Blue Jays Sign Jose Bautista

[RealAccountant]

Lol Atkins

 

Ed Rogers forced his hand

[West Texas Forever]

Atkins is pretty tight lipped.

[RealAccountant]

Wilner asking the most embarrassing questions oh it's pretty clear Ross this wasn't plan A and you missed out on blah blah

 

Holy crap this guy has no respect

[Krylian]

It's impressive how much Atkins was fellating Ed Rogers

[West Texas Forever]

Atkins reminds me of that over the top nice neighbor guy that clears your driveway if it snows, I'm a fan.

[RealAccountant]

Pretty clear they didnt want him back

 

Ed forced his hand

[THANOS]

Atkins reminds me of that over the top nice neighbor guy that clears your driveway if it snows, I'm a fan.

 

http://static.simpsonswiki.com/images/8/84/Ned_Flanders.png

[Dr. Dinger]

Pretty clear they didnt want him back

 

Ed forced his hand

 

If they didn't want him back, they wouldn't have signed him.

[Krylian]

If they didn't want him back, they wouldn't have signed him.

 

We both know that's not true at all.

 

How many times have we seen owners interfere and force the GM's hand. Happens all the time. Not saying it did here, but to discount that it's a possibility isn't right.

 

Ed Rogers is the same guy that went behind Beeston's back to try to get info on Kenny Williams from Beeton's buddy Reinsdorf, and it blew up in his face. There is a history of stupid behavior so it's not out of the realm of possibility that Rogers swooped in and said, 'Bring Bautista back. That's an order.'

[BTS]

Lol at home to first times for a slugger in his mid 30s. Most of these guys haven't hustled out an infield grounder in years. David Ortiz barely left the batter's box. Yes, his OF range is garbage, but I wouldn't use home to first time as a proxy for speed. Bautista doesn't sprint down the line to first, nor do I want him to at his age... he's liable to blow a hammy and miss 3 months.

 

If you can't leave the box quick on a ground ball from time to time for fear of injury, how can you be expected to play the OF, which requires you to sprint in short burts?

[G-Snarls]

[G-Snarls]

Sportsnet:

 

BRAYDON HOLMYARD JANUARY 19, 2017, 11:27 AM

 

The direction of the Toronto Blue Jays was unclear when superstar Edwin Encarnacion signed with the Cleveland Indians and it appeared Jose Bautista‘s days in Toronto were over. To the surprise of many, Bautista and the Blue Jays agreed on a one-year deal, but general manager Ross Atkins says that Bautista was always on the team’s radar. “Jose was a clear target for us,” Atkins said at Bautista’s introductory press conference, making it clear that there was always mutual interest between the parties and Bautista was heavily involved in the negotiation process. “It was clear from day one, it was clear from last year he wanted to stay,” Atkins said. “He said it and he meant it.”

 

Bringing back Bautista is an indication that the Blue Jays are committed to chasing another playoff appearance. "A rebuild is not on our horizon," Atkins said, adding that the team wants to maximize how much they can win now while continuing to build upon the farm system, but they are "absolutely" going for it.

 

Ben Nicholson-Smith ✔ @bnicholsonsmith

Ross Atkins on Jose Bautista: "I think it's more likely that he has the 2015 season than he has the 2016 season" #BlueJays

11:44 AM - 19 Jan 2017

 

 

Bautista is coming off a down season in 2016, where he was on the disabled list twice and played through some nagging injuries. According to the general manager, Bautista is in great health heading into spring training. "The physical with him was similar to earlier in his career," Atkins said. "He's had a complete recovery from those injuries and we have a lot of confidence he is in very good position physically."

 

Bautista was vocal about his desire to stay in Toronto, and reportedly turned down more lucrative offers to re-sign with the Blue Jays. The two parties agreed on a one-year deal worth $18 million with a $17 million mutual option for 2018 and a $500K buy-out, as well as a $20 million vesting option in 2020.

[wamco]

 

Sweet. Our very own Ben zobrist. Is loogy one of them?

[burlingtonbandit]

If you can't leave the box quick on a ground ball from time to time for fear of injury, how can you be expected to play the OF, which requires you to sprint in short burts?

 

Why would they not be looking at his reaction time and speed in the OF to see if his speed declined? Home to 1st isn't a good way to evaluate speed for a guy like Bautista who hits the ball hard into shifts.

[fatcowxlive]

If you can't leave the box quick on a ground ball from time to time for fear of injury, how can you be expected to play the OF, which requires you to sprint in short burts?

 

Because most of the season Bautista would hit a hard grounder and not hustle to first in fear of an injury. Obviously that's different than sprinting in the OF, the consequences of not running is not making an out. The consequence for not hustling on a ground ball is not capitlizing on an error if a ball is dropped/not made, hence why in your initial post you mentioned that they think it's inaccurate, not hustling to 1st vs. not sprinting in the OF are two different things

[Muck Bartinez]

Because most of the season Bautista would hit a hard grounder and not hustle to first in fear of an injury. Obviously that's different than sprinting in the OF, the consequences of not running is not making an out. The consequence for not hustling on a ground ball is not capitlizing on an error if a ball is dropped/not made, hence why in your initial post you mentioned that they think it's inaccurate, not hustling to 1st vs. not sprinting in the OF are two different things

 

Exactly. I can't count the number of times I've seen Jose, Edwin, or Donaldson hit a ground ball into the shift with the bases empty and just jog down to first. Edwin would sometimes keep the bat for half of the run. Completely meaningless stat. 2/10 effort.

[BTS]

Why would they not be looking at his reaction time and speed in the OF to see if his speed declined? Home to 1st isn't a good way to evaluate speed for a guy like Bautista who hits the ball hard into shifts.

 

When someone reports a home to first time aren't they filtering out plays where the player isn't running hard? I'm just reporting what was said, and I don't have any interest in defending it, but it seems silly that they'd report every contact play if the player is slowly jogging out of the box.

[Krylian]

Did someone ask Ross if Jose's shoulder is fixed or not?

 

He said that he he suffered a shoulder injury in 2015 that hampered his ability to throw in 2016. He also said that they've seen him in the off-season and were pleased with what they saw, or something to that effect...but no, he didn't specifically say anything like Bautista being 100% or anything like that. Just that they were excited about having him in RF.

[fatcowxlive]

He said that he he suffered a shoulder injury in 2015 that hampered his ability to throw in 2016. He also said that they've seen him in the off-season and were pleased with what they saw, or something to that effect...but no, he didn't specifically say anything like Bautista being 100% or anything like that. Just that they were excited about having him in RF.

 

He did, however, tell Davidi and Madani that they have 'reason to believe' that his arm was going to be better this year

[Jonn]

He said that he he suffered a shoulder injury in 2015 that hampered his ability to throw in 2016. He also said that they've seen him in the off-season and were pleased with what they saw, or something to that effect...but no, he didn't specifically say anything like Bautista being 100% or anything like that. Just that they were excited about having him in RF.

 

Petter Gammons said on MLB Network he saw Jose a couple weeks ago and he was in awe of how impressive he looked and said his arm looked strong compared to last year. Don't know how much stock we should put in that. But he did say it. Last year he couldn't even line up and make throws. He was lobbying the ball into the infield. So almost any improvement is something.

[Spanky99]

It's likely hamburger meat... I guess we'll see.

[G-Snarls]

I'm less concerned about his arm than I am his crap range and his tendency to miss catching balls that he actually does get to. He has enormous difficulty catching balls while running back to the fence.

[burlingtonbandit]

I think part of the problem was positioning. If they play him a little deeper it should help, especially if his arm is back to average.

[G-Snarls]

I think part of the problem was positioning. If they play him a little deeper it should help, especially if his arm is back to average.

 

Yes

 

He seems to play balls well that are hit in front of him

 

Hopefully the arm is better but we'll see

[Spanky99]

I think part of the problem was positioning. If they play him a little deeper it should help, especially if his arm is back to average.

 

Same has been said about Cutch.

[RealAccountant]

It's amazing how many dominoes fell after the Bautista signing. If I had to guess we were discussing a deal with a lot of these guys

[Pendleton]

I'm less concerned about his arm than I am his crap range and his tendency to miss catching balls that he actually does get to. He has enormous difficulty catching balls while running back to the fence.

 

It would be really nice if Pompey hits well enough to earn regular playing time, with him Upton and Pillar we should have enough range in the rest of the outfield to more than make up for Bautista in RF.

[Grant77]

Plawecki would cost a good penny... Clevenger is AJ... Hanigan is good behind the plate, you know I always liked him, but why pay when you can likely get the same thing from AJ... relative to WAR. I don't see any upside or difference in those names.

 

I'm not certain that he would cost that much. The Mets don't seem to value him and he's not exactly young. The reason you get a veteran backup like Hanigan is two-fold. One, you get a proven commodity at a minimal cost (possible minor league deal in his case). Two, you protect yourself against Jimenez being total s*** (the most likely scenario) by adding depth. Depth is always a good thing.

[Spanky99]

I'm not certain that he would cost that much. The Mets don't seem to value him and he's not exactly young. The reason you get a veteran backup like Hanigan is two-fold. One, you get a proven commodity at a minimal cost (possible minor league deal in his case). Two, you protect yourself against Jimenez being total s*** (the most likely scenario) by adding depth. Depth is always a good thing.

 

Like I've said, depth is understood, we have it, lets see what our FO does.

[burlingtonbandit]

Same has been said about Cutch.

 

Same was said about Fowler and his numbers took a complete 180 when he started to play deeper.