Blue Jays sign George Springer to a 6 year, $150M deal

[Jays24]

As usually blue jays are all talk. Jays finished second for him and second for this guy. Jays need

to do something big.

 

a. Needs to make sense.

b. Player has to want to sign here.

 

Did Springer sign somewhere? I'm confused here...

[Spanky99]

Todd?

 

Yes.

[Norman]

yes yes it is.

King whats up.

[Vdubfan]

[Spanky99]

 

[Krylian]

Did Springer sign somewhere? I'm confused here...

 

No. I'm just saying that you shouldn't force a big move. It needs to make sense for the organization (roster make-up, financially, etc) AND said player has to want to sign here for the amount that the team is willing to spend. It's all common sense stuff, but people seem to forget when they get frustrated.

[RobinThicc]

From Joel Sherman:

 

"In a market in which the teams and top players have not seen eye-to-eye on value amid a pandemic, the Mets have still not engaged seriously with Springer. That could change. Or they could emphasize defense and fine — but not great — offense by signing Bradley Jr."

 

https://nypost.com/2021/01/13/mlbs-dh-fight-holding-up-mets-offseason-sherman/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

[Laika]

So Springer's market right now is down to Toronto and maybe the Blue Jays. Hmmm.

[Carlos Danger]

Heard a rumor Boston could be a sleeper team for Springer.

[G-Snarls]

Will DH uncertainty impact Mets’ Springer pursuit?

 

Jan. 13: In an appearance on the “Big Time Baseball” podcast this week, Mets president Sandy Alderson told MLB Network insider Jon Heyman that the team is “still engaged, in a loose sense, with Springer.”

 

However, MLB Network insider Joel Sherman thinks the club is unlikely to sign the free-agent center fielder unless it finds out the National League will have the designated hitter in 2021.

 

With the universal DH in 2020, the Mets were able to start both Pete Alonso and Dominic Smith every day. Without it, Smith will need to play left field to keep both in the lineup. Signing Springer would bump Brandon Nimmo to left, removing the option of starting Smith there.

 

On the other hand, Alderson has noted that he isn’t comfortable with Smith playing left field regularly, so it's possible the Mets will have a logjam to deal with at first base regardless of what they do in center field. The DH could clear that up, but an agreement between MLB and the MLB Players Association is required to institute the rule in the Senior Circuit for 2021.

[Jimcanuck]

Will DH uncertainty impact Mets’ Springer pursuit?

 

Jan. 13: In an appearance on the “Big Time Baseball” podcast this week, Mets president Sandy Alderson told MLB Network insider Jon Heyman that the team is “still engaged, in a loose sense, with Springer.”

 

However, MLB Network insider Joel Sherman thinks the club is unlikely to sign the free-agent center fielder unless it finds out the National League will have the designated hitter in 2021.

 

With the universal DH in 2020, the Mets were able to start both Pete Alonso and Dominic Smith every day. Without it, Smith will need to play left field to keep both in the lineup. Signing Springer would bump Brandon Nimmo to left, removing the option of starting Smith there.

 

On the other hand, Alderson has noted that he isn’t comfortable with Smith playing left field regularly, so it's possible the Mets will have a logjam to deal with at first base regardless of what they do in center field. The DH could clear that up, but an agreement between MLB and the MLB Players Association is required to institute the rule in the Senior Circuit for 2021.

 

Great, so we have to wait until the DH matter is decided before Springer makes up his mind.

[EZe]

Reading the tea leaves from the Kim signing I’m thinking there have been some indications received that NL will have DH in 2021. That’s just playing connect the dots though.

[RobinThicc]

Reading the tea leaves from the Kim signing I’m thinking there have been some indications received that NL will have DH in 2021. That’s just playing connect the dots though.

Schwarber signing with the Nationals makes me feel that way too.

[RobinThicc]

Looks like Mets may be focused on Hand. Rosenthal reported it was done but he was wrong. Wheres theres smoke, theres fire though.

 

Things may be lining up for the Jays and Springer.

[Brownie19]

Mets have upper hand because Springer wants to play near Connecticut?

[Spanky99]

Mets have upper hand because Springer wants to play near Connecticut?

 

We can't read your mind, bro? Link!

[Jays24]

We can't read your mind, bro? Link!

 

Report: Mets could hold edge over Blue Jays for Springer

https://www.thescore.com/mlb/news/2093093

 

Sending this link just for you lol.

[connorp]

We can't read your mind, bro? Link!

 

Spanky that’s kinda been the common thinking from Day 1. Where ya been?

[Spanky99]

Spanky that’s kinda been the common thinking from Day 1. Where ya been?

 

I know of the theory, still sounds like Morosi click bait.

[Deadpool]

Report: Mets could hold edge over Blue Jays for Springer

https://www.thescore.com/mlb/news/2093093

 

Sending this link just for you lol.

 

How is this supposed to be news? OBVIOUSLY with equal offers, he'd be going to the Mets, but the point is that the Mets haven't even made an offer, and at this point, probably won't be able to afford to outbid the Jays.

[The Iceman]

Rosenthal:

Free agents George Springer and Michael Brantley are close friends. They are represented by the same agency, Excel Sports Management. Imagine if the Blue Jays signed both in the kind of package deal more common in the NBA than Major League Baseball. Springer and Brantley would not only elevate the Jays’ offense but also provide leadership for the team’s young position players, transforming the franchise.

 

I know what you’re thinking – the Jays will need to win the bidding for one coveted free agent before they can consider grabbing two. They remain 0-for-the-offseason, excluding their re-signing of left-hander Robbie Ray to a one-year, $8 million contract. And their list of misses – including Francisco Lindor in trade, and Kevin Gausman, Tomoyuki Sugano, Liam Hendriks, DJ LeMahieu and Corey Kluber on the open market – is rather daunting.

 

The process is perhaps more frustrating for Jays fans than team president Mark Shapiro and general manager Ross Atkins, who understand the nature of free agency and the challenge of luring players to Toronto. Shapiro and Atkins faced the same type of uphill battle, albeit with less money, when they were with Cleveland. But they also know something else – that the laws of supply and demand eventually should work to their advantage.

 

Only 11 of Keith Law’s top 40 free agents have reached agreement. Of the Big Four (Springer, LeMahieu, J.T. Realmuto and Trevor Bauer) LeMahieu is the only one who is off the board, though Realmuto seems likely to rejoin the Phillies. Perhaps most important, at a time of financial uncertainty in the sport, few teams appear as willing as the Jays to spend big.

 

The Mets, of course, are one of those teams, and they remain a possibility for Springer, who is a native of Connecticut. Some in the industry, however, are skeptical the Mets will want to pay Springer $25 million to $30 million a year when they are likely to sign Lindor to an extension with an even higher average annual value and also might want to extend outfielder Michael Conforto, who will play this season at 28 and is 3 1/2 years younger than Springer.

 

Of course, Conforto is no sure thing to stay in New York, not when he is represented by Scott Boras, who generally prefers his clients to establish their values on the open market. But rather than sign Springer, the Mets could focus entirely on run prevention, opting for, say, Jackie Bradley Jr. in center and additional pitching. Such an approach would make it easier for them to remain under the $210 million luxury-tax threshold.

 

According to Fangraphs, the Mets are within $27 million of the threshold, which many teams treat as a de facto salary cap. Springer alone might put them over, not that the Mets’ new owner, Steve Cohen, is necessarily worried about such things. Nor should he be, considering the thresholds likely will rise or disappear entirely in the next collective-bargaining agreement, which will start with the 2022 season.

 

Still, Cohen suggested the Mets would not go over the threshold this winter, and team president Sandy Alderson called it “a significant demarcation” after the Lindor trade. If the Mets want to stay under, they will need to leave themselves a cushion, creating flexibility for in-season moves.

 

One way would be to stretch Springer’s contract the way the Yankees stretched LeMahieu’s six-year, $90 million deal, making him a better fit for the luxury-tax payroll, which is calculated by AAV (Springer, 31, is only one year younger than LeMahieu, and likewise might prefer to focus more on the total guarantee). Another way would be to trade a salary or two. Reliever Jeurys Familia, who is in the last year of a contract that carries an $11 million salary and $10 million AAV, would be one possibility. Lefty Steven Matz, who will earn $5.2 million in his final season before free agency, would be another.

 

A lot of work, no? Only if Cohen is spooked by the threshold; otherwise, he can just spend away. For the Blue Jays, the process would be cleaner, easier. Their current luxury-tax payroll is more than $100 million below the threshold. And they already have demonstrated their interest in Springer, making him a five-year offer for more than $100 million, according to sources who confirmed a report by SNY’s Jim Duquette.

 

Springer, as written previously, is the best fit of any major free agent for the Jays, who want to upgrade in center field. Springer and Brantley? The combination likely would be difficult to pull off, but the Blue Jays have shown interest in both players. Shapiro and Atkins have a history with Brantley from their time together in Cleveland; Shapiro acquired him as the player to be named in the CC Sabathia trade with the Brewers in 2008.

 

Brantley, who will play this season at 34, is probably more of a DH than an outfielder at this stage of his career. Adding him along with Springer would leave fewer at-bats for the Jays’ current outfielders, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Randal Grichuk and Teoscar Hernández, as well as others the team might want to use as a DH, such as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. But the Jays were willing to displace shortstop Bo Bichette and shuffle other infielders for Lindor. Perhaps they could trade one of their younger outfielders for a starting pitcher. When teams are in position to land top players, they worry about the rest later.

 

Springer and Brantley bring postseason experience (yes, Springer was part of the Astros’ teams that stole signs illegally in 2017 and ’18; Brantley did not join the club until ’19). Both also know what it is like to be a part of clubs on the rise, and could share their experiences from Houston and Cleveland, respectively, with the Jays’ younger players. Another benefit: Springer and Brantley could ease the transition of joining a new team for each other, something that could prove particularly helpful to Springer, who has spent his entire career with the Astros and would face the pressure of performing as a $100 million player for the first time.

 

The idea of the Jays signing both players, or even Springer alone, might be a reach. The Jays, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, still do not know where they will start season. They are hopeful to be in Toronto, but likely will open at their spring-training home in Dunedin, Fl., rather than return to Buffalo if government restrictions prohibit them from playing at Rogers Centre.

 

Such a shift, though, might only last a few months, and should not be a deterrent to Springer, Brantley and other free agents seeking multi-year deals. Ray, whom the Jays acquired from the Diamondbacks last Aug. 31, grew so fond of the team’s culture in his one month with the club, he was willing to return for one year even without knowing which city the Jays initially would call home.

 

For Shapiro and Atkins, the only choice is to keep swinging, knowing the pool of free agents is so large, they eventually will make contact. If they miss on Springer, they can pivot to Bauer, who would fill just as important a need, considering the questions in the Jays’ rotation. Like Brantley, Bauer was with Shapiro and Atkins in Cleveland. And his market remains unclear.

 

Playing in a different country, the Jays rarely will be favorites in free agency. To land left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu last offseason, they had to add a fourth year and increase his guarantee to $80 million. A similar concession might be required to sign a Springer or Bauer, but if most teams remain unwilling to spend, the better free agents are going to run out of chairs. And even if the Jays strike out on their top targets, they will have plenty of other players to choose from.

[L54]

Michael Brantley is the perfect fit in Toronto. Would love to sign him and trade one of Lourdes/Teoscar

[Jays24]

Michael Brantley is the perfect fit in Toronto. Would love to sign him and trade one of Lourdes/Teoscar

 

As a Blue Jays fan, it's just hard to get your hopes up that we can get 1, let alone both of them to come here.

 

Sucks that we signed Grichuk to that unnecessary extension because he'd be the clear odd man out in this situation. Instead we'd have to trade one of Teo/Gurriel since we'd get the most back for them. That possibility was more fun to ponder when Lindor was still available.

[BTS]

Michael Brantley is the perfect fit in Toronto. Would love to sign him and trade one of Lourdes/Teoscar

 

Rosenthal reporting that the Jays are still interested in Brantley. Would be a great addition: great hitter who can make 3-4 competent starts in LF and DH a couple times a week.

[Abomination]

Rosenthal reporting that the Jays are still interested in Brantley. Would be a great addition: great hitter who can make 3-4 competent starts in LF and DH a couple times a week.

 

He's not really a need for our team, but the bat would be nice to have regardless. Trading both Teoscar and Grichuk and replacing them with Brantley and Springer would be pretty interesting. Teoscar probably returns a pretty nice SP. There seem to be a lot of teams looking to rearrange or shed payroll, so I feel like Grichuk is tradable depending on what we're willing to take on.

[THANOS]

He's not really a need for our team, but the bat would be nice to have regardless. Trading both Teoscar and Grichuk and replacing them with Brantley and Springer would be pretty interesting. Teoscar probably returns a pretty nice SP. There seem to be a lot of teams looking to rearrange or shed payroll, so I feel like Grichuk is tradable depending on what we're willing to take on.

 

How would you compare Teo's value to Gurriel's? Teo's 2nd half of 2019 & 2020 certainly raises his value exponentially, but Gurriel's potential and cheaper years of control (ie. no arbitration) makes him very valuable.

 

Could a package around Teo & Grichuk net us Castillo without tanking the farm? Something like below?

 

Hernandez, Grichuk (Jays eat 80% of salary), Groshans, Hiraldo, Kay & Pardinho

[Abomination]

How would you compare Teo's value to Gurriel's? Teo's 2nd half of 2019 & 2020 certainly raises his value exponentially, but Gurriel's potential and cheaper years of control (ie. no arbitration) makes him very valuable.

 

Could a package around Teo & Grichuk net us Castillo without tanking the farm? Something like below?

 

Hernandez, Grichuk (Jays eat 80% of salary), Groshans, Hiraldo, Kay & Pardinho

 

For me personally, I value Gurriel much, much higher than Teoscar. That may not be the consensus though. I kinda think I'd rather buy pitching than trade for it.

[THANOS]

For me personally, I value Gurriel much, much higher than Teoscar. That may not be the consensus though. I kinda think I'd rather buy pitching than trade for it.

 

The problem is there's not much high ceiling pitching left in FA in this OS. Only Paxton and Tanaka can be had fairly reasonably. All others are mid-rotation or back-end. And, of those, Paxton is very risky in both health and performance after 2020, and Tanaka has a injury pendulum swinging over his head waiting to drop and his best years may be behind him.

 

This leaves Bauer. Would this FA spend on Springer & Bauer in one offseason? They definitely could. Just not sure they would do that. Would be adding 55M+ AAV to the payroll on two players. They still likely want to spend on the IF and BP as well.

[L54]

Rosenthal reporting that the Jays are still interested in Brantley. Would be a great addition: great hitter who can make 3-4 competent starts in LF and DH a couple times a week.

 

Agreed. Tons of contact and OBP from the left side that compliments this lineup well

[L54]

As a Blue Jays fan, it's just hard to get your hopes up that we can get 1, let alone both of them to come here.

 

Sucks that we signed Grichuk to that unnecessary extension because he'd be the clear odd man out in this situation. Instead we'd have to trade one of Teo/Gurriel since we'd get the most back for them. That possibility was more fun to ponder when Lindor was still available.

 

I don’t wanna hear your doom and gloom save it for someone else