Blue Jays Acquire Whit Merrifield

[Terminator]

Merrifield's stats are ugly but his peripherals aren't nearly as bad. The Royals are also a s*** org and the Jays a good one so maybe they can fix something to get some more juice out of him.

 

Castillo looked good so far but he has no track record and doesn't project that well. He's very hard to stat scout which is what most of us are doing. My guess is he's a guy classically overrated by fans compared to front offices simply because we don't have as much data.

[Spanky99]

Tabby says he’s a professional hitter who knows to go first to third.

 

lol

[jaysblue]

Merrifield 3 years ago, this is great. Merrifield today...this is bad.

 

Yeah definitely a buy low and you have to hope maybe Merrifield in a Jays lineup and hitting at Rogers Centre, he can return close to his glory days. Last season he was still solid, posting a WAR above 3.

[jaysblue]

I don't like Mitch White but I hope he ranks ahead of Kikuchi on the depth chart now.

 

Mitch White is probably better than Kikuchi haha.

[ValiantJaysFan]

Yeah definitely a buy low and you have to hope maybe Merrifield in a Jays lineup and hitting at Rogers Centre, he can return close to his glory days. Last season he was still solid, posting a WAR above 3.

 

Let's hope so. He has to get vaccinated first. Not sure the rules but that means first shot, then what, 2 weeks minimum, then another shot, then 2 weeks before he can even get into Canada?

[Muck Bartinez]

Tabby says he’s a professional hitter who knows to go first to third.

 

I overheard Buck and Tabby talking earlier. Some snippets:

 

"Plays the game the right way"

 

"... a real scrappy hitter..."

 

"Checks all the boxes."

 

"Not afraid to get down and dirty."

 

***

 

Translation: Is white, has haircut.

[ValiantJaysFan]

Blue Jays' GM Ross Atkins was thrilled with the deadline-beating deal.

 

"He (Merrifield) is such a good player. He is very accomplished with incredible experiences, the versatility, the contact ability, the speed, playing multiple positions, incredible baserunner, feel very good about him at so many different positions and that versatility will help us down the stretch … we're very well covered now," Atkins told a Zoom call minutes before the Jays opened their nine-game road trip in Florida.

 

The GM didn't bite when asked about his plans for get vaccinated or if he'd be pitching at the Rogers Centre any time soon.

 

"He was acquired right at the deadline, so this is a very fresh acquisition and so because of that I'm not going to comment more on that process for him, and let him work through that with his family. I've basically said hello to him and that's it," added Atkins.

[The Cats Ass]

Merrifield was extremely cold to begin the year. Since mid-May he’s been his regular 3WAR self.

 

He’s been worth 3 WAR the previous 5 seasons. (Extrapolating the short season). He’ll be able to help this team. Especially with his versatility.

[jaysblue]

Let's hope so. He has to get vaccinated first. Not sure the rules but that means first shot, then what, 2 weeks minimum, then another shot, then 2 weeks before he can even get into Canada?

 

He can get J&J which is just one shot, but yeah waiting the whole 14 days thing is stupid. Blue Jays are home next on August 12th anyways, so Merrifield will be able to join the team on their road trip!

[The Cats Ass]

He can get J&J which is just one shot, but yeah waiting the whole 14 days thing is stupid. Blue Jays are home next on August 12th anyways, so Merrifield will be able to join the team on their road trip!

 

I think he’ll just miss 5 games? Jays are on a road trip at the moment.

[Angrioter]

Merrifield is bad news for Biggio.

 

Next season Merry could be our 2B

[Ehjays]

Blue Jays' GM Ross Atkins was thrilled with the deadline-beating deal.

 

"He (Merrifield) is such a good player. He is very accomplished with incredible experiences, the versatility, the contact ability, the speed, playing multiple positions, incredible baserunner, feel very good about him at so many different positions and that versatility will help us down the stretch … we're very well covered now," Atkins told a Zoom call minutes before the Jays opened their nine-game road trip in Florida.

 

The GM didn't bite when asked about his plans for get vaccinated or if he'd be pitching at the Rogers Centre any time soon.

 

"He was acquired right at the deadline, so this is a very fresh acquisition and so because of that I'm not going to comment more on that process for him, and let him work through that with his family. I've basically said hello to him and that's it," added Atkins.

 

 

I know Whit is a great player but I didnt know he pitched.

[ValiantJaysFan]

I know Whit is a great player but I didnt know he pitched.

 

Yeah gotta love TSN

[Krylian]

Tabby says he’s a professional hitter who knows to go first to third.

 

Well that's good enough for me.

[Krylian]

I overheard Buck and Tabby talking earlier. Some snippets:

 

"Plays the game the right way"

 

"... a real scrappy hitter..."

 

"Checks all the boxes."

 

"Not afraid to get down and dirty."

 

***

 

Translation: Is white, has haircut.

 

White's always play the game the white way.

[Jays24]

So will Zimmer be DFA'd after this move even though he still serves as our best defensive CF and faster base runner? I feel he has more use than Collins on the team currently.

[Jays24]

Also funny that we got another right hander to take at bats away from our only 2 lefties (Tapia/Biggio) lol.

[Brownie19]

Max was really nice SP depth to have as your #7 guy +/- and could have played that role for the next couple of years. Ideally would have moved someone further away in A ball - but it is what it is. Merrifield is a solid, versatile guy and gives us much needed insurance in CF not only for this year, but also in 2023 (which is something I really like about this move). Solid move.

[Eat My Shatkins]

I liked Castillo. Pretty much our only AAA depth starter this year that is actually good enough to pitch in the MLB and get guys out.

 

But, they brought in White for that role and he's better, plus over the next calendar year we should see some higher upside starters reach AAA and push for MLB roles.

[jaysguy44]

So will Zimmer be DFA'd after this move even though he still serves as our best defensive CF and faster base runner? I feel he has more use than Collins on the team currently.

Zimmer faster than Merrifield? Serious question

[Ehjays]

Zimmer faster than Merrifield? Serious question

 

I think Zimmer might be faster but he is not a better baserunner than Whit

[Dagagad]

This to me more than the frasso deal is one where we simply traded guys who we don’t really rate.

 

If they thought Castillo was good, he’d still be here because we absolutely have a need for depth starting pitchers. They didn’t even protect Taylor in the last rule 5.

 

It just seemed like we dealt what we considered meh pieces here.

[Jays24]

I think Zimmer might be faster but he is not a better baserunner than Whit

 

Probably because Zimmer has very little experience with base running because you know... you actually have to hit to get there lol

[Stangstag]

Probably because Zimmer has very little experience with base running because you know... you actually have to hit to get there lol

 

Lol gottem

[jaysblue]

I think he’ll just miss 5 games? Jays are on a road trip at the moment.

 

With the 14-day rule in effect, then yes he would miss a couple of games once the Jays come back to Toronto.

[Spanky99]

So is he vaccinated now, or just gonna play road games?

 

He's been on record as saying if I get traded to a contender, I'll get vaccinated. I expect he's getting the J&J tomorrow, bro.

[Dr. Dinger]

He's been on record as saying if I get traded to a contender, I'll get vaccinated. I expect he's getting the J&J tomorrow, bro.

 

Glad we traded for a guy with no real conviction who just kinda didn’t feel like doing his whole job.

[204Jays]

Glad we traded for a guy with no real conviction who just kinda didn’t feel like doing his whole job.

 

lol wut?

[Spanky99]

Glad we traded for a guy with no real conviction who just kinda didn’t feel like doing his whole job.

 

K.....

[max silver]

K.....

 

I guess part of a major league baseball players job entails receiving an optional vaccine?