Offseason Roster Thread

[jaysguy44]

Fire everyone!

[John_Havok]

DeMarlo Hale and Luis Rivera have got to be worried, starting to look like a big revamp of the coaching staff.

 

Pretty much all these guys are on 1 year deals if I'm not mistaken and It's pretty standard for a new manager to pick his own coaching staff. I also know he can't pilfer Rays coaches as part of the agreement they had so he'll definitely be shopping around

[THANOS]

I hope if we do end up getting a new pitching coach, we look to Houston's system. Whatever they're doing, I want some of that working with out staff!

[Boxcar]

I hope if we do end up getting a new pitching coach, we look to Houston's system. Whatever they're doing, I want some of that working with out staff!

 

I don't think you have to hire pine tar as a coach

[Jonn]

Luis Rivera is some how going to survive the coaching staff overhaul.

[Orgfiller]

Luis Rivera is some how going to survive the coaching staff overhaul.

 

I have no idea if Luis Rivera is a good coach overall or not, maybe he does a great job working with the players, but dear god put someone else at third base to make the baserunning decisions.

[John_Havok]

Pretty much all these guys are on 1 year deals if I'm not mistaken and It's pretty standard for a new manager to pick his own coaching staff. I also know he can't pilfer Rays coaches as part of the agreement they had so he'll definitely be shopping around

 

Just a follow up on this, Lieper was under contract through 2019 so his axe is definitely the result of the new manager wanting his own guy

[Spanky__99]

Pretty much all these guys are on 1 year deals if I'm not mistaken and It's pretty standard for a new manager to pick his own coaching staff. I also know he can't pilfer Rays coaches as part of the agreement they had so he'll definitely be shopping around

 

Sticky fingers?

[Spanky__99]

Just a follow up on this, Lieper was under contract through 2019 so his axe is definitely the result of the new manager wanting his own guy

 

They're all under contract through '19.

[P2F]

As things stand right now, the best-looking lineup for 2019 is probably something like:

 

C-Danny Jansen

1B-Justin Smoak

2B-Lourdes Gurriel Jr./Cavan Biggio

3B-Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

SS-Aledmys Diaz/Bo Bichette

LF-Billy McKinney/Cavan Biggio

CF-Kevin Pillar

RF-Randal Grichuk

DH-Kendrys Morales

BN-Teoscar Hernandez

BN-Brandon Drury

BN-Russell Martin

BN-Devon Travis (or Tulo if magically healthy)

 

That's without taking into consideration any FA upgrades or possible trades. It's really hard to say what Atkins will do this winter, but I do hope signing or trading for an actually good OF is at the top of the priority list. Because unless Alford regains his previous form and/or Biggio really takes to LF and maintains his gains from 2018, OF is a bit of a barren wasteland in the organization. Sure, there are MLB-ready depth pieces like Davis, Smith Jr., and Ramirez, but none of those guys project to be more than a platoon/4th OF type in the majors. Grichuk is solid and, ideally, I'd really like to move him to CF where his bat would play up even more so. Fire Pillar into the sun for all I care.

 

SP-Marcus Stroman

SP-Aaron Sanchez

SP-Ryan Borucki

SP-Sean Reid-Foley

SP-Sam Gaviglio/Thomas Pannone/David Paulino/Julian Merryweather

 

This is the team's biggest weakness and, subsequently, the area in most dire need of improvement. Atkins needs to sign at least two starters this offseason. There isn't enough quality MLB-ready depth to make it through a full season without bringing in a couple of proven MLB starting pitchers. Young pitchers like Zeuch, Harris, Romano, and Waguespack are not the types we should rely upon for 2019, let alone expect them to necessarily contribute anything positive at the MLB level.

 

RHP-Ken Giles

RHP-David Paulino

RHP-Ryan Tepera

LHP-Tim Mayza

RHP-Joe Biagini

RHP-Danny Barnes

LHP-Travis Bergen

 

Giles is great and I still can't believe that trade. I don't think enough has been said about the great job Atkins did getting the pieces he got for Osuna. It would've been a great trade even without Osuna's legal issues, but it's full-on trape when you consider the circumstances. I'm not certain where Paulino will slot in next season, but he's probably a good-to-very-good relief pitcher and I feel comfortable relying on him to produce at the MLB level as long as he's healthy. Tepera and Mayza are nice BP pieces as well. After that, things get a little dicey. It's hard to put any faith into Biagini at this point, so it's probably for the best that we don't. Hopefully, Atkins feels the same way. I like Bergen quite a bit and hope that we see him at some point next season.

 

This brings us to my wishlist:

 

 

• Sign one of A.J. Pollock or Michael Brantley to a 3 or 4-year deal, or Andrew McCutchen to a 3-year deal, or trade for one of Domingo Santana or Jose Martinez - both have upside and are superfluous and under-utilized on their current teams.
  
• Sign Yusei Kikuchi. This is risky, but it's a risk worth taking, in my opinion. Yes, Kikuchi battled a shoulder injury this season and saw his numbers subsequently dip a little bit in 2018 as a result, but he has the upside of a #2/3 if healthy and might prove to be the best FA value on the open market.
  
• Trade for Jon Gray. Honestly, just do it. It's tough to say what it would actually take to get Gray from Colorado, but you wouldn't be wrong to assume that it should require a haul. Having said that, we can't ignore the fact that the Rockies FO is probably dumb and unquestionably behind the Blue Jays in regards to analytics. So if an affordable opportunity presents itself, I truly hope the Blue Jays are the first team to call Jeff Bridich to acquire Gray's services. The upside with Gray is that of a true #1.
  
• If Gray proves to be too expensive, then I hope the Jays sign a pitcher or two like Matt Harvey and/or Trevor Cahill to provide MLB-calibre depth with the potential for contributing at an above average level if either can stay healthy for a full season. Harvey was excellent over this season's last couple of months. Here are his numbers over that timeframe, while also averaging 94.5 MPH on his FB and inducing swinging strikes at an 11.6% rate:
  

 

 

 

 

• Sign a potential bargain relief ace like David Robertson, Cody Allen, or Kelvin Herrera. This kind of signing speaks for itself, as all of these guys have previously pitched at an above average (or elite) level in numerous seasons. None are projected to earn more than 3/33 (Robertson), so I say get it f***ing done, Atkins.
  
• Fill out the bullpen with an astute signing or two of inexpensive pitchers like Jake Diekman, Drew Pomeranz, Oliver Perez, and Nate Karns. There are so many interesting relief pitchers available though, so my list extends out well beyond the above shortlist. These are just a few off the top of my head that are likely to be undervalued, inexpensive, and obtainable, while more likely than not to contribute positively for an MLB team next season.
  

 

First and foremost, I'm all for the youth movement. Having some of our most promising prospects begin to reach the majors in 2019 is damn exciting, but that doesn't mean you stop spending money in free agency or trying to field a competitive roster in the meantime. Adding a few pieces like the ones above will allow for prospects like Bichette and Biggio to make the team organically, meaning that they can be given the opportunity to acclimate themselves to the major leagues when lineup regulars inevitably miss time with injury or underperform expectations.

 

Vlad is a different story, of course. He's pretty much expected to be the team's best hitter immediately once he's up. While it's likely that he's promoted in mid-April, it's not completely out of the realm of all things possible that we don't see him until June, once the Super Two deadline has cleared. Either way, the Vlad era officially begins as soon as he gets the call from Buffalo in 2019. If you haven't seen it yet, Steamer has him projected to be a 138 wRC+ bat right away.

 

If the Jays do sign a couple of starting pitchers, the AAA depth would almost become an actual asset, but I won't go quite that far. That being said, SRF, Gaviglio, Pannone, Paulino, Merryweather, Romano, Zeuch, Harris, and Waguespack are all close-proximity potential starting pitchers that could see some time with the Blue Jays throughout the 2019 season.

 

Not only would this team be exciting to watch in 2019, but it could also realistically compete for a wildcard spot as well. It's highly, highly unlikely that the offseason will align exactly as I want it to, but if the Blue Jays are active in free agency and/or make a couple of sagacious trades to bolster their roster, the general premise that I've outlined above remains the same.

 

With Martin's contract off the books after 2019 and Tulo's after 2020, and coupled with the fact that this offseason's free agency class is unprecedentedly deep, the time is right to add to this team and position it to be competitive for both the future and even right now. There's no reason why this Blue Jays team shouldn't be better than last year's iteration and why it couldn't realistically compete for a playoff spot.

 

2019 marks the beginning of the perpetual wave of young minor league talent contributing at the major league level. If Atkins plays his cards correctly, a sustained winner is already in the making and the rebuild turnaround time will be very minimal or virtually non-existent.

[bones10]

man, regardless of record next year, this offseason and season are going to be a lot better than the last two years.

[Dick_Pole]

...

 

Nothing to disagree with here, everyone should be on the same page as this. My only disagreement is with rank. Assuming the Jays fail to acquire Jon Gray or have to give up an SP going the other way, signing two SP has to be the top priority. If there is no room in the budget for that and McCutchen, then you miss out on McCutchen. I'm not a huge fan of what the Jays have going on in the OF, but they have enough offense elsewhere to at least be able to afford Pillar and another defense-first black hole at the plate if that's what it comes down to.

 

If the Jays do sign two SP, they might be able to dump Sanchez to the pen and hopefully he has a Wade Davis-like resurgence there. That might solve some of the BP issues.

[TheHurl]

Go full Asian. Sign Kikuchi and Ryu. Then 1 3 year deal reliever. Make some minor trades (Pillar for an arm not needed to be put on the 40), Pompey for an arm that is also out of options who can try and earn a spot in spring (if he even has that value...if not dump him at the first FA signing you make)

[Spanky__99]

Go full Asian. Sign Kikuchi and Ryu. Then 1 3 year deal reliever. Make some minor trades (Pillar for an arm not needed to be put on the 40), Pompey for an arm that is also out of options who can try and earn a spot in spring (if he even has that value...if not dump him at the first FA signing you make)

 

Ryu's taking that QO.

[TheHurl]

I don't think we'll sign anyone of significance and our payroll will be close to the bottom 10 in the league.

 

$109M projected. I can't see it being below $135 though.

[Spanky__99]

I don't think we'll sign anyone of significance and our payroll will be close to the bottom 10 in the league.

 

$109M projected. I can't see it being below $135 though.

 

Where are you guys coming up with this number?

[Spanky__99]

Just go to Spotrac for the definite money owed in 2019. And then Fangraphs projected the arb and min guys. It does come out to around 100-110M for 2019.

 

Also Fangraphs projects us to have the 2nd most available payroll space for free agency, after Baltimore.

 

But I just don't see how we use it all. I don't even think we could get signatures for the amount of FAs we would need to get our payroll back to 150M. I guess you could do like 2/40 for Morton and 3/45 for Brantley and sign a reliever or two. Would they sign here though?

 

Also, I wonder if Rogers is giving Shatkins a strict payroll number or because it's a down year, they're going to need to sign off on any signing in the off-season since they assume we're not going anywhere.

 

Lots of owners have chosen to just tank payroll in a rebuilding year. But I'm one of those guys who has absolutely zero faith in Rogers so I'm going to believe in the worst case scenario. Maybe they see the value in signing a guy like Morton that you can trade for prospects later. Or maybe they just say, nah that's dumb.

 

I know of contracts, but this was a schooling.

[Jimcanuck]

I expect Shatkins will be able to convince Rogers that the press coverage of a couple of nice FA signings and marketing of Baby Vlad starting in January/February will bring the casuals into the fold and result in some ticket sales.

[Carlos Danger]

A couple of things reference P2F’s list.

 

 

I would love to have Biggio on the team in April 2019.

 

Where are you getting info that the Blue Jays FO have the same timeline??

 

If Bigiani is still in our pen and Travis is taking up bench space or starting I am going to consider both of those fails.

[jaysblue]

A couple of things to reference P2F's post as well:

 

I would move Grichuk to CF, sign a corner OF and trade Pillar.

 

I don't see Harvey signing here in Toronto and to pitch in the AL East. He'll likely sign a one-year contract somewhere like Pittsburgh or San Diego to rebuild his value.

 

Trevor Cahill would seem like a great fit here as a FA pickup. As well, if they could trade for Jon Gray, even better! I would even be open to Sonny Gray for one year if he comes cheap. Other options can be Ervin Santana on a one-year contract + incentives and Drew Pomeranz. I think Pomeranz signs as a SP. He was in Cleveland's system before, so Shapiro and Atkins are familiar with him.

 

As for the BP, I don't think Robertson would sign here. Plus he won't be cheap. Same with Herrera. I could see Cody Allen being a nice pickup on a one-year contract to rebuild his value, and again the Shapiro/Atkins connection might help to lure him to Toronto.

 

Trade Martin to the Dodgers. Could be a possibility with them looking for a catcher and I'm sure they would take on his contract if the Jays lets say took another contract from them (Matt Kemp maybe to play an OF corner and DH).

[P2F]

A couple of things reference P2F’s list.

 

 

I would love to have Biggio on the team in April 2019.

 

Where are you getting info that the Blue Jays FO have the same timeline??

 

If Bigiani is still in our pen and Travis is taking up bench space or starting I am going to consider both of those fails.

 

That's not an opening day lineup that I projected, it's merely the best/most likely lineup that we could see in 2019 from the players already in the system. Biggio and Bichette are definitely not making the opening day lineup.

 

I agree in regards to Travis and Biagini, which was a subpoint of my post. When Biggio, Bichette, and Vlad all get promoted throughout 2019, roster moves will need to be made as a result. For example, sending Travis down to AAA (if he's even on the opening day roster in the first place) is a no-brainer, as he still has options. I also listed numerous players that I hope Atkins targets in the offseason, which, if acquired, would subsequently lead to fringe players like Travis and Biagini being optioned to AAA as a result.

 

I don't think you read the whole post.

[Key22]

I am sure many of you read the article suggesting that the Phillies try and sign both Harper and Machado. What was interesting to me was that the reasoning they gave for the Phillies signing both guys would, in theory, be similar to reasons why the Jays should sign both guys. I am not suggesting we do at all, but the premise is largely similar:

1) No long term commitments beyond 2020

2) Phillies a horrible slugging team and need a lot of help on offense

3) Young core to build with as both guys are 26 and youth coming fast.

4) Have the money

5) positions of need.

 

When I read the article I was thinking - that is Toronto - a team with a lot of young talent coming but perhaps not in the outfield or Shortstop/3B.

 

Of course I know we are not the sort of team to dole out two $300million 10 year contracts and certainly not to a lack of character guy like Machado - but then again Ty Cobb was an arse and I'd be happy to have him if he wins.

 

I just liked the idea of 2020:

 

Bichette (SS/2B)

Vlad Jr (3B/1B)

Machado (SS/3B)

Harper (CF/RF)

Biggio/Tellez (1B/DH)

Grichuck (CF/RF)

Jansen/Mcguire ©

McKinney/Hernandez (LF/RF/DH)

Diaz/Gurriel (SS/2B)

 

Drury/Alford/Espinal/Smith

 

Rotation:

Borucki

SRF

Pearson

Merryweather

Panone

Pardinho

Perez

FA Ace

FA number 2

 

WS - lock and load.

 

Gotta spend to win baby - Boston #1 in payroll - LA and NY right there - Don't give me crap about Tampa or Cleveland - some fluke years these teams get in and fluke a WS title big deal - never a dynasty of winning. Jays need a $190million payroll or forgettaboutit.

 

[Jimcanuck]

i like it too but not happening

 

Manny and Bryce ~ $800 M

 

My guess is Harper to the Braves on a heavily front loaded deal and Machado to the Bombers

Edited November 5, 2018 by Jimcanuck

[Ehjays]

Harold Ramirez elects free agency

https://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/blue-jays-outfield-prospect-harold-ramirez-elects-free-agency/

 

 

Sportsnet Staff

@Sportsnet

November 5, 2018, 10:26 AM

 

 

 

 

3

Harold Ramirez, a corner outfielder initially acquired by the Blue Jays at the 2016 trade deadline, has elected free agency.

Ramirez spent the 2018 season with Toronto’s New Hampshire affiliate, hitting .320/.365/.471 with 11 home runs and 37 doubles in his third season at double-A. A right-handed hitter, Ramirez stolen 16 bases in 18 attempts.

The Blue Jays initially acquired the 24-year-old with Francisco Liriano and Reese McGuire for Drew Hutchison two trade deadlines ago. Ramirez has been playing in the Venezuelan Winter League since the end of the minor-league season, and he’s batting .371/.413/.514 with Caracas.

Ramirez would have been Rule 5-eligible this off-season, and the Blue Jays were not expected to have room for him on their 40-man roster.

[BTS]

Fangraphs top 50 free agent list is out, along with crowdsourced contract projections:

 

https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/2019-top-50-free-agents/

 

A lot of the starting pitchers jump out at me as being good targets for Shatkins at their approximate projected contracts:

 

Keuchel 4/80

Morton 2/32

Kikuchi 4/52

Ryu 3/40

Happ 2/30

Cahill 2/15

 

I'd be thrilled with any of those, and ideally at least two of them.

 

Also, Brantley at 3/45 would be fantastic, and might even be feasible given that he has a history with Shatkins.

[glory]

Happ makes the most sense if he’s willing to come back. Likes the city/team, history of top performance in the AL East, and won’t require more than 2-3 years due to age. No pick compensation attached either.

 

The Yankees love him though so I’m guessing he ends up back there.

[Orgfiller]

Not for us obviously, but Grandal for 3-4 years at $14/15M per year seems like an unreal steal if the projected contract is what he ends up signing for. I think if someone winds up with Brian Dozier for cheap the potential reward there is huge as well.

 

I'd jump at McCutchen for 2/26 like Kiley McDaniel is suggesting and even think the 3/42 the crowd is projecting could be a solid deal.

 

Would not give Ryu or Eovaldi three years with their injury history but would consider slightly expensive two year deals. Would love Happ at his projected price and Lance Lynn at 2/10-12 seems like a no-brainer imo, along with Trevor Cahill. I'd consider a one year "prove yourself" deal to Garrett Richards, ala Eovaldi with the Rays. A ~$10M one year deal to C.C. Sabathia could also benefit us with the likely growing pains of our young starters. I don't really want any part of Matt Harvey.

[Laika]

Call me crazy retarded but I'm all over Adam Jones if I'm Toronto.

[Krylian]

f*** Adam Jones

[tercet]

Anything beside losing 90 games next year is stupid, were not going to be better then the Yankees / Red Sox, do a quick 2-3 years tank/rebuild. Only sign reclamation projects for 1-2 yr deals that you can trade if they work out.