General Blue Jays Discussion Thread (2024)

[Terminator]

[Laika]

ST narratives in full flight with everyone in the best shape of their life.

 

Player X has bad game (s) and its only Spring Training. Who cares? "They are working on something".

 

Player X has good run, and should 100% be on the team.

Can't wait for March 28th and "fo' real" baseball.

 

Who? Clement and Francis?

 

You... you don't think they should make the team?

[Spanky99]

Who? Clement and Francis?

 

You... you don't think they should make the team?

 

I believe he means the comments in general come annually.

[BigCecil]

I believe he means the comments in general come annually.

 

Ya. Just in general. Things change so much in ball. Belt was awful to start. Ends up 138. Chappy was great first month and then…spring is such a sss and varied competition level it’s hard to make judgements. I don’t have a better mousetrap.

[Spanky99]

Article from MLB.com about Clement vying for that bench spot...

 

Strong camp lifting Clement above crowded competition

 

Keegan Matheson

 

DUNEDIN, FLA. -- Ernie Clement doesn’t miss. Not yet, at least.

 

Clement has swung the bat 29 times this spring without a whiff. He just homered on back-to-back days against the Orioles' Corbin Burnes and the Rays' Zach Elfin, two presumed Opening Day starters in a stacked American League East. He has gone from participant to headliner in a crowded competition for bench roles with Toronto, catching fire at the best possible time.

 

There’s nothing complicated happening here. Clement came in early, got a head start and is finally getting a shot to show the talent he has believed in all along.

 

“It’s really cool because this doesn’t necessarily feel like a competition,” Clement said. “We’re all pulling for each other. We’ve all gotten really close over the last year. I just want to see them do well. It’s really cool to feel them rooting for me, too. It doesn’t feel like a competition. These guys are just the best. We all just want the best for each other.”

 

Last season, The Buffalo Boys arrived from Triple-A to help during the stretch run. Davis Schneider was the surprise star, but Clement hit .380 over 52 plate appearances, somehow doing so quietly. Those two now live with Spencer Horwitz for the spring, and while Schneider is the “dad” of the group, Clement has his role.

 

“I kind of just hang out and make fun of them, then they give me rides to the field,” Clement said. “I don’t really know what I bring other than that, besides the vibes and hitching a ride with them every once in a while. It’s been a blast. We play a lot of board games to pass the time.”

 

This is such a unique group, but the realities remain. There’s a game of musical chairs happening in Dunedin, and when the music stops, not everyone will get a seat.

 

When there’s so much depth in one place, a player needs to offer something more than just “a little bit of everything.” The Blue Jays need to maximize their lineup and improve their potential ceiling in 2024, not just strengthen their floor. It’s about standing out for one or two specific reasons, showing the organization why you can help the team win, not just stay afloat.

 

 

“His thing is elite contact skills,” said manager John Schneider. “He did it last year without playing for 10 days, then he’d go in and put together a good at-bat. That’s his thing. The added part of his game has been driving the ball with a bit more consistency. When you think of him, you think about contact and defensive versatility.”

 

The other big factor here? Clement, at 27, is out of options.

 

Schneider has options, and so does Santiago Espinal. The tie often goes to the player with no options remaining, in the name of asset management. But if that player is also one of the hottest hitters in camp? It’s a compelling case.

 

“I understand where I’m at, and I understand where the team’s at,” Clement said. “They have a lot of difficult decisions to make. I’m just thankful they gave me an opportunity last year and brought me here. They played me every day in Triple-A, and they gave me a really cool opportunity. I’m grateful. They got me back into the swing of things. The last couple of years before that, I hadn’t been playing great baseball and I hadn’t been playing a lot.”

 

That’s what Clement wants to do. He wants to play, and he wants to hit. It’s all he has done this spring, and while there’s still a home stretch left for these players to separate themselves, these early weeks have gone as well as they possibly could have for Clement.

 

Clement should be a big leaguer this season. It’s just a matter of where.

 

“I want to be here,” Clement said. “The guys here are awesome. I want to be here.”

[Brownie19]

Hard not to root for Clement. I think I mentioned this last year, but a buddy of mine is a cop in TO and he seems to party/hang with a lot of the Blue Jays. He said Clement likes to party and is a great guy.

[Spanky99]

Hard not to root for Clement. I think I mentioned this last year, but a buddy of mine is a cop in TO and he seems to party/hang with a lot of the Blue Jays. He said Clement likes to party and is a great guy.

 

Is your buddy's initials CK? Seriously, I have a good friend who lives in your neck of the woods, is a cop, and he knows plenty of TBJ's and chills with them as well.

[John_Havok]

Barger, Orelvis and Zulu have been optioned to AAA, and Berroa sent to minor league camp

[Spanky99]

Barger, Orelvis and Zulu have been optioned to AAA, and Berroa sent to minor league camp

 

That's now 19 players reassigned this spring. Should be an interesting 2 weeks +.

[Eat My Shatkins]

Man Zulu, what a disappointment so far. Can't seem to fix the control issues

[Laika]

Man Zulu, what a disappointment so far. Can't seem to fix the control issues

 

He's older than I thought

 

At least he has two option years left. Just needs something to click.

 

Of course the stuff might have been oversold anyway. It's good but it's like, Zach Pop good.

[Spanky99]

Man Zulu, what a disappointment so far. Can't seem to fix the control issues

 

Hopefully he figures it out soon enough to be a decent reliever, he was never going to be a starter but his stuff is to dream on for us fans.

[Spanky99]

He's older than I thought

 

At least he has two option years left. Just needs something to click.

 

Of course the stuff might have been oversold anyway. It's good but it's like, Zach Pop good.

 

Really, it was better than Zach Pop good stuff I thought?

 

From what I've seen that dude's slider is dirty af.

[Laika]

Really, it was better than Zach Pop good stuff I thought?

 

From what I've seen that dude's slider is dirty af.

 

It's supposed to be better. Scouts say so.

Didn't have it thing spring though, according to the stuff measurements.

[Spanky99]

It's supposed to be better. Scouts say so.

Didn't have it thing spring though, according to the stuff measurements.

 

Hmm... incoming ulner collateral ligament surgery.

[burlingtonbandit]

If Gauseman starts on the IL the rotation is looking really thinnnnn and another is another injury/Kikuchi blow up from being a tire fire.

[Terminator]

If Gauseman starts on the IL the rotation is looking really thinnnnn and another is another injury/Kikuchi blow up from being a tire fire.

 

You jack asses keep posting about this and I keep checking the news and there’s nothing there. Knock it off.

 

If anything they might just start him after the other 4 have a go first but it doesn’t seem like a big deal.

[burlingtonbandit]

You jack asses keep posting about this and I keep checking the news and thereÂ’s nothing there. Knock it off.

 

If anything they might just start him after the other 4 have a go first but it doesnÂ’t seem like a big deal.

 

CNN isn't going to have anything about the Guseman injury... Schneider literally said he might not be ready to star the season because of shoulder fatigue, not exactly what you want to hear...

[Spanky99]

You jack asses keep posting about this and I keep checking the news and there’s nothing there. Knock it off.

 

If anything they might just start him after the other 4 have a go first but it doesn’t seem like a big deal.

 

Bingo... we have a winner!!!

[Eat My Shatkins]

They're probably just keeping Gausman out so he doesn't catch the opening day starter curse.

[Spanky99]

They're probably just keeping Gausman out so he doesn't catch the opening day starter curse.

 

Berrios is lined up for the Starter on opening day.

[hanton]

Team can handle some injuries with the pitching staff, the hitting though HAS to improve - so not even what it was last season it has to be way better.

How does Falafel have a .333 BA? (ST that's how)

 

He had some terrible swings again today - he can't read pitches

[Spanky99]

Team can handle some injuries with the pitching staff, the hitting though HAS to improve - so not even what it was last season it has to be way better.

How does Falafel have a .333 BA? (ST that's how)

 

He had some terrible swings again today - he can't read pitches

 

Wow!

[John_Havok]

If Gauseman starts on the IL the rotation is looking really thinnnnn and another is another injury/Kikuchi blow up from being a tire fire.

 

This describes every rotation in baseball.

 

If their best arm is hurt and another guy sucks....omg!

[deanmike]

You jack asses keep posting about this and I keep checking the news and there’s nothing there. Knock it off.

 

If anything they might just start him after the other 4 have a go first but it doesn’t seem like a big deal.

 

You might wanna clarify Sherm, because I know we saw this from the same source (latest At the Letters), that the bolded is seen as the "best case scenario if everything breaks right" by the team, not the most likely scenario.

[Brownie19]

This describes every rotation in baseball.

 

If their best arm is hurt and another guy sucks....omg!

 

Bingo. How's the Yanks rotation looking when Cole is dead and Rodon is still hot garbage like last year? Does it look like the Jays without Gausman and Manoah?

[max silver]

Bingo. How's the Yanks rotation looking when Cole is dead and Rodon is still hot garbage like last year? Does it look like the Jays without Gausman and Manoah?

 

Not to mention the fact that the Yankees traded a good chunk of their depth starters for Soto.

[Laika]

The Gausman concern is basically that he has a setback.

 

If he starts throwing against hitters this week and is fine, no setbacks, then yeah I don't see huge concerns. Maybe he is 5th in the rotation or misses one start.

 

But if he has a setback... that's the actual worry here, lads.

[Stottlemyres_Bloody_Chin]

Wow!

 

Great contribution as usual, ya dipshit.

[mphenhef]

This describes every rotation in baseball.

 

If their best arm is hurt and another guy sucks....omg!

 

It still baffles me that Texas managed to win a world series with Degrom and Scherzer on the shelf.