General Blue Jays Discussion Thread (2023)

[Jimcanuck]

interesting opinion

 

Maybe Frenchie's best

[jaysblue]

Well yeah, they'd move any player in "the right deal." A contract like Springer's though, they knew when they signed it there was risk attached not just with the inevitable player decline and injury possibility outcomes, but that the contract would likely be untradeable at at certain point due to those risks. Whether or not that point has arrived is debateable. It's not like every other team can't see the exact same risks.

 

The only way George is traded is if Toronto eats a big chunk of money and trades to a lower spending team. Teams that could actually afford his contract wouldn't be in the market for him.

 

Blair is just pulling stuff out of his ass to get clicks.

 

LMAO this is hilarious!

[Frenchsoup]

Is it possible we could get Correa? I'm thinking Correa and Larnach for Bo...

[Frenchsoup]

Get Minesota to eat about 5 million and a bit on future years

[Krylian]

[burlingtonbandit]

I can get behind this from strictly a baseball sense. However, from a marketing point of view, I think Rogers is looking at someone that can transcend the game. They want butts in the seats on the 100 level so that they can justify the expense of all the fancy new cupholders they just installed.

 

Jays already sold out all their seasons in the "club" seats in the 100 level. If the Jays win 90+ games they are going to get more revenue in tickets than they would with an 82 win Ohtani team 3 years from now anyways.

 

No doubt Ohtani would bring in more $ in revenue from a marketing perspective, now is that worth even 40 Million over the lifetime of an Ohtani contract? I'm not so sure. Plus if Ohtani gets hurt he won't be worth much in extra revenue which is a big risk.

[G-Snarls]

 

Never for a second did I really expect they'd try to pull in both Ohtani and Soto... more like one or the other and this pretty much says that

[John_Havok]

Never for a second did I really expect they'd try to pull in both Ohtani and Soto... more like one or the other and this pretty much says that

 

Yeah. Ohtani is plan A, Soto plan B.

[Spanky__99]

Literally 50% of his remaining deal being "inevitable player decline and injury possibility outcomes" is a horribly bad signing. Point being some team (s) might still see some value, including us. At this point I don't know if our FO truly does.

 

I do agree there is a good chance that Blair might be talking out his ass, but if they could find a fit and eat some of the $, it makes some sense. Wont be easy. Then again I thought the same about Wells and Rios deals in the past for the Jays.

 

The minute we inked that deal, I knew we'd be stuck with him. Which is fine, if he stays healthy and produces for a couple more years. I can't see us moving him, but for a salary dump at the end of it, maybe.

[Frenchsoup]

Yanks fans are shopping Higgy, I'd be all over that.

[John_Havok]

Yanks fans are shopping Higgy, I'd be all over that.

 

Higashioka? Why would you want a giant downgrade at C?

[Spanky__99]

Higashioka? Why would you want a giant downgrade at C?

 

lol

[Frenchsoup]

He's the best gamecaller I've seen other then Yadi, Russ and Kratz. That guy steals games and keeps you in them...

[John_Havok]

He's the best gamecaller I've seen other then Yadi, Russ and Kratz. That guy steals games and keeps you in them...

 

He can't block, throw, or hit.

[max silver]

LMAO this is hilarious!

 

What exactly is hilarious about it? You have a really weird sense of humor.

[Omar]

Yeah. Ohtani is plan A, Soto plan B.

 

Plan C: Paredes

 

Plan D: IKF

 

....and you will be happy damnit!

[G-Snarls]

Plan C: Paredes

 

Plan D: IKF

 

....and you will be happy damnit!

 

I soooooo don't want Kiner-Fluffer

 

Just no

[jaysblue]

 

As much as it would be cool to see the Jays go all in with both Ohtani and Soto, that unlikely is going to happen. Think only one of them is possible. Seems like the Jays will know which path they take once Ohtani makes a decision. If Ohtani signs with another team, Jays likely pull off a trade with the Padres hours later for Soto.

[G-Snarls]

[G-Snarls]

This had better be for a good reason

 

JS

 

I think either he's sick and in quarantine or he's on the verge of a huge deal

[Jays24]

This had better be for a good reason

 

JS

 

I think either he's sick and in quarantine or he's on the verge of a huge deal

 

They didn't think Schneider could be trusted without blowing the "secret." Clearly Ohtani is gonna be signed before he talks tomorrow

Edited December 5, 2023 by Jays24

[Frenchsoup]

Randy Vasquez....who knows anything about Randy Vasquez? Yanks want to trade him...

[Frenchsoup]

 

https://www.fangraphs.com/players/randy-vasquez/24719/stats?position=P

 

Looks pretty s***** to me

[Frenchsoup]

Lol

[Omar]

They didn't trust Schneider could be trusted without blowing the "secret." Clearly Ohtani is gonna be signed before he talks tomorrow

 

Yes, I buy that storyline. I could completely picture Atkins with a bunch of plastic cable ties in his hands,

 

"John, can I see you in the office for a moment."

[Frenchsoup]

Nicky Lopez was a miss for this team. He's a Swiss army knife.

[Frenchsoup]

Bummers a great get though 2

[Spanky__99]

Scott Mitchell's day 1 notes...

 

https://www.tsn.ca/scott-mitchell-winter-meetings-day-1-franchise-altering-moment-awaits-team-that-signs-ohtani-1.2044602

 

NASHVILLE — As the baseball world gathered in Nashville to get the winter meetings officially underway Monday, a handful of general managers were conspicuously absent.

 

Toronto Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins was one of those missing men, and it was really no secret that the Shohei Ohtani pitch is at the top of his to-do list, even if the club desperately tried to keep his whereabouts a secret.

 

The entire baseball industry is eager to find out where Ohtani will sign.

 

A small group of clubs that were invited to make that final pitch are more than eager, and the Jays are one of them.

 

It’s going to be a franchise-altering moment for one team and the fact the Jays are even being considered speaks to the position the club is in.

 

Ohtani wants to win and Toronto is one of the places he believes that can happen, even if it may not be enough to ultimately land the unicorn.

 

The Blue Jays aren’t considered the favourites, but they’re in the conversation and that’s all anyone can ask for when it comes to a very personal decision for any free agent.

 

As usual, Atkins wouldn’t go near any Ohtani talk and even dodged answering questions of his whereabouts.

 

“The fact that we’re in a position to attract marquee free agents, to be in a position to potentially trade for really good players is a very, very good starting point and one that we’re embracing,” Atkins said. “That’s what we’re embracing, the opportunity, and entirely focused on that. In terms of expectations, listen, we’re going to do everything we can to make our team better. There are certain players in the game that any team in baseball would like to have and it’s extremely competitive. We will do everything in our power to build upon this very good team and that could happen in a lot of different shapes.”

 

The expectations for this off-season have reached a fever pitch, but Atkins and the Jays front office is preaching patience behind the scenes.

 

“It definitely is a balance,” Atkins said. “The urgency, no doubt, is there. We’re not waiting to see what’s going to happen and just be opportunistic. However, we are in a strong position because we have the ability to add via free agency, we have the ability to make trades, and we have already a very strong roster in place.”

 

Ohtani is expected to make a decision in the coming days, at which point some of the teams that lose out are expected to pivot to a potential Juan Soto trade, but Atkins won’t have to hide his location for that one.

 

TRADE TALKS ACTIVE

 

With Ohtani holding up all the free agency dominos for the moment, trade talks have been very active throughout the league in the early stages of the off-season.

 

Atkins noted they’ve passed on some opportunities to make trades already.

 

“We’ve made progress with free agents as well, but we’ve had more progress in multiples with teams on trades,” Atkins said. “We’ve had opportunities to make decisions and move and acquire players via trade and free agency, a few more via trade, but we want to make sure we’re prioritizing and have as much information as possible.”

 

MANOAH COULD BE MOVED

 

After a tumultuous finish to his season, there are many in Nashville who expect the Jays to trade Alek Manoah this winter.

 

That would likely mean selling low after he posted an ugly 5.87 ERA across 19 starts, but there is interest in the big righty heading into his age-26 season.

 

With Manoah immensely motivated and posting his workouts to social media, the Jays would love to keep him around and throw him in the rotation mix next spring, but the relationship between the player’s camp and the club is strained and rival teams seem to know that.

 

Starting pitching depth is hard to find, and it’s even harder to find a former Cy Young finalist in his mid-20s that’s available, so the Jays are going to have to be tremendously careful with this situation.

 

It doesn’t seem to be a question of if the Jays would move Manoah, it will simply boil down to whether or not anyone offers something close to what the Jays feel his true value is.

 

SELLING HIGH ON THE ’STACHE?

 

The Jays don’t boast a top flight minor-league system, which makes it hard to envision Atkins being able to engineer a blockbuster trade and top competitors’ offers.

 

But with Manoah generating some interest, another name that’s casually come up is second-half sensation Davis Schneider.

 

Schneider’s bat is his calling card after he posted a ridiculous 176 wRC+ plus and bashed eight homers in just 35 games as a rookie, but the Jays are looking at upgrading both second base and left field, which could leave him as one of their more attractive trade chips.

 

It makes sense the Jays would try to at least gauge his value at this point.

[Rimar]

I really doubt Soto have 25 years, he probably lied about his age like many Dominican players do, so won't be surprised he have 28-29 in fact 😉

[Rimar]

So better put 500-600 millions on Ohtani, than 450 on Soto. To sign Ohtani at 50-60 millions annually, is like signing an elite SP and a mvp DH for 25-30 millions each