General 2019 Blue Jays Discussion Thread

[Jimcanuck]

Jays have significant financial flexibility. Still plenty of time for the young guys to show nice results this season and help attract some FA in the offseason. If this is a 100 loss season, I have little doubt the Jays will be players in the FA market to an extent they haven't been in recent years.

[Deadpool]

Bichette is off to a slow start at AAA this year too

 

He played in 14 games then got HBP and broke his hand, there's pretty much no information on Bichette this year.

[Deadpool]

This team is going to suck ass again next year. We need 4 starting hitters, 3 starting pitchers, and an entire new bullpen. Filling out the bench is pretty easy at least.

 

LINEUP

C- Jansen

1B-

2B- Biggio

3B- Vlad Jr.

SS- Galvis (until Bichette comes up)

LF-

CF-

RF- Grichuk

DH-

 

BENCH

C- Maile

UT- Drury (assuming the team can avoid arb with him because he's a non-tender candidate otherwise)

UT- Gurriel

1B/DH- Tellez

 

ROTATION

1.

2.

3. Shoemaker

4. Thornton

5. Borucki

 

BULLPEN

lol

 

Giles and Stroman (and Sanchez but...) are under contract for next year, and at this point the thought around here appears to be "trade them for hitting prospects, then trade prospects for different pitchers who fit their moulds almost exactly..." Unless you know you can flip lesser prospects for better pitchers in the future, this seems like needlessly shuffling deck chairs.

[P2F]

Giles and Stroman (and Sanchez but...) are under contract for next year, and at this point the thought around here appears to be "trade them for hitting prospects, then trade prospects for different pitchers who fit their moulds almost exactly..." Unless you know you can flip lesser prospects for better pitchers in the future, this seems like needlessly shuffling deck chairs.

 

Gotta catch the rays all day long, I guess?

[BTS]

Giles and Stroman (and Sanchez but...) are under contract for next year, and at this point the thought around here appears to be "trade them for hitting prospects, then trade prospects for different pitchers who fit their moulds almost exactly..." Unless you know you can flip lesser prospects for better pitchers in the future, this seems like needlessly shuffling deck chairs.

 

I don’t think many people here would be averse to extending the pitchers. Stroman and Giles anyway. Not Sanchez. f*** Sanchez.

[Terminator]

Giles and Stroman (and Sanchez but...) are under contract for next year, and at this point the thought around here appears to be "trade them for hitting prospects, then trade prospects for different pitchers who fit their moulds almost exactly..." Unless you know you can flip lesser prospects for better pitchers in the future, this seems like needlessly shuffling deck chairs.

 

I could go either way on extending them but it seems like Atkins has zero inclination to do so.

 

The reason I say I'm on the fence about extensions is simply because this team sucks so much ass that 2020 is a lost cause anyway and 2021 might merely be a .500 type of season so we might as well grab some high ceiling prospects. If he targets McKinney's or Drury's again though I'll throw a fit.

[Terminator]

Jays have significant financial flexibility. Still plenty of time for the young guys to show nice results this season and help attract some FA in the offseason. If this is a 100 loss season, I have little doubt the Jays will be players in the FA market to an extent they haven't been in recent years.

 

Has Mark Shapiro signed a significant free agent in the entire time he's been a baseball executive? I'm not counting Kendry Morales' $33 million.

[Boxcar]

Has Mark Shapiro signed a significant free agent in the entire time he's been a baseball executive? I'm not counting Kendry Morales' $33 million.

 

Michael Bourn

Nick Swisher

 

Both of which were great signings at the time and went more poorly than could possibly be conceived.

[Terminator]

Michael Bourn

Nick Swisher

 

Lol forgot about those two. No wonder why he avoids FA like the plague.

[BTS]

Lol forgot about those two. No wonder why he avoids FA like the plague.

 

He’s also always worked under tight payroll constraints. If Rogers allows a top-10 payroll again I can’t think he’ll shy away from the FA market.

[Ex Player]

He played in 14 games then got HBP and broke his hand, there's pretty much no information on Bichette this year

I didnt know that. Looks like he might be back at AAA sometime this month:

 

https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/news/blue-jays-bo-bichette-ramping-up-activity/

[Jimcanuck]

Has Mark Shapiro signed a significant free agent in the entire time he's been a baseball executive? I'm not counting Kendry Morales' $33 million.

 

Like I said, team loses 100 games this year, they will get into the FA market. Won't be Shatkins call.

[Terminator]

He’s also always worked under tight payroll constraints. If Rogers allows a top-10 payroll again I can’t think he’ll shy away from the FA market.

 

Yeah the payroll constraints have definitely played a factor.

[Jimcanuck]

I don’t think many people here would be averse to extending the pitchers. Stroman and Giles anyway. Not Sanchez. f*** Sanchez.

 

Stroman yes, not Giles. SP are volatile, RP much more so. Plus, guys like Giles have gotten significant returns in recent years.

[Bobthe4th]

This team is going to suck ass again next year. We need 4 starting hitters, 3 starting pitchers, and an entire new bullpen. Filling out the bench is pretty easy at least.

 

LINEUP

C- Jansen

1B-

2B- Biggio

3B- Vlad Jr.

SS- Galvis (until Bichette comes up)

LF-

CF-

RF- Grichuk

DH-

 

BENCH

C- Maile

UT- Drury (assuming the team can avoid arb with him because he's a non-tender candidate otherwise)

UT- Gurriel

1B/DH- Tellez

 

ROTATION

1.

2.

3. Shoemaker

4. Thornton

5. Borucki

 

BULLPEN

lol

 

Not that it makes much difference but Hernandez will be on the roster, probably as a 1B/OF.

 

CF could be Alford or Pompey. I think Galvis will be traded. Merryweather probably takes a rotation spot. Not sure Shoemaker can be relied upon to be guaranteed a spot after missing a year.

 

Returns from the Giles and Stroman trades will fill out 2 or 3 other gaps.

[Bobthe4th]

Stroman yes, not Giles. SP are volatile, RP much more so. Plus, guys like Giles have gotten significant returns in recent years.

 

Yeah I agree. Ideally extend Stroman (though it looks like that won’t happen), but I’d prefer to trade Giles while his value is sky high.

[Ex Player]

Not that it makes much difference but Hernandez will be on the roster, probably as a 1B/OF

Do you mean Teoscar?? He has never played 1B at the ML or MLB level

[Deadpool]

Do you mean Teoscar?? He has never played 1B at the ML or MLB level

 

People just assume that anyone can play 1B. I mean, he probably COULD, but he would probably be average at best.

[Bobthe4th]

People just assume that anyone can play 1B. I mean, he probably COULD, but he would probably be average at best.

 

Exactly. We will need someone other than Tellez to be able to play 1B and IMO Hernandez is best suited of the current players (as Vlad will be the everyday 3B) to that role assuming his bat is good enough to remain in MLB.

[Orgfiller]

Do you mean Teoscar?? He has never played 1B at the ML or MLB level

 

People just assume that anyone can play 1B. I mean, he probably COULD, but he would probably be average at best.

 

It's not that hard. Tell him Wash.

[glory]

Like I said, team loses 100 games this year, they will get into the FA market. Won't be Shatkins call.

 

Yeah people who think Shapiro will be allowed to rebuild for much longer are in for a rude awakening. Wouldn't surprise me at all if Rogers wants to win either in 2020 or 2021. This will be the third straight year the team sucks (despite only being the first year they are truly bottoming out), and I can't see Rogers letting this continue to trend downwards any more than it has.

[5ToolPhenom]

If I had any faith in Rogers hiring an advanced stats aficionado and forward-thinker and not some idiot like Dan Duquette I wouldn't give two shits if they fired Shatkins at this point. I'm not calling for it and this isn't some knee-jerk reaction, I'm just looking at the overall body of work and not seeing a ton of stuff to like. Hiring a dipshit manager, marginal trades like Diaz for Thornton, and basically not partaking in down free agent markets (while giving 5 year extensions to 2 WAR talent) to cut payroll isn't exactly inspiring stuff.

 

Haha awesome Duquette quip, this is exactly how I feel

[xposbrad]

Yeah people who think Shapiro will be allowed to rebuild for much longer are in for a rude awakening. Wouldn't surprise me at all if Rogers wants to win either in 2020 or 2021. This will be the third straight year the team sucks (despite only being the first year they are truly bottoming out), and I can't see Rogers letting this continue to trend downwards any more than it has.

 

For sure, they would just need to take payroll to 220-240m next year to make that happen, pretty simple.

[jerb]

 

 

Alexis Brudnicki

@baseballexis

 

#BlueJays injury updates! Clay Buchholz has begun light throwing with no issues. Ryan Borucki will throw his third bullpen session on Saturday. David Phelps has begun game progression in extended spring training. John Axford began throwing in Florida...

 

Alexis Brudnicki

@baseballexis

 

Dalton Pompey continues baseball activities with no game action. Devon Travis has not yet resumed baseball activities and won’t until asymptomatic. Bo Bichette started playing in extended spring today. Jacob Waguespack will throw a side session on Thursday. #BlueJays

[keggy]

Yeah people who think Shapiro will be allowed to rebuild for much longer are in for a rude awakening. Wouldn't surprise me at all if Rogers wants to win either in 2020 or 2021. This will be the third straight year the team sucks (despite only being the first year they are truly bottoming out), and I can't see Rogers letting this continue to trend downwards any more than it has.

 

I think .500 is a very reasonable expectation for the near future. Our negative assets this year were so bad and given so much playing time that all we need to do is replace them with marginal players from free agency or low-risk trades (e.g., Aledmys Diaz).

 

The problem is that the front office tried a similar strategy of adding cost-effective wins in 2017 and 2018 with very poor results (both of those teams were projected to contend for the playoffs). They'll have to re-evaluate their major league valuation strategies moving forward.

 

Building a perennial playoff contender is a separate goal altogether and will rely almost entirely on how the current wave of prospects pans out.

[Ray]

Might be a good idea to finally supplement the major league roster this offseason with proven major league talent, via trade and/or free agency. Russell Martin and Kendrys Morales will be off the books and we have next to zero long term financial commitments. The only high priced arbitration guys like Stroman and Giles will presumably be traded. We're probably looking at a payroll well short of $100M. Now would be a time to add some long term pieces.

[Ex Player]

Mayza called up, Shafer sent back to Buffalo

[Orgfiller]

Mayza called up, Shafer sent back to Buffalo

 

He wasn't called up, he was activated from the IL.

[Ex Player]

He wasn't called up, he was activated from the IL

Okay, he's back on the roster though

[G-Snarls]

Vlad Jr now hitting .256/.326/.472 with 7 HR

wRC+ 112 (and that might be before his big game last night)

 

Not bad after the slow start