General Blue Jays Discussion Thread (2023)

[BigCecil]

What international free agents are on the market this year? There are some good Japanese players right?

 

Sadaharu Oh is rumoured to be making a comeback.

[Jimcanuck]

What international free agents are on the market this year? There are some good Japanese players right?

 

Kona Takahashi could be a top 100 or even top 75 MLB pitcher

[jaysblue]

Gibby's book was great. Loved reading about him coming up through the system and how it worked back then.

 

I gotta definitely give it a read!

[Sorrow]

What international free agents are on the market this year? There are some good Japanese players right?

 

I like Lee Jung-Hoo from Korea. Had a bit of pop but he has put up 2:1 bb:k numbers career, plays the OF and is young.

[Ehjays]

What international free agents are on the market this year? There are some good Japanese players right?

 

I think pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto is the big Japanese name. Here is one write-up.

 

Yamamoto who is expected to be posted this winter, threw a no-hitter Saturday in Japan in front of Many MLB team reps (including the Yankees GM) in attendance to watch the 25-year-old righty, who could generate a big bidding war this winter. Yamamoto won the Pacific League MVP and the Eiji Sawamura Award (Japan's Cy Young equivalent) in both 2021 and 2022, leading the Pacific League in wins, ERA and strikeouts both seasons. He's a strong bet to add more trophies to his cabinet before heading overseas, as he owns a 1.34 ERA and 0.93 WHIP this season.

[Terminator]

I like Lee Jung-Hoo from Korea. Had a bit of pop but he has put up 2:1 bb:k numbers career, plays the OF and is young.

 

Hmm he's interesting. Bats lefty. Comparing him to Kim and it doesn't seem like he has nearly as much pop nor does he steal as much. But he does strikeout a lot less and hit for a much higher average. He'd probably be pretty cheap to sign.

[Omar]

Sadaharu Oh is rumoured to be making a comeback.

 

You went too far back into the well of time for anyone to appreciate the wit BigC.

[Daniel Labude]

Betts and Freeman are paying Vlad and Bo in the offseason to teach them to hit after going 1-21 in the playoffs. Also donating their salary to Moreno and Gurriel since they obviously suck at baseball and are about to be cut from the Dodgers lmao

[Spanky__99]

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see the disconnect between the FO and the guys at field level. Get rid of Atkins and let the new guy decide on Schneider.

 

I said it to my bro during the game, there faces told the story. This disconnect needs to be resolved, I'm sure we hear RA is gone this morning, or I've lost all faith, the human element is very f***ing real.

[Spanky__99]

Oh no. Some random guy I don't know is going to "dunk on me" because I'm going to take some time and wait for more information to become available before forming an opinion on a matter. Whatever will I do?

 

lulz

[L54]

I said it to my bro during the game, their faces told the story. This disconnect needs to be resolved, I'm sure we hear RA is gone this morning, or I've lost all faith, the human element is very f***ing real.

 

Yes Spanky I agree. The real time view of the guys on the field tells the whole story. You have to consider that these guys aren’t robots and lots of athletes wear their hearts on their sleeve

 

Maybe other orgs are just better at communicating their analytics/justifications to the players like Tampa or the Dodgers which seemed to be what Hurl was getting at. I can buy that. The Jays clearly suck ass at it

 

You need to have everyone on the same page otherwise you risk rocking the boat. Idk tomorrow will be interesting

[Spanky__99]

Yes Spanky I agree. The real time view of the guys on the field tells the whole story. You have to consider that these guys aren’t robots and lots of athletes wear their hearts on their sleeve

 

Maybe other orgs are just better at communicating their analytics/justifications to the players like Tampa or the Dodgers which seemed to be what Hurl was getting at. I can buy that. The Jays clearly suck ass at it

 

You need to have everyone on the same page otherwise you risk rocking the boat. Idk tomorrow will be interesting

 

It's on 10:30 on SN360 and their site I believe, will be interesting for sure.

[Spanky__99]

Whit Merrifield's rather candid interview yesterday, watch it...

 

[connorp]

A 2nd time lol. 3rd time it still may have been bad, but to a lesser degree

[Spanky__99]

Betts and Freeman are paying Vlad and Bo in the offseason to teach them to hit after going 1-21 in the playoffs. Also donating their salary to Moreno and Gurriel since they obviously suck at baseball and are about to be cut from the Dodgers lmao

 

Vlad was 1-8.

[BigCecil]

I said it to my bro during the game, there faces told the story. This disconnect needs to be resolved, I'm sure we hear RA is gone this morning, or I've lost all faith, the human element is very f***ing real.

 

Didn't want Atkins to go after 20, 21 or 22.

 

Was good for him to go after '23 but a bit on the fence about it.

 

That presser pushed me deep into the camp of that he has to go RFN, as the whole culture of accountability is a mess. It exposed what I suspected, but just didn't know for certain was the case.

 

Mark needs to make a statement this morning. At the end of the day he is ultimately accountable to ownership.

[Spanky__99]

Didn't want Atkins to go after 20, 21 or 22.

 

Was good for him to go after '23 but a bit on the fence about it.

 

That presser pushed me deep into the camp of that he has to go RFN, as the whole culture of accountability is a mess. It exposed what I suspected, but just didn't know for certain was the case.

 

Mark needs to make a statement this morning. At the end of the day he is ultimately accountable to ownership.

 

Watch that Merrifield interview I posted above. I'm pretty sure Mark was told about it, we'll see at 10:30... *Tick-Tock*

 

Atkins recent actions make me sick.

[deanmike]

Watch that Merrifield interview I posted above. I'm pretty sure Mark was told about it, we'll see at 10:30... *Tick-Tock*

 

Atkins recent actions make me sick.

 

Yeah, Atkins truly is a sickening individual. Snake of all snakes, if I didn't also want JS out I would wonder how Atkins' tire tracks feel on his head.

[Spanky__99]

Anthony Bass not happy with the FO, either...

 

https://www.sportsnet.ca/mlb/article/anthony-bass-says-release-from-blue-jays-was-not-a-baseball-decision/

[Laika]

lmao, Anthony Bass

 

the funny thing is that it actually WAS defensibly a baseball decision

 

IIRC they had to activate White or lose him and you could justify Bass as the worst RP at the time. Or at least the worst asset in the pen.

[Laika]

Speaking of Jordan Groshans - WOOF.

 

Dude hit well in AAA in 2022 after the trade and earned a cup of coffee but was so bad in 2023 that he didn't even get a day in the bigs. Full year in AAA at 23 years old, 74 wRC+.

 

He has NO power. Kind of shocking when you think about his amateur swing videos.

[The Cats Ass]

lmao, Anthony Bass

 

the funny thing is that it actually WAS defensibly a baseball decision

 

IIRC they had to activate White or lose him and you could justify Bass as the worst RP at the time. Or at least the worst asset in the pen.

 

That fact that no other team picked him up after confirms that Bass sucks.

[JaysAllMighty]

It's on 10:30 on SN360 and their site I believe, will be interesting for sure.

 

at 11am on SN360

[Spanky__99]

at 11am on SN360

 

Yeah, just tuned in and saw, it's actually airing on all the channels now.

 

Barker throwing haymakers, lol.

[Olerud363]

Vlad was 1-8.

 

The LTBF thing is getting really annoying. He is constantly making false equivalence between Vlad's under-performance and other players.

 

Mookie Betts was not the minor league hitter that Vlad was. He was good, but not 80 hit tool, .400 as a 19 year old in AA good. Mookie also was like a .290 hitter with 18 homers at age 22. Vlad was a 48 homer .310 guy at 22.

 

What Mookie has done since age 22 is amazing. Improved himself in every way. What Vlad has done since age 22 is one of the great disappointments in baseball history. They are not equivalent in any way.

[Spanky__99]

The LTBF thing is getting really annoying. He is constantly making false equivalence between Vlad's under-performance and other players.

 

Mookie Betts was not the minor league hitter that Vlad was. He was good, but not 80 hit tool, .400 as a 19 year old in AA good. Mookie also was like a .290 hitter with 18 homers at age 22. Vlad was a 48 homer .310 guy at 22.

 

What Mookie has done since age 22 is amazing. Improved himself in every way. What Vlad has done since age 22 is one of the great disappointments in baseball history. They are not equivalent in any way.

 

Truth bomb, Olerud.

 

Not to mention talking smack against FF... one of the best first baseman I've ever witnessed.

[connorp]

lmao, Anthony Bass

 

the funny thing is that it actually WAS defensibly a baseball decision

 

IIRC they had to activate White or lose him and you could justify Bass as the worst RP at the time. Or at least the worst asset in the pen.

 

“Atkins spoke shortly after the roster move was announced and said it was a "baseball decision to make our team better," adding the distraction was something that the club had to factor in.”

 

The team, who has all the reason to claim it was purely a baseball decision, doesn’t do it. Laila knows best. Good name for a tv show actually

[Laika]

“Atkins spoke shortly after the roster move was announced and said it was a "baseball decision to make our team better," adding the distraction was something that the club had to factor in.”

 

The team, who has all the reason to claim it was purely a baseball decision, doesn’t do it. Laila knows best. Good name for a tv show actually

 

Oh, clubhouse distractions have nothing to do with baseball now? That's news to me. I thought the people in the clubhouse were the ones who played the game.

[Olerud363]

Truth bomb, Olerud.

 

Not to mention talking smack against FF... one of the best first baseman I've ever witnessed.

 

Another decent but not historic minor league hitter, who was decent but not amazing at 22 then has continued to improve every year peaking at a consistent MVP level. Probably had his best season at age 33.

 

Vlad has more talent than FF. Hopefully he gets it together. One weird thing about Vlad is that he doesn't hit a lot of doubles. I remember Delgado peaked at like 57 doubles 41 homers, and having many seasons close to 40 double/40 homers. That's the type of hitter I thought Vlad would be. .300 year in, year out, 80 extra base hits. Line drives all over the place.

[Olerud363]

Speaking of Jordan Groshans - WOOF.

 

Dude hit well in AAA in 2022 after the trade and earned a cup of coffee but was so bad in 2023 that he didn't even get a day in the bigs. Full year in AAA at 23 years old, 74 wRC+.

 

He has NO power. Kind of shocking when you think about his amateur swing videos.

 

He had some injury in 2019, I can't remember if it was a hand injury.

 

I know everybody is complaining about the Moreno thing, but there were months long stretches after his hand injury where it looked like he had no pop at all. Seems to have recovered.

 

At the same time Kirk has as more talent than Moreno. Moreno could not perform like this with 2 20 pound hams tied to his waste. Kirk can.

 

Problem is if Kirk gets any bigger it's worse than a hand injury, that belly has to get in the way of the power stroke. If Kirk can lose even 20 pounds he is better than Moreno. So this whole discussion is a weight loss discussion.

 

Can these new drugs help? Or do they have side effects like mess with your metabolism and brain so are too risky.,