Blue Jays Sign Jose Bautista

[JaysFan4Ever]

Decent chance he'd get claimed on waivers I think.

 

I could see someone taking a chance on him, at his price, and with arbitration contacts not being guaranteed. I'd think they'd try trading him before waiving him, at least for cash, but unless they are still going to pursue someone else for LF, include him in a trade for a LFer, or Pomp blows everyone away in spring, I think he's sticking around. They'll might go with the, he's a decent 4th OF, had a good two month start, slumped, but did do nicely in the playoffs.

[Brownie19]

JaysFan4Ever - you need to break up that text. It's daunting to read man. Edited January 18, 2017 by Brownie19

[Terminator]

A Wild Card contender really has no excuse to f*** around with roster details and options for mediocre players. The Blue Jays can't really afford to see if Zeke can replicate what really amounted to mediocre stability. If there's a better option, take it immediately, whether that involves giving Pompey a legit shot or signing someone else. I'd also be happy with punting Smoak. I'm a Pearce OF skeptic as well, FWIW.

 

Well said on all counts. If Pompey beats Zeke out he'll win the job. Zeke isn't good enough for his lack of options to be the ultimate concern although that probably does give him the tiebreaker should it come to that with Pompey. I also agree with you on Pearce and the OF. I do not understand people who think moving Pearce to the OF and Bautista to 1B is the right move.

[Brownie19]

You can pay $7M for a backup C and a LH reliever. Or you can pay $8-$10M for Valbuena or Greg Holland. Easy decision for me. Holland gave the Royals almost 1 win pitching with a broken arm. Valbuena had 2 wins last year in 90 games.

 

You're not getting the most use out of the remaining budget by using it on a backup C and a LH reliever.

 

The good news is Shapiro suggested he'll be looking for the best value ($$/WAR) on the market, regardless of position. That screams Valbeuna/Moss to me over a backup catcher or almost any reliever.

[JaysFan4Ever]

JaysFan4Ever - you need to break up that text man. It's daunting to read man.

 

Sorry. Will do. At least I'll be quiet for a little bit since I have to change the batteries in my wireless keyboard and mouse.

[Ray]

If we do end up having a $165 million budget, I highly doubt it'll all be taken up opening day. Probably looking at $160 million on opening day to allow for a little flexibility throughout the season. Meaning we only have $5-6 million to play with right now.

[Spanky99]

Do you not sign an NDA or something when you work for a huge media company?

 

lol... You're Fired!!!

[Spanky99]

Probably gets up early to get the hell away from his creepy neighbor staring at him. Would be like living next to spanky

 

Spanky would be dropping to his knees...

 

Speaking of creepers... go tongue poke your dad's fart bock ya f***ing troglodyte.

[Spanky99]

I guess so looking back at the MLBTR posts.

 

I'd say it was confirmed when Stroman tweeted his welcome back to Jose, lol.

[THANOS]

I'm all for signing Valbuena. Between injuries among Bautista, Pearce, Donaldson, Travis, etc. there will be plenty of AB's for him here. Holland is a no-brainer as well. Mediocre lefties are going for 20 mil in this market and that's ridiculous. I'd rather have the guy with the potential to be a lights-out late inning guy.

 

I agree, let Loup, Dermody and Chris Smith battle in out for the LH roles.

 

I'd sign Holland if left to choose between Valbuena and him. I don't love it, but I can live with Pompey/Upton in LF until Alford pushes them out.

[Terminator]

but I can live with Pompey/Upton in LF until Alford pushes them out.

 

Yeah well Alford just finished up A-Ball so be prepared to ride that platoon until 2018 at the earliest. lol

[THANOS]

Yeah well Alford just finished up A-Ball so be prepared to ride that platoon until 2018 at the earliest. lol

 

Yeah.. :'( lol. This is true.

 

Well I'm sure there will be a suitable stop gap in 2018 for us. There's also the chance that Pompey finally straightens his s*** out and comes to play. Granted, it's not likely, but even if he doesn't, he could still give us around 2 WAR from his D, one would think.

[bendera3]

Yeah well Alford just finished up A-Ball so be prepared to ride that platoon until 2018 at the earliest. lol

 

Was just gonna say this.

 

Also, just received my Alford Bowman's Best autographed card in the mail the other day.

[burlingtonbandit]

I actually am against signing Valbuena. He's a league average bat who would be getting almost all of his PA at 1st base. A lot of his value is being able to play 3rd but with how durable Donaldson has been I think Barney is fine for the 5-10 games he doesn't start at 3rd.

 

And signing Valbuena means Pearce plays mostly the OF. I'd rather Pearce play 1B where he's a clear plus defender and go out and get a decent OF.

[eastcoastjaysfan]

I actually am against signing Valbuena. He's a league average bat who would be getting almost all of his PA at 1st base. A lot of his value is being able to play 3rd but with how durable Donaldson has been I think Barney is fine for the 5-10 games he doesn't start at 3rd.

 

And signing Valbuena means Pearce plays mostly the OF. I'd rather Pearce play 1B where he's a clear plus defender and go out and get a decent OF.

 

There is no reason to think Travis can hold up for an entire season. Tulo has also had some injuries flare up. Not saying that he could slot into shortstop.. but there are definitely ways to get Valbuena into the lineup consistently seeing as how we have some fragile players.

 

We could even get creative and have a Valbuena/Zeke platoon in left.

[wamco]

Speaking of creepers... go tongue poke your dad's fart bock ya f***ing troglodyte.

 

Hey! Look who woke up! Just in time for happy hour. While there, ask the bartender for a new insult. You played Troglodyte out long ago.

[Spanky99]

Hey! Look who woke up! Just in time for happy hour. While there, ask the bartender for a new insult. You played Troglodyte out long ago.

 

Choke on a bag of dicks, *******!

[Governator]

Both of you stfu

[intrigid]

Would appreciate if people refrained from quoting Sparty. Some of us have him on ignore.

[Orgfiller]

I actually am against signing Valbuena. He's a league average bat who would be getting almost all of his PA at 1st base. A lot of his value is being able to play 3rd but with how durable Donaldson has been I think Barney is fine for the 5-10 games he doesn't start at 3rd.

 

And signing Valbuena means Pearce plays mostly the OF. I'd rather Pearce play 1B where he's a clear plus defender and go out and get a decent OF.

 

He's been substantially better against RHP so he'd be the strong side of a 1B platoon if necessary. Could also play multiple positions like everyone else has suggested (either giving JD or Travis a day off every now and then or taking over in the event of an extended injury). Also, I don't understand why he projects to be a league average hitter despite being rather comfortably above over the past 3 seasons, where I think it's safe to say is when he started becoming a much better hitter by finally tapping into his power - pulling everything into the air to great results. Despite the lowly projections on his offense, they still view him as an average player and will likely be making less than $10 million per year, as a player that is quite versatile that could be very beneficial to the Blue Jays.

[Terminator]

There is no reason to think Travis can hold up for an entire season. Tulo has also had some injuries flare up. Not saying that he could slot into shortstop.. but there are definitely ways to get Valbuena into the lineup consistently seeing as how we have some fragile players.

 

We could even get creative and have a Valbuena/Zeke platoon in left.

 

Yeah on paper Valbuena isn't the perfect fit but between Bautista, Tulo, Travis, Pearce, etc. there are plenty of ways to get him AB's.

[King]

Would appreciate if people refrained from quoting Sparty. Some of us have him on ignore.

 

Same.

[Orgfiller]

Yeah on paper Valbuena isn't the perfect fit but between Bautista, Tulo, Travis, Pearce, etc. there are plenty of ways to get him AB's.

 

I don't mean to twist your words, but actually I think on paper he's the perfect fit. It is well known that all of the guys you listed have shaky injury histories. In the event of a 15 day DL stint to Travis or JD, I'm much more comfortable seeing Valbuena's name in the lineup card over Goins or Barney (who's great too but he won't hit as well as last season). He provides excellent depth in the scenario where everyone is healthy, with the chance to platoon at 1B or perhaps LF if he's capable while allowing us to play an average player at positions where we're thin if top players go down.

[intentional wok]

I wish they could just bring in Valbuena and lose Smoak in the couch somewhere. Replace him with a cutout of Edwin on the bench.

 

Barney should really only be getting ABs at a middle infield spot when he starts. A DH day for Donaldson's maintenance wouldn't be a huge downgrade offensively, if at all (assuming Morales is able to at least make routine plays at 1B).

[Ray]

Valbuena could be a fit in LF as well. Not a primary outfielder, but he's made starts there.

[intentional wok]

Valbuena could be a fit in LF as well. Not a primary outfielder, but he's made starts there.

 

I'd keep him at his good spot, ideally. I'm not convinced it's a good option.

 

For me:

 

vs R (ideally):

1B: Valbuena

LF: Pearce

 

vs L:

1B: Pearce

LF: Upton

 

Donaldson DH:

1B: Morales (or Pearce)

3B: Valbuena

LF: Pearce (or Zeke/Upton)

[Terminator]

I'd keep him at his good spot, ideally. I'm not convinced it's a good option.

 

For me:

 

vs R (ideally):

1B: Valbuena

LF: Pearce

 

vs L:

1B: Pearce

LF: Upton

 

Donaldson DH:

1B: Morales (or Pearce)

3B: Valbuena

LF: Pearce (or Zeke/Upton)

 

Travis Injury/Day Off:

2B: Valbuena

[Terminator]

I don't mean to twist your words, but actually I think on paper he's the perfect fit. It is well known that all of the guys you listed have shaky injury histories. In the event of a 15 day DL stint to Travis or JD, I'm much more comfortable seeing Valbuena's name in the lineup card over Goins or Barney (who's great too but he won't hit as well as last season). He provides excellent depth in the scenario where everyone is healthy, with the chance to platoon at 1B or perhaps LF if he's capable while allowing us to play an average player at positions where we're thin if top players go down.

 

Yeah you basically just restated what I said (I just restated what ECJF said anyway) and got all the likes for it. lol

 

But I'll challenge the notion that he's a perfect fit anyway. I just mean that to begin the season with no injuries he's slotted in as the starting 1B, a position he should be fine at but one that he doesn't have much experience at. It also pushes the old and oft-injured Steve Pearce to his worse position in LF (with 1B being his best). I don't think everyone should be so gung-ho about Pearce in the OF as they appear to be. Especially with Bautista back in the fold.

[burlingtonbandit]

He's been substantially better against RHP so he'd be the strong side of a 1B platoon if necessary. Could also play multiple positions like everyone else has suggested (either giving JD or Travis a day off every now and then or taking over in the event of an extended injury). Also, I don't understand why he projects to be a league average hitter despite being rather comfortably above over the past 3 seasons, where I think it's safe to say is when he started becoming a much better hitter by finally tapping into his power - pulling everything into the air to great results. Despite the lowly projections on his offense, they still view him as an average player and will likely be making less than $10 million per year, as a player that is quite versatile that could be very beneficial to the Blue Jays.

 

His batted ball authority showed he got pretty lucky IIRC. I also don't think he should be counted on to play 2nd at all. Outside of 150 Innings in 2014 he hasn't played there since 2010 and given his defensive numbers at 3rd I don't want him playing 2nd. If he's going to be playing the majority of his time at 1st he won't be an average player either.

 

If you can get him for $5 Million then sure thats not bad but I can't see him coming to Toronto to be a platoon 1st baseman. Rather get decent outfielder.

[glory]

How expensive is Moss going to be? Wouldn't mind Pagan either, but Moss is younger and should be a better defensive player in the outfield. Get him for 1/5, trade Carrera to save a mil, and good to go.