2021/2022 Free Agency Thread

[Grant77]

The Freeman talk has to mean that we are at least giving some consideration to Vlad at 3rd. I really didn't think they would do that even though he's in better shape.

[Ehjays]

Well, we really kind of knew that after going after Seager.

 

True, However we didnt know if they spoke to Seager before or after Gausman

[Eat My Shatkins]

Vlad's an athlete, now that he's in better shape he might be passable at 3B

 

Freeman at 1B

Vlad at 3B

Trade for Mahle

 

Could be beautiful

[Krylian]

Vlad's an athlete, now that he's in better shape he might be passable at 3B

 

Freeman at 1B

Vlad at 3B

Trade for Mahle

 

Could be beautiful

 

And if he's still terrible at 3B? Do you risk f***ing with his confidence?

[Eat My Shatkins]

And if he's still terrible at 3B? Do you risk f***ing with his confidence?

 

f***ed if I know lol

 

Smarter people than me get yo make that call. Maybe it's already been made.

[John_Havok]

And if he's still terrible at 3B? Do you risk f***ing with his confidence?

 

That's what ST is for. Get him back at the hot corner every day for a month and see if he shows well enough to make the switch.

 

It's not like 1b is so hard that being away from it for 1 month will cause a downward spiral of his confidence into the abyss of irrelevance.

[Krylian]

That's what ST is for. Get him back at the hot corner every day for a month and see if he shows well enough to make the switch.

 

It's not like 1b is so hard that being away from it for 1 month will cause a downward spiral of his confidence into the abyss of irrelevance.

 

If you wait until ST and it doesn't pan out, the FA market has already played out, unless you're ok with dumpster diving, and other teams now know you're desperate.

[Spanky99]

If you wait until ST and it doesn't pan out, the FA market has already played out, unless you're ok with dumpster diving, and other teams now know you're desperate.

 

I think they should do both, to be honest. Sure wouldn't hurt. Then we might have C/3B flexibilty with Moreno as well, that's if he kicks the door in, of course. I don't think it'll mess with his confidence at all, he's played the position his entire life.

[John_Havok]

I think they should do both, to be honest. Sure wouldn't hurt. Then we might have C/3B flexibilty with Moreno as well, that's if he kicks the door in, of course. I don't think it'll mess with his confidence at all, he's played the position his entire life.

 

Yeah they could do both, as long as the target is a multi-positional player so if Vlad takes it over, then you still have him to play elsewhere. That's why I like McNeil as a target. High floor, low risk, multi-position guy

[Spanky99]

Yeah they could do both, as long as the target is a multi-positional player so if Vlad takes it over, then you still have him to play elsewhere. That's why I like McNeil as a target. High floor, low risk, multi-position guy

 

When I first started reading this, I was like "you just mentioned McNeill yesterday", lol. Yeah, I agree. Who knows what they have up their sleeve. Go sign a guy like Pineda for a year after that, Freeman, McNeill, and Pineda and the off-season's pretty much done.

[glory]

Vlad is competent enough at 1B to be there long term so if the team is seriously interested in Freeman, then it would have to mean Vlad to 3B. Moving him to a DH role at age 23 when he's legitimately in the best shape of his life probably wouldn't go over well with him. His IG bio still has "3B" on it, so he probably still wants to be there (or he's too lazy to change his bio, I guess). I'll trust the front office on this one if it actually happens. Freeman is probably going to the first team to give him a 6 year deal, so curious to see if the Jays would actually do it given all their other FA contracts added recently.

[Spanky99]

Vlad is competent enough at 1B to be there long term so if the team is seriously interested in Freeman, then it would have to mean Vlad to 3B. Moving him to a DH role at age 23 when he's legitimately in the best shape of his life probably wouldn't go over well with him. His IG bio still has "3B" on it, so he probably still wants to be there (or he's too lazy to change his bio, I guess). I'll trust the front office on this one if it actually happens. Freeman is probably going to the first team to give him a 6 year deal, so curious to see if the Jays would actually do it given all their other FA contracts added recently.

 

Well, Freeman's been in the rumour mill since far back as November and Kenny Ken just mentioned it on Tim and Friends the other day and said Toronto is a real suitor. We'll see.

[max silver]

Vlad is competent enough at 1B to be there long term so if the team is seriously interested in Freeman, then it would have to mean Vlad to 3B. Moving him to a DH role at age 23 when he's legitimately in the best shape of his life probably wouldn't go over well with him. His IG bio still has "3B" on it, so he probably still wants to be there (or he's too lazy to change his bio, I guess). I'll trust the front office on this one if it actually happens. Freeman is probably going to the first team to give him a 6 year deal, so curious to see if the Jays would actually do it given all their other FA contracts added recently.

 

I think the new fitter Vlad has all the tools to be at least an average third baseman if not even better. He possesses good agility, a cannon for an arm and a good glove as well. I recall most of his issues previously were due to his lack of mobility which isn't surprising given the fact that he was basically obese.

[wamco]

I think the new fitter Vlad has all the tools to be at least an average third baseman if not even better. He possesses good agility, a cannon for an arm and a good glove as well. I recall most of his issues previously were due to his lack of mobility which isn't surprising given the fact that he was basically obese.

 

A few months ago, they said vlad won’t be tried at 3b this year

[max silver]

A few months ago, they said vlad won’t be tried at 3b this year

 

I recall that as well, I just don't understand closing the door on Vlad at third base given how hard he's worked to improve his fitness and conditioning the last few offseasons. Of everybody currently on the roster aside from Espinal and maybe Kevin Smith I think he has the best skillset to effectively man the position. It would open so many other ways to improve the club overall such as allowing the club to bring in a different first baseman.

[glory]

I think the new fitter Vlad has all the tools to be at least an average third baseman if not even better. He possesses good agility, a cannon for an arm and a good glove as well. I recall most of his issues previously were due to his lack of mobility which isn't surprising given the fact that he was basically obese.

 

If slim Vlad is an average 3B, then moving him back there is a no brainer. My guess is he'd still be below average there, but no where near as bad as pre-2020, so might still be worth it if the upgrade at 1B (Freeman or otherwise) was big enough to justify it.

[Grant77]

If slim Vlad is an average 3B, then moving him back there is a no brainer. My guess is he'd still be below average there, but no where near as bad as pre-2020, so might still be worth it if the upgrade at 1B (Freeman or otherwise) was big enough to justify it.

 

It's awfully risky to sign Freeman and commit to Vlad at for what I would say is a minimum of 3-4 seasons at third base, without seeing how good his defense is.

[Spanky99]

A few months ago, they said vlad won’t be tried at 3b this year

 

They did, but if Freeman's a target, things change. He can play 3rd/1st and DH.

[THANOS]

You don't even need to commit to Vlad full-time at 3B.

 

Just sign Freeman, and try Vlad there until one of Moreno/Smith/Groshans/Martinez pushes him off.

 

Then you can deal with the 1B/DH rotation with Freeman and him.

[glory]

It's awfully risky to sign Freeman and commit to Vlad at for what I would say is a minimum of 3-4 seasons at third base, without seeing how good his defense is.

 

Agreed, I'd just keep Vlad at 1B and get a short term 3B to bridge to Martinez/Groshans/whoever (barring a trade for someone like Ramirez), but the Jays seem legitimately interested in Freeman, so it's possible they have already considered the option of moving Vlad back there. If the other option is to sign Freeman and put Vlad at DH (or vice versa), then that seems like a bad use of resources/money, but I trust the front office in their decision making.

[Spanky99]

Agreed, I'd just keep Vlad at 1B and get a short term 3B to bridge to Martinez/Groshans/whoever (barring a trade for someone like Ramirez), but the Jays seem legitimately interested in Freeman, so it's possible they have already considered the option of moving Vlad back there. If the other option is to sign Freeman and put Vlad at DH (or vice versa), then that seems like a bad use of resources/money, but I trust the front office in their decision making.

 

Agreed.

[connorp]

Vlad can’t even be as close to bad at 3b as Biggio was. Having a big butt isn’t a disqualifier. If anything, it centers his gravity maybe? Plus he may still want to play there. I could dig it if FF was coming

[connorp]

Agreed.

 

Well, if you agree that settles it

[Spanky99]

Well, if you agree that settles it

 

Trip. In. Traffic.

[Cbert]

You don't even need to commit to Vlad full-time at 3B.

 

Just sign Freeman, and try Vlad there until one of Moreno/Smith/Groshans/Martinez pushes him off.

 

Then you can deal with the 1B/DH rotation with Freeman and him.

 

I think the odd man out in a Freeman signing could be Kirk. I think Vlad could play some 3B, but it could be a merry go round of 1B/3B/DH for him, 1B/DH for Freeman and CF/DH for Springer if he finds himself dealing with injuries again. Kirk might be a more valuable trade piece rather than a backup C for the year with some games at DH. Maybe use him with Groshans in a package for a SP?

[L54]

If Vlad sucks at third you have Freeman/Vlad locked into 1B/DH for the life of Freeman’s contract which I think sounds terrible

[Jimcanuck]

If Jays are going to give Vlad 3B reps, I'd rather the Jays try and sign Conforto as a better team fit than Freeman. Gurriel played some 1B reasonably well last season, so he is a part time option there.

 

A Conforto signing means Grichuk is primarily used as a anchor for the bench.

[THANOS]

I think the odd man out in a Freeman signing could be Kirk. I think Vlad could play some 3B, but it could be a merry go round of 1B/3B/DH for him, 1B/DH for Freeman and CF/DH for Springer if he finds himself dealing with injuries again. Kirk might be a more valuable trade piece rather than a backup C for the year with some games at DH. Maybe use him with Groshans in a package for a SP?

 

I agree. Kirk is a valuable trade piece, especially of we sign Freeman. With Moreno coming up, who can play 3B and C, we're really trying to be the Raptors of the MLB with the lineup versatility.

[John_Havok]

I agree. Kirk is a valuable trade piece, especially of we sign Freeman. With Moreno coming up, who can play 3B and C, we're really trying to be the Raptors of the MLB with the lineup versatility.

 

Are there any real examples though of someone playing C and a position other than 1b though? Like , I know it would be great but when is the last time it actually happened?

[Cbert]

Are there any real examples though of someone playing C and a position other than 1b though? Like , I know it would be great but when is the last time it actually happened?

 

I’m not sure the Jays would necessarily split him at 3B and C. I think they’re watching Jansen and how he does will dictate if Moreno is a full-time catcher who can cover 3B in a pinch or a full-time 3B who can cover C when needed. Either way it makes Kirk

even more expendable when you factor in Moreno’s better versatility.