Blue Jays Sign Jose Bautista

[Ray]

Now give me one of Coghlan and Moss to platoon with Upton, and dump Smoak...somehow.

[burlingtonbandit]

I'm hearing 2 years with a vesting option.

 

I think that'd be the perfect length. Lott says its just slightly over the QO amount, is that what you heard too?

[Grant77]

Thank God. Our outfield and lineup look a whole lot better with Bautista in in. We were almost out of options.

[AdamLindsMom]

Can't wait to maybe make the playoffs again and get thumped

[intentional wok]

Can't wait to maybe make the playoffs again and get thumped

 

Said the fans of 28 other teams too. Get a grip.

[AdamLindsMom]

Said the fans of 28 other teams too. Get a grip.

 

The fans of 28 other teams don't have the highest television ratings in baseball and the highest attendance in the American League.

[intentional wok]

You'll find that grip yet.

[TwistedLogic]

[TwistedLogic]

Lots of people were begging for this move to happen, and while I think it's a fine signing, this pretty much guarantees two things:

 

- The Jays will have at least one really poor defender in the outfield.

 

- Justin Smoak is probably going to receive a significant amount of playing time at first base.

 

I was all for a Bautista reunion, but with the condition that he'd be playing first base. Based on the Shapiro/Blair interview from a few days ago, the Jays clearly still view him as an outfielder for some reason.

 

This also probably ensures that the are no more significant position player moves coming. Bautista will man RF, and Smoak and Upton will probably platoon, with Pearce jumping between spots to accommodate whatever guy isn't playing that day.

 

Can't help but feel like the team doesn't really improve from the 2016 roster in this iteration.

[TwistedLogic]

Would be so f***ing cool if they could still manage to somehow sign Valbuena for 1B. Pearce, Pillar and Bautista in the outfield everyday with Upton off the bench and Smoak and Carrera obsolete. That one move could still really set this team up well.

 

But with Bautista's salary probably in the 20M range, and Stroman and league-min guys still unaccounted for, I really doubt the Jays still have the juice to sign anybody decent. They'll probably roll with a scenario like the one I outlined above and they'll probably go bargain-hunting for relief.

 

Considering how they acquired Grilli and Benoit, getting RPs for cheap doesn't bother me nearly as much as seeing the words "Justin Smoak" on a Toronto Blue Jays depth chart.

[intentional wok]

Morales is pretty inferior to EE, but Pearce should be a decent upgrade on Saunders. Bautista should be able to top his production from last year fairly easily, but that could be helped along by not writing RF next to his name in permanent ink. I think it's pretty possible that Tulo and Martin outperform their 2016 selves if they can avoid those total blackout slumps.

 

Liriano should be a notable upgrade from Dickey in the rotation, though the BP is pretty obviously weaker without a Cecil replacement (as of yet). Starter health has been a pretty nice point of luck for the Jays the last couple of years. Not that it means someone will definitely get hurt in 2017, but there's no reason to think the good luck will continue. We already know Estrada has that lingering back problem, for instance.

 

Probably not as good as last year's team, but perhaps not as big of a downgrade as it seems. I'd say this is a strong Wild Card contender even if it's technically "worse" than the 2016 squad -- and that team, IMO, got some pretty s*** luck with the collective slump at the end of the year. 89 wins was beneath them.

[burlingtonbandit]

Lots of people were begging for this move to happen, and while I think it's a fine signing, this pretty much guarantees two things:

 

- The Jays will have at least one really poor defender in the outfield.

 

- Justin Smoak is probably going to receive a significant amount of playing time at first base.

 

I was all for a Bautista reunion, but with the condition that he'd be playing first base. Based on the Shapiro/Blair interview from a few days ago, the Jays clearly still view him as an outfielder for some reason.

 

This also probably ensures that the are no more significant position player moves coming. Bautista will man RF, and Smoak and Upton will probably platoon, with Pearce jumping between spots to accommodate whatever guy isn't playing that day.

 

Can't help but feel like the team doesn't really improve from the 2016 roster in this iteration.

 

Pearce at 1B and Bautista in RF is likely better than Bautista at 1B and Pearce in RF. Pearce is a plus defender at 1B and who knows how good JB is there. Pearce looked to be an okay defender in the OF a few years ago but he wasn't good the last 2 years plus he's only gotten older.

 

I'd like to still sign a LH bat like Moss. If Rasmus only got 5 Million it should still be able to fit it under the budget.

[Grant77]

I was all for a Bautista reunion, but with the condition that he'd be playing first base. Based on the Shapiro/Blair interview from a few days ago, the Jays clearly still view him as an outfielder for some reason.

 

There is no mystery here. We sign Bautista as an outfielder or he doesn't sign here. The former option is clearly preferable.

[Ray]

If (when) we do sign Bautista, depending on how much we have left over, I'd rather the remaining funds go to another signing like Valbuena/Coghlnan/Moss to really beef up offense.

 

Hope that you can find suitable in-house bullpen pieces and a backup catcher during Spring training. Wouldn't be opposed to bringing up Reese McGuire for backup. He's a good defender even if he can't hit. I'm not so sure how much better he's going to get over a medial AAA stint.

[Spanky99]

Awwww.... yeah!

[Governator]

Get 'er done and let bygones be bygones

[flafson]

I hope it happens.

Not sure why so many people dissing his defense, he has clearly declined but you could do a lot worse with some of the experiments teams are putting out there in the corner outfield.

Would a Trumbo or Davis be better in right field? Hell no.

Bautista can still do a pretty good job without looking stupidost days.

[Angrioter]

Jose one year deal = RF

Jose multi years deal = 1B-LF

[Governator]

It's not Jose's decision for what position he plays. I don't see why he wouldn't transition to LF on a 1yr deal?

[BTS]

I hope it happens.

Not sure why so many people dissing his defense, he has clearly declined but you could do a lot worse with some of the experiments teams are putting out there in the corner outfield.

Would a Trumbo or Davis be better in right field? Hell no.

Bautista can still do a pretty good job without looking stupidost days.

 

Chris Davis has 74 outfield starts in his MLB career and played 24 outfield innings last year.

[RealAccountant]

My guess it's 1 year at 17.2 Million

[Gary]

My guess it's 1 year at 17.2 Million

 

I'll say 2 years at $35 million

[Krylian]

I'm still not convinved that Gibby won't leave Bautista exactly where he is (RF), but I'm hopeful that he and Jose can both be convinced that him at 1B is the right move.

[HERPDERP]

I'm happy with 2 years <20m per

[Brownie19]

This is good news, but why does everyone want to move him to LF? I thought we concluded that LF gets a lot more action/attempts than RF. I'd leave him in RF.

[Brownie19]

How much money do you guys think we have left to spend? I fully expect we see a combo of Pompey/Upton/Zeke in LF, but given what seems to be a weak market - I'd love to see us sign both Valbeuna and Moss. It appears you should be able to get both for $15M or so. Cut your losses with Smoak, option Zeke to AAA and leave Pompey in AAA as depth.

 

Bats RF

Donaldson 3rd

Morales DH

Tulo SS

Pearce/Valbeuna 1st

Travis 2nd

Moss/Upton LF

Martin C

Pillar CF

 

That's a deep, solid lineup. One capable of winning the World Series IMO.

 

It doesn't appear Shatkins is going to chase expensive relievers...but would we have cash left to get Moss & Valbuena + a solid reliever?

[HERPDERP]

After Bautista, who is the next talented FA?

[RealAccountant]

Rosenthal is saying its a 2 year 35-40M. Certainly fits in with the Donaldson/Tulo/Martin/Happ/Estrada Competition window.

 

I would not mine this, especially if we can do $15M this year and $20M Next year, allowing us to bring on Moss and Blevins

[RealAccountant]

After Bautista, who is the next talented FA?

 

Trumbo.

[John_Havok]

7:50am: Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports hears that the two sides are discussing a two-year contract (Twitter link). FOX’s Ken Rosenthal agrees, tweeting that Bautista and the Jays are discussing a two-year pact in the $35-40MM range. That’s a departure from Passan’s report, though it should be noted that Passan’s tweets were around 2am, so there’s certainly been enough time for talks to have changed course.

 

JAN. 16, 7:13am: Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports that the two sides have discussed multiple iterations of a deal but are currently focused on a one-year pact (Twitter links). A deal isn’t quite done yet, but each side is optimistic that something will be completed.