently poor or below average defender. UZR/150 each year is:

 

-23

-6

-6

-17

-3

-36

 

-14.4 career

 

Matt Kemp effect? Fast twitch five tool black dude must be a CF, right?

[Boxcar]

I just don't see a bunch of other options. Will Pompey even be better than replacement level? Is spending 10 million on a league average (or potentially better) CF for one year really so bad at this point?

[Boxcar]

And he's been a consistently poor or below average defender. UZR/150 each year is:

 

-23

-6

-6

-17

-3

-36

 

-14.4 career

 

Matt Kemp effect? Fast twitch five tool black dude must be a CF, right?

 

I acknowledged that. I simply said he's never been as bad as last year. Also, defending in Coors isn't easy.

[Atothe]

Yeah Fowler playing centrefield is a bad idea. I suggested picking him up to play left field earlier in the offseason before the saunders trade

[Laika]

I just don't see a bunch of other options. Will Pompey even be better than replacement level? Is spending 10 million on a league average (or potentially better) CF for one year really so bad at this point?

 

There's also the trade cost. I'd rather just throw Pompey out there, or if you're spending 10M on a meh CF, just give Colby a bit less than that and a pack of chicken hot dogs and he can fill the position with more upside and more defensive competence than Fowler.....

 

Pompey = upside, if he fails...

Saunders = palatable CF insurance (Dirks/Pillar fill LF), if Saunders is hurt...

Carrera = replacement dude with a reputation for CF defense, strong strike-zone discipline, and plus speed.

 

It's really not a terrible situation. 2B is much worse, obviously (a bunch of s*** and then pray-4-Travis).

[Angrioter]

After Saunders deal, Fowler doesn't make sense.

 

Pompey is for real, and he'll be our 9th hitter.

[Boxcar]

Fine

[Angrioter]

ANTHONY CASTROVINCE

MLB'S ALL-UNDERRATED TEAM FOR 2015

 

C: Yan Gomes, Indians

1B: Paul Goldschmidt, D-backs lol

2B: Neil Walker, Pirates

SS: Brandon Crawford, Giants

3B: Trevor Plouffe, Twins

LF: Michael Saunders, Blue Jays

Saunders spent the bulk of his playing time in 2014 (when he actually played) in right, but the Blue Jays, who just recently acquired him from the Mariners, will replace Melky Cabrera with him in left.

 

And that trade is the primary inspiration for Saunders' inclusion on this list. Clearly, this is a guy who has struggled to stay on the field, and the Mariners' pointed remarks about his conditioning and the public spat that resulted in those remarks were what preceded the trade to Toronto for J.A. Happ.

 

But here's the thing: Even while limited to just a half-season of play in '14, Saunders compiled a higher WAR mark (2.4, per Baseball Reference) than Happ (1.4) did in 26 starts. Also, Happ (32) is older than Saunders (28), makes more money than Saunders and is under contractual control for just one more year compared to Saunders' two. So there is an easy statistical argument to be made that the Mariners underrated Saunders' value in this trade.

 

Or hey, maybe Saunders continues to struggle to stay on the field or the Blue Jays get the bad end of his streaky side. But he's in his prime years, he's a good defender, and his three-year WAR mark (5.3) is better than that of guys like Jay Bruce (5.1), Marlon Byrd (5.0), Carlos Beltran (4.6), Nick Swisher (4.6), Curtis Granderson (4.6), Matt Kemp (4.5) and Michael Cuddyer (4.5).

 

So as far as I'm concerned, this is a good, affordable player that the Blue Jays gave up very little to get.

CF: Dexter Fowler, Astros

RF: Seth Smith, Mariners

SP: Jose Quintana, White Sox

Closer: Steve Cishek, Marlins

[Angrioter]

Jose Bautista

"Bullpens are the most volatile position and tough to improve. #BlueJays

[Atothe]

Jose Bautista

"Bullpens are the most volatile position and tough to improve. #BlueJays

 

Bautista is a smart guy when he isn't emotional

[BTS]

ANTHONY CASTROVINCE

MLB'S ALL-UNDERRATED TEAM FOR 2015

 

C: Yan Gomes, Indians

1B: Paul Goldschmidt, D-backs lol

2B: Neil Walker, Pirates

SS: Brandon Crawford, Giants

3B: Trevor Plouffe, Twins

LF: Michael Saunders, Blue Jays

Saunders spent the bulk of his playing time in 2014 (when he actually played) in right, but the Blue Jays, who just recently acquired him from the Mariners, will replace Melky Cabrera with him in left.

 

And that trade is the primary inspiration for Saunders' inclusion on this list. Clearly, this is a guy who has struggled to stay on the field, and the Mariners' pointed remarks about his conditioning and the public spat that resulted in those remarks were what preceded the trade to Toronto for J.A. Happ.

 

But here's the thing: Even while limited to just a half-season of play in '14, Saunders compiled a higher WAR mark (2.4, per Baseball Reference) than Happ (1.4) did in 26 starts. Also, Happ (32) is older than Saunders (28), makes more money than Saunders and is under contractual control for just one more year compared to Saunders' two. So there is an easy statistical argument to be made that the Mariners underrated Saunders' value in this trade.

 

Or hey, maybe Saunders continues to struggle to stay on the field or the Blue Jays get the bad end of his streaky side. But he's in his prime years, he's a good defender, and his three-year WAR mark (5.3) is better than that of guys like Jay Bruce (5.1), Marlon Byrd (5.0), Carlos Beltran (4.6), Nick Swisher (4.6), Curtis Granderson (4.6), Matt Kemp (4.5) and Michael Cuddyer (4.5).

 

So as far as I'm concerned, this is a good, affordable player that the Blue Jays gave up very little to get.

CF: Dexter Fowler, Astros

RF: Seth Smith, Mariners

SP: Jose Quintana, White Sox

Closer: Steve Cishek, Marlins

 

Looks like my LOD team

[Angrioter]

Looks like my LOD team

 

Is Goldy underrated?

[Angrioter]

Jon Heyman ‏

michael saunders, jays settle at $2.875M for 2015