Blue Jays acquire Daulton Varsho for Moreno and Gurriel

[Jimcanuck]

Would the Jays have room for another outfielder?

 

They have two bench spots available. If they don't sign a RHH OF, the spots will likely go to two of Barger, Lopez, Lukes, and Horwitz. Barger, Lukes, and Horwitz all bat left.

 

Funny enough, the Jays have a need for a RHH on the bench.

[The_DH]

Given Jansen's injury record, we will need a backup catcher (NO, VARSHO WILL NOT START AT CATCHER) and somebody to DH. That player could be an outfielder as well.

[Terminator]

Against LHP, probably. Merrifield's splits have been pretty even in his career. Pollock, McCutchen, and Grossman's splits for example are far more significant towards hitting LHP. Of those three I'd prefer whichever one comes cheaper between Pollock/McCutchen since they are more likely to not be helpless against RHP, but whether either of them would want to be a part-time/platoon bat is the question. Grossman likely has no choice.

 

Yeah I think we've got the right 40 man situation to add a vet, but I don't think we are that desperate. I'd wait until ST starts and see who is desperate for a guaranteed big league job. Either that, or wait and see if someone finds themselves in a 40 man roster crunch and perhaps we could make a trade for a AAA starting pitcher on the cusp of the big leagues.

 

I think we might have enough roster space to do both.

[Jimcanuck]

Given Jansen's injury record, we will need a backup catcher (NO, VARSHO WILL NOT START AT CATCHER) and somebody to DH. That player could be an outfielder as well.

 

No we don't need a backup catcher, unless you mean someone in Buffalo

[The_DH]

No we don't need a backup catcher, unless you mean someone in Buffalo

 

Exactly, somebody for Buffalo and DL call ups. Nothing more.

[Deadpool]

Given Jansen's injury record, we will need a backup catcher (NO, VARSHO WILL NOT START AT CATCHER) and somebody to DH. That player could be an outfielder as well.

 

Yeah, he will. Probably not a lot, but he certainly will get some starts behind the plate.

 

Almost every team in baseball has a craptacular backup catcher, we've got 3 dudes in AAA who could fill that role should the need arise, it's super, super low on the list of things we need.

[The_DH]

a backup catcher needs to play about 60 games or so. I don't imagine Varsho getting more than 3 games behind the plate. Maybe we should have a bet here.

[wilko]

a backup catcher needs to play about 60 games or so. I don't imagine Varsho getting more than 3 games behind the plate. Maybe we should have a bet here.

 

I think he caught 31 last year. Would be interesting to see how many he does with the Jays.

[Terminator]

Yeah, he will. Probably not a lot, but he certainly will get some starts behind the plate.

 

Almost every team in baseball has a craptacular backup catcher, we've got 3 dudes in AAA who could fill that role should the need arise, it's super, super low on the list of things we need.

 

Yeah I would use Varsho to soak up the odd games that Collins and Hineyman started last year. Every year most teams throw away countless ABs to garbage Catchers but the Jays shouldn’t have to do that very much this year.

[Jimcanuck]

a backup catcher needs to play about 60 games or so. I don't imagine Varsho getting more than 3 games behind the plate. Maybe we should have a bet here.

 

Nah, I see Kirk with 60 games (his 2/3x a week) behind the plate, Jansen with 70 games, Varsho 10, and two or three pieces of s*** doing the remaining ~20.

[jaysblue]

No need to roster another backup catcher with Jansen, Kirk and Varsho healthy and on the roster. Have guys in Buffalo already and can always sign someone to a MiLB deal to play in Buffalo.

 

Dom Nunez, Andrew Susac, Adam Moore are some guys who likely could sign MiLB deals.

[Stangstag]

Given Jansen's injury record, we will need a backup catcher (NO, VARSHO WILL NOT START AT CATCHER) and somebody to DH. That player could be an outfielder as well.

 

Ban

[mellowgold]

Nah, I see Kirk with 60 games (his 2/3x a week) behind the plate, Jansen with 70 games, Varsho 10, and two or three pieces of s*** doing the remaining ~20.

 

I really hope we get more than 70 games out of Jansen this year. If he can give us closer to 90 we're in great shape. 60 for Kirk sounds about right and hopefully Varsho can fill in the remainder. No AAAA shitbags this year please.

[mellowgold]

Otto Lopez might be another option. He's already on the 40 man roster, can play multiple positions, and has hit LHP in the minors (.381/.452/.543 in 125 PA in 2022 and .344/.429/.458 in 112 PA in 2021). Though it looks like he has 1 option remaining so he'll probably start in the minors.

 

Pollack, McCutchen, Grossman, Pham (unlikely due to personality), and Mancini are all out there in case the Jays want a vetrin RHB who can platoon with Kiermaier. I vaguely remember a report about the Jays trying to trade for Grossman at the trade deadline in 2021. Wouldn't surprise me if he's the one they end up getting, but a lot will depend on how much they want to allocate to that position. I can't imagine Grossman would get much coming off the season he had, but who knows in this market.

 

I wouldn't mind McCutchen. Still a league average bat and put up a wRC+ of 169 vs LHP as recently as 2021. I would have to assume he comes with a hefty bag of vetrin presents as well.

[Terminator]

I really hope we get more than 70 games out of Jansen this year. If he can give us closer to 90 we're in great shape. 60 for Kirk sounds about right and hopefully Varsho can fill in the remainder. No AAAA shitbags this year please.

 

Kirk is the superior framer and doesn’t have injury concerns. He should catch the majority of games when both are healthy.

[Stangstag]

Kirk is the superior framer and doesn’t have injury concerns. He should catch the majority of games when both are healthy.

 

Bait

[Jonn]

Who do you think will be the starting 2B? Depending on that.. they could have Biggio/Merrifield as an option as 4th OF.

 

It appears Merrifield will get the lion share of Second Base with Espinal getting starts vs LHP. Frees up Merrifield for the Outfield. They will also want to move Biggio around 2B and the corner OF spots. I don’t think Merrifield will play every single day however and he’s going to have to hit to play because there’s a lot of competition for that spot.

[jaysblue]

I wouldn't mind McCutchen. Still a league average bat and put up a wRC+ of 169 vs LHP as recently as 2021. I would have to assume he comes with a hefty bag of vetrin presents as well.

 

If he accepts his role as a bench/platoon bat, definitely would welcome him here.

[jaysblue]

It appears Merrifield will get the lion share of Second Base with Espinal getting starts vs LHP. Frees up Merrifield for the Outfield. They will also want to move Biggio around 2B and the corner OF spots. I don’t think Merrifield will play every single day however and he’s going to have to hit to play because there’s a lot of competition for that spot.

 

I think Biggio/Merrifield and Espinal will get a lot of ABs during the course of the season because of their positional flexibility. Definitely will be nice to move them all around the lineup and in the field. Gives Schneider more options.

 

Would be nice to see Biggio turn into a Ben Zobrist type player.

[Carlos Danger]

Would be nice to see Biggio turn into a Ben Zobrist type player.

 

That was my expectation when he was still in AA.. I really hope that is the case...

[justafan]

You’re assuming he knows what wRC+ even means

 

Thats an undeserved dis!

[Laika]

Biggio will never be Ben Zobrist because he is worse in many ways, haha.

 

But he's a very useful part time player and a great backup.

 

It's like having a better version of Dustin Ackley (more walks) on the bench, but with zero hype.

[L54]

It appears Merrifield will get the lion share of Second Base with Espinal getting starts vs LHP. Frees up Merrifield for the Outfield. They will also want to move Biggio around 2B and the corner OF spots. I don’t think Merrifield will play every single day however and he’s going to have to hit to play because there’s a lot of competition for that spot.

 

Merrifield was good in Toronto once he came, hopefully playing for a contender instead of KC can help him maintain that level of play. .281/.323/.446 for a wRC+ of 119 in 130 PA’s. Pretty good guy to have in the bottom third of your lineup.

[Terminator]

Bait

 

No the bait is everyone assuming Jansen is going to catch more only because Kirk is fat.

[M.E.]

That was my expectation when he was still in AA.. I really hope that is the case...

 

I expect the change in the shift rules to have a positive impact on him maybe more so than anyone on the Jays roster.

[Krylian]

No the bait is everyone assuming Jansen is going to catch more only because Kirk is fat.

 

He'll catch more because he's better. The reason he's better might be because he's not fat though.

[Brownie19]

I wouldn't mind McCutchen. Still a league average bat and put up a wRC+ of 169 vs LHP as recently as 2021. I would have to assume he comes with a hefty bag of vetrin presents as well.

 

Agreed. I think this team has a ton of versatility now and most are just really solid bench players / fringe starters. I wonder if we'll target certain skills with any remaining bench spots. Like a LHP or RHP masher, or a speedster. Someone who can really make an impact. AJ Pollock is another fit I think.

[jaysblue]

Agreed. I think this team has a ton of versatility now and most are just really solid bench players / fringe starters. I wonder if we'll target certain skills with any remaining bench spots. Like a LHP or RHP masher, or a speedster. Someone who can really make an impact. AJ Pollock is another fit I think.

 

McCutchen or Pollock would be really solid bench players who can mash LHP and provide some value on the basepaths.

 

Some guys maybe on MiLB deals could be interesting as well like Chad Pinder.

 

Adam Engel is interesting but think he lands a MLB contract somewhere and not sure he would sign to be a bench bat.

[Spanky99]

Merrifield was good in Toronto once he came, hopefully playing for a contender instead of KC can help him maintain that level of play. .281/.323/.446 for a wRC+ of 119 in 130 PA’s. Pretty good guy to have in the bottom third of your lineup.

 

Yeah man, he has the talent to, and the shift rules should help a bit, not as much as LHB's will obviously.

[gruber92]

He'll catch more because he's better. The reason he's better might be because he's not fat though.

 

Not if Jansen is going to continue spiking low strikes. Given the fact that our three best SP utilize the bottom of the strike zone with great sink, i think we see the superior low ball framer in Kirk catching more than you think.