General Blue Jays Discussion Thread (2023)

[glory]

If they want the last bench spot to be Bradley Zimmer 2.0 (meaning never touches a bat but pinch runs and defensive replacement), then Bernard > Lukes.

 

If they want the last bench spot to actually contribute, then Lopez > Lukes.

 

Maybe I'm being harsh on Lukes, but the Jays have kept him on the 40 man roster all winter and spring, and for the life of me I don't understand why. He seems completely fungible as a talent. As mentioned he would have made way more sense on the 2022 Jays with their s*** outfield defense and lack of LH bats, but I just don't see what he brings to the table for the 2023 team.

[Spanky99]

Oh yeah he's on a minor league deal so I guess a DFA wouldnt come into play.

 

He's probably the kind of guy though that could request his release and get it if another team came calling and had a spot for him on their 26 man roster. Or maybe a trade for cash or something other minor leaguer. He's not worth much in trade.

 

Edit... no I was right he is on the 40 man. They cant send him to the minors without exposing him to being claimed, so... he could be DFA'd

 

WAT??? Just cause he's on the 40 man, dude, they can option him?

[Jonn]

Otto Lopez, Addison Barger, and Spencer Horwitz should all be in AAA playing everyday. They still have a chance to be something more decent than an end of the bench player. And would get more value currently getting that playing time.

 

Journeymen like Lukes or Bernard are perfect for 26th man. You pick whatever one provides you with something useful whether it’s Defense, Speed, or a chance not to be useless with the bat. Lukes is already on the 40-man so he seems like the most logical choice. Although he could just be swapped out for Bernard. Probably lose Lukes on waivers which hurts you depth wise a little bit. You bring Lukes to start you could probably keep Bernard for AAA. Unless he gets a last minute shot to catch on elsewhere.

[Spanky99]

Otto Lopez, Addison Barger, and Spencer Horwitz should all be in AAA playing everyday. They still have a chance to be something more decent than an end of the bench player. And would get more value currently getting that playing time.

 

Journeymen like Lukes or Bernard are perfect for 26th man. You pick whatever one provides you with something useful whether it’s Defense, Speed, or a chance not to be useless with the bat. Lukes is already on the 40-man so he seems like the most logical choice. Although he could just be swapped out for Bernard. Probably lose Lukes on waivers which hurts you depth wise a little bit. You bring Lukes to start you could probably keep Bernard for AAA. Unless he gets a last minute shot to catch on elsewhere.

 

Why are we Designating Lukes For Assignment, are you guys f***ed?

[Grant77]

Why are we Designating Lukes For Assignment, are you guys f***ed?

 

I never said he should be DFA'd. I questioned how well he fits on the 26 man roster when everyone is healthy.

[Spanky99]

I never said he should be DFA'd. I questioned how well he fits on the 26 man roster when everyone is healthy.

 

Are you not following, I didn't say anything about you, both Johnn's are dumn.

[gruber92]

The 26th man has to be able to play the infield, and that's Lopez.

Lukes is outfield injury insurance and I'm sure we'll see him up here at various points in the season.

[John_Havok]

WAT??? Just cause he's on the 40 man, dude, they can option him?

 

Ffs, I could have sworn last time I looked they had him at having no options left. He still has all 3 minor league options.

 

Rough day, I just wrote my organic chemistry midterm and had all those nucleophilic substitutions, molecule chirality and radical reactions stuck rattling around in my brain.

 

Don’t mind me, nothing to see here

 

 

I’m still on team Lopez

Edited March 22, 2023 by John_Havok

[Deadpool]

The 26th man has to be able to play the infield, and that's Lopez.

Lukes is outfield injury insurance and I'm sure we'll see him up here at various points in the season.

 

We have Chapman, Bichette, Vladdy, Belt, Espinal, Biggio, and Merrifield who can play the IF.

We have Varsho, KK, Springer, Biggio and Merrifield who can play the OF.

 

While I agree that Otto should be the guy, we don't strictly need IF or OF coverage, we've got plenty of both even before considering who the 26th man is.

[Spanky99]

Ahhh... the last week of ST, when we get full lineups pretty much from here on out...

 

[Spanky99]

We have Chapman, Bichette, Vladdy, Belt, Espinal, Biggio, and Merrifield who can play the IF.

We have Varsho, KK, Springer, Biggio and Merrifield who can play the OF.

 

While I agree that Otto should be the guy, we don't strictly need IF or OF coverage, we've got plenty of both even before considering who the 26th man is.

 

Yeah, I don't mind who we go with in that 26th man spot, depends on what they feel's the best fit going into the season. I trust them.

[Laika]

Ahhh... the last week of ST, when we get full lineups pretty much from here on out...

 

 

do or die for Berrios today

 

if he sucks, he could lose his rotation spot to one of the kids like Zack Thomas or Thompson Hatch

[Deadpool]

Ahhh... the last week of ST, when we get full lineups pretty much from here on out...

 

 

Not only could this be the opening day line-up, but this could be the lineup for Game 7 of the World Series.

 

Strong team this year.

[The_DH]

do or die for Berrios today

 

if he sucks, he could lose his rotation spot to one of the kids like Zack Thomas or Thompson Hatch

 

If he sucks and needs re-working then I bet we sign Chris Archer and try to make it work with everyone.

[Laika]

If he sucks and needs re-working then I bet we sign Chris Archer and try to make it work with everyone.

 

I've heard no rumours around Chris Archer all offseason. I wonder what is going on with him.

 

He looked pretty awful last year. They only asked him to pitch twice through the order most nights and he still was not effective.

[Spanky99]

do or die for Berrios today

 

if he sucks, he could lose his rotation spot to one of the kids like Zack Thomas or Thompson Hatch

 

lol

[Jimcanuck]

Archer? wtf

 

Dylan Bundy is a free agent. Bundy >> Archer.

 

edit - uhhh.... I just looked up Bundy's numbers, the above is dumn.

[Dick_Pole]

Otto Lopez, Addison Barger, and Spencer Horwitz should all be in AAA playing everyday. They still have a chance to be something more decent than an end of the bench player. And would get more value currently getting that playing time.

 

Journeymen like Lukes or Bernard are perfect for 26th man. You pick whatever one provides you with something useful whether itÂ’s Defense, Speed, or a chance not to be useless with the bat. Lukes is already on the 40-man so he seems like the most logical choice. Although he could just be swapped out for Bernard. Probably lose Lukes on waivers which hurts you depth wise a little bit. You bring Lukes to start you could probably keep Bernard for AAA. Unless he gets a last minute shot to catch on elsewhere.

 

The Jays are in win now mode. If the team deems Otto Lopez to be the guy who will contribute the most, then him as a bench player trumps whatever development he may have playing every day in the minors. I could care less about Otto Lopez as a prospect.

 

That being said, I would have preferred Bernard, just from a fan perspective. I like 1.5 tool speed guys tearing up the basepaths like Rajai Davis. And I think with some of the lead legs on this team, he could provide the most value.

[Dick_Pole]

Not only could this be the opening day line-up, but this could be the lineup for Game 7 of the World Series.

 

Strong team this year.

 

You want Berrios pitching game 7?

[Jonn]

Are you not following, I didn't say anything about you, both Johnn's are dumn.

 

Hey Spanky so I see you are confused a little bit because reading is hard. In my post I stated it made more sense to keep Lukes because he was already on the 40-man opposed to bringing Bernard as the 26th man because he would need to be added.

 

The Blue Jays have only so much many slots on the 40-man so keeping both doesn’t make any sense. I didn’t suggest we should DFA Lukes but it could happen to get someone else on the roster at some point. For what its worth through he f***ing sucks and brings virtually nothing to the table. But he’s fine at the end of your bench or a guy that goes up and down from AAA. That is the extent of his value.

[Jonn]

The Jays are in win now mode. If the team deems Otto Lopez to be the guy who will contribute the most, then him as a bench player trumps whatever development he may have playing every day in the minors. I could care less about Otto Lopez as a prospect.

 

That being said, I would have preferred Bernard, just from a fan perspective. I like 1.5 tool speed guys tearing up the basepaths like Rajai Davis. And I think with some of the lead legs on this team, he could provide the most value.

 

Its March we really don’t need Otto Lopez getting 4 bats a week for the next 2 months. He will work his way into the mix at some point. I would rather it happens with 180-200 AAA at-bats under his belt. Opposed to the 12-18 he would get here. With Merrifield, Biggio, and Espinal all being rostered he just has no playing time. I don’t even think all 3 of those guys should be here. And hopefully with the depth Espinal doesn’t have a single AB against a RHP this Season.

[John_Havok]

Ahhh... the last week of ST, when we get full lineups pretty much from here on out...

 

 

This is the lineup I think we see for the majority against RHP. Pretty much bang on what I expected, except that Merrifield and Biggio won't likely be a super strict platoon at 2b

[Dick_Pole]

Its March we really don’t need Otto Lopez getting 4 bats a week for the next 2 months. He will work his way into the mix at some point. I would rather it happens with 180-200 AAA at-bats under his belt. Opposed to the 12-18 he would get here. With Merrifield, Biggio, and Espinal all being rostered he just has no playing time. I don’t even think all 3 of those guys should be here. And hopefully with the depth Espinal doesn’t have a single AB against a RHP this Season.

 

I see what you're saying. You're hoping/assuming that Lopez with some time in the minors for the first few months will contribute more to the team at the MLB level in the latter half of the year than he would riding the bench all year at the MLB level. Fair point.

[John_Havok]

do or die for Berrios today

 

if he sucks, he could lose his rotation spot to one of the kids like Zack Thomas or Thompson Hatch

 

Do we have anyone here dumb enough to fall for that?

[Laika]

I'm just so annoyed that the organization appears to have done NOTHING to fix Berrios in the offseason.

 

It seems like they just want to mark 2022 up to bad luck and hope the same approach has better results in 2023.

 

Why isn't he here in spring with a new pitch after spending a month in the lab over the winter? Blargh.

[Spanky99]

Hey Spanky so I see you are confused a little bit because reading is hard. In my post I stated it made more sense to keep Lukes because he was already on the 40-man opposed to bringing Bernard as the 26th man because he would need to be added.

 

The Blue Jays have only so much many slots on the 40-man so keeping both doesn’t make any sense. I didn’t suggest we should DFA Lukes but it could happen to get someone else on the roster at some point. For what its worth through he f***ing sucks and brings virtually nothing to the table. But he’s fine at the end of your bench or a guy that goes up and down from AAA. That is the extent of his value.

 

No you're confused, you mentioned the swap of Bernard and losing Lukes on waivers, why would they throw away a perfectly cromulent OF depth player with 3 options, when we have 38 players on the 40 going into the season? It would be senseless, you kick a s***** arm from the 40 if you go to the extreme your suggesting. You don't seem to understand player value mate, Lukes might suck, but he has plenty of value.

[Spanky99]

I'm just so annoyed that the organization appears to have done NOTHING to fix Berrios in the offseason.

 

It seems like they just want to mark 2022 up to bad luck and hope the same approach has better results in 2023.

 

Why isn't he here in spring with a new pitch after spending a month in the lab over the winter? Blargh.

 

I watched like a half hour episode earlier in the spring on the changes they made since last fall, how much have you radio scouted him this season?

[Laika]

I watched like a half hour episode earlier in the spring on the changes they made since last fall, how much have you radio scouted him this season?

 

I watched one or two of his outings

 

pitches looked the same

 

he got nuked in the WBC

 

what changes are they saying he made?

[Spanky99]

I watched one or two of his outings

 

pitches looked the same

 

he got nuked in the WBC

 

what changes are they saying he made?

 

He went away from his release point and extension off the mound mostly, IIRC, minor tweaks that need to be repetitive/consistent and tunnel.

[Jonn]

I see what you're saying. You're hoping/assuming that Lopez with some time in the minors for the first few months will contribute more to the team at the MLB level in the latter half of the year than he would riding the bench all year at the MLB level. Fair point.

 

Correct.

 

No you're confused, you mentioned the swap of Bernard and losing Lukes on waivers, why would they throw away a perfectly cromulent OF depth player with 3 options, when we have 38 players on the 40 going into the season? It would be senseless, you kick a s***** arm from the 40 if you go to the extreme your suggesting. You don't seem to understand player value mate, Lukes might suck, but he has plenty of value.

 

I’m not even remotely confused. I went over all of this in my post. It doesn’t make sense to lose depth for no reason. I was merely pointing out if you DFA him you lose him. If you keep Luke’s you could probably have Bernard start the year in AAA. So you keep both in that scenario. For a variety of reasons it makes sense to keep Lukes. The main reason being he’s already on the 40-man with options. You decided to take one of the points from the post and run away with it on a tangent. But you do you big guy.