Morosi: Jays sign Justin Turner to 1-year deal

[L54]

I get not being happy with the off season, and wanting better options than IKF and Turner brought in, but please tell me what the "better options" were exactly. You can't fault the Jays for not being able to conjure up better options out of thin air, and you certainly can't blame for not wanting to fork out massive contracts to players like Bellinger and Chapman who are clearly not worth what Boras is asking.

 

After missing Ohtani (who they were clearly never going to land, it was always going to be the Dodgers) I think the Jays have done about as good as you could hope for in an off season where the options were extremely limited. They still have a competitive team with a f***ton of depth, and they aren't saddled with even a single long term albatross contract going forward.

 

The whining is extremely tiresome, to be honest. Hopefully the Jays have a good year or this place will be hard to visit because the "I told you so" brigade will be out in full force.

 

Even more tiring than the whining is the lineup of guys ready to high five Atkins for doing such a great job this offseason

[glory]

I get not being happy with the off season, and wanting better options than IKF and Turner brought in, but please tell me what the "better options" were exactly. You can't fault the Jays for not being able to conjure up better options out of thin air, and you certainly can't blame for not wanting to fork out massive contracts to players like Bellinger and Chapman who are clearly not worth what Boras is asking.

 

After missing Ohtani (who they were clearly never going to land, it was always going to be the Dodgers) I think the Jays have done about as good as you could hope for in an off season where the options were extremely limited. They still have a competitive team with a f***ton of depth, and they aren't saddled with even a single long term albatross contract going forward.

 

The whining is extremely tiresome, to be honest. Hopefully the Jays have a good year or this place will be hard to visit because the "I told you so" brigade will be out in full force.

 

If the Jays had just signed KK and Turner, and were still shopping for a 3B option, then I think the outlook on the off season would be dramatically different. Still underwhelming but no where near the doom and gloom. Knowing that there is a very good chance that a 80-85 wRC+ player will start at 3B is not only depressing in itself, but it now makes the KK/Turner signings less impactful because they don't compensate for how bad IKF figures to be with the bat. It just drags everything down.

 

Otherwise I agree, the Jays did the sensible thing this winter by going with short term options. Gives them flexibility to spend on higher end talent next winter, which I hope is the plan. Whether it pushes the 2024 team to where it needs to be remains to be seen.

[L54]

This thread is Aids.

 

Atta girl

[Spanky99]

Atta girl

 

f***in' curmudgeon, shut up.

[L54]

f***in' curmudgeon, shut up.

 

Atta girl

[jaysblue]

f***in' curmudgeon, shut up.

 

What? haha

[Spanky99]

What? haha

 

What?

[burlingtonbandit]

I get not being happy with the off season, and wanting better options than IKF and Turner brought in, but please tell me what the "better options" were exactly. You can't fault the Jays for not being able to conjure up better options out of thin air, and you certainly can't blame for not wanting to fork out massive contracts to players like Bellinger and Chapman who are clearly not worth what Boras is asking.

 

After missing Ohtani (who they were clearly never going to land, it was always going to be the Dodgers) I think the Jays have done about as good as you could hope for in an off season where the options were extremely limited. They still have a competitive team with a f***ton of depth, and they aren't saddled with even a single long term albatross contract going forward.

 

The whining is extremely tiresome, to be honest. Hopefully the Jays have a good year or this place will be hard to visit because the "I told you so" brigade will be out in full force.

 

I mean its a Front Office's job to build a team, so I mean I think they deserve blame to how they have gotten to this point. The farm system isn't exactly busting at the seams with difference makers either.

 

Given the budget, I think its fair to criticize paying 41 Million on KK, Tuner, IKF and Chad Green. Thats a lot of money for what those 4 players bring considering the holes on the roster. The lineup still lacks power and is super RH heavy.

 

Personally, this coming season is the least excited I've been going into a year since 2019. I wish it wasn't the case but just feels the team is getting old and the window is closing like what 2016/2017 was. I'm really hoping they do well because its a lot more fun when the Blue Jays are doing well but I think a lot of the general fan base feels similar.

[Jays24]

I mean its a Front Office's job to build a team, so I mean I think they deserve blame to how they have gotten to this point. The farm system isn't exactly busting at the seams with difference makers either.

 

Given the budget, I think its fair to criticize paying 41 Million on KK, Tuner, IKF and Chad Green. Thats a lot of money for what those 4 players bring considering the holes on the roster. The lineup still lacks power and is super RH heavy.

 

Personally, this coming season is the least excited I've been going into a year since 2019. I wish it wasn't the case but just feels the team is getting old and the window is closing like what 2016/2017 was. I'm really hoping they do well because its a lot more fun when the Blue Jays are doing well but I think a lot of the general fan base feels similar.

 

Exactly this. Our biggest issue without question was offense this past season and so far we spent 49M on KK, IFK, Green, Rodriguez and Turner.

 

I have no issues with Green and don't know enough about Rodriguez to form a good opinion but spending 31M on the remaining guys when the clear need was offense is disheartening.

 

I have no clue how we're going to score any runs when the bottom half of the lineup is absolutely putrid.

[Jonn]

I know people are disappointed overall with this off-season. I think we all are. But Justin Turner is a good hitter and has been for a long time. He’s going to help this Lineup a lot. Don’t really think this is the thread to be overly negative in.

 

I prefer they do a deal like this over breaking the bank for players they aren’t in love with such as Chapman, Bellinger and even Soler. Which could all backfire massively. This is one-year deal for a guy who looked like he still has plenty in the tank. It’s not like he’s coming off a down year. His numbers would have either led or been second in most offensive numbers on this team. He’s also done it on the biggest stage

[John_Havok]

I mean its a Front Office's job to build a team, so I mean I think they deserve blame to how they have gotten to this point. The farm system isn't exactly busting at the seams with difference makers either.

 

Given the budget, I think its fair to criticize paying 41 Million on KK, Tuner, IKF and Chad Green. Thats a lot of money for what those 4 players bring considering the holes on the roster. The lineup still lacks power and is super RH heavy.

 

Personally, this coming season is the least excited I've been going into a year since 2019. I wish it wasn't the case but just feels the team is getting old and the window is closing like what 2016/2017 was. I'm really hoping they do well because its a lot more fun when the Blue Jays are doing well but I think a lot of the general fan base feels similar.

 

I get your reasoning but…what’s the realistic alternatives in the FA market that would have address the LH power issue knowing Pederson wanted a specific coast and Bellinger wants more money and years than any sane org is willing to pay? Ohtani was never coming here.

 

Seems like a lot of the frustration is centred around this FA crop being overall pretty s***** overall without much in the way of realistic improvements, especially in the LH power hitter department.

[Jays24]

I know people are disappointed overall with this off-season. I think we all are. But Justin Turner is a good hitter and has been for a long time. He’s going to help this Lineup a lot. Don’t really think this is the thread to be overly negative in.

 

I prefer they do a deal like this over breaking the bank for players they aren’t in love with such as Chapman, Bellinger and even Soler. Which could all backfire massively. This is one-year deal for a guy who looked like he still has plenty in the tank. It’s not like he’s coming off a down year. His numbers would have either led or been second in most offensive numbers on this team. He’s also done it on the biggest stage

 

Ya I don't think most will hold it against this front office to not dish out dumb contracts to yoyo players. It's more about capitalizing in the Vladdy/Bo window which is shrinking and pretty much up after this season.

 

If we fail this upcoming season, there's a reasonable chance we might have to trade Bo/Vlad and enter a semi-rebuild. If we end up re-signing them then that means we need to trade away other players, which would make us worse.

[BCZ]

At 39 I'll be happy if he's an above average hitter this year

[wamco]

I don't even care

 

He can pay good defense at 3B.

 

But we'll never use him in the OF and he won't hit. Not happy at all that we even signed him because I worry he'll get 400-500 PA's in the 8 spot and be a black hole.

 

Way to stifle a good question homie. You basically told him “learn to swim”

[wamco]

The IKF signing looked terrible at the time and looks even worse now. To blow that much of the budget on a utility infielder who can't hit (not to mention gave him a f***ing 2nd year) is a waste of resources.

 

Espinal at 2.7M is better value FFS, at least he can somewhat hit lefties. He was bad defensively last season but was really good the years prior.

 

When you combine what IKF and Chad Green are making (18M) I would much rather take a FA bat over them.

 

 

Tread lightly. It is well know that the jays don’t need to free up salary (like passing on green) to sign who they want.

[wamco]

I get not being happy with the off season, and wanting better options than IKF and Turner brought in, but please tell me what the "better options" were exactly. You can't fault the Jays for not being able to conjure up better options out of thin air, and you certainly can't blame for not wanting to fork out massive contracts to players like Bellinger and Chapman who are clearly not worth what Boras is asking.

 

After missing Ohtani (who they were clearly never going to land, it was always going to be the Dodgers) I think the Jays have done about as good as you could hope for in an off season where the options were extremely limited. They still have a competitive team with a f***ton of depth, and they aren't saddled with even a single long term albatross contract going forward.

 

The whining is extremely tiresome, to be honest. Hopefully the Jays have a good year or this place will be hard to visit because the "I told you so" brigade will be out in full force.

 

You have 50m to spend. You know contracts signed. Answer your own question. I’d be shocked if IKF is one of your answers.

[hanton]

As much as I like Turner (former Dodger so I'm a fan), all these signings feel like were into Plan C/D....

[Spanky99]

As much as I like Turner (former Dodger so I'm a fan), all these signings feel like were into Plan C/D....

 

It is, hah.

[Brownie19]

Last year we were 8th in MLB v. RHP and 9th in MLB v. LHP (based on wRC+). Can someone explain why adding a 'strong LH bat' is so important to this team?

[G-Snarls]

Way to stifle a good question homie. You basically told him “learn to swim”

 

My annoyance is directed at the player not the poster who I responded to

[G-Snarls]

Tread lightly. It is well know that the jays don’t need to free up salary (like passing on green) to sign who they want.

 

Is anything, at this point they should be willing to take on a good player on a bad contract that another team wants out of (Trout, Tatis, Machado, etc) with the other team eating some $$.

[Jonn]

Last year we were 8th in MLB v. RHP and 9th in MLB v. LHP (based on wRC+). Can someone explain why adding a 'strong LH bat' is so important to this team?

 

Matchup related stuff related late in games. It’s nice to be able to break up a string of righties which could potentially alter bullpen decisions. But at the end of the day teams will use their best guys.

Edited January 31, 2024 by Jonn

[Stangstag]

Last year we were 8th in MLB v. RHP and 9th in MLB v. LHP (based on wRC+). Can someone explain why adding a 'strong LH bat' is so important to this team?

 

You’re right. The fact that every other elite team has great L/R balance is just a coincidence

[Abomination]

As much as I like Turner (former Dodger so I'm a fan), all these signings feel like were into Plan C/D....

 

Probably further down the alphabet than that. I do like the signing though.

[Jays24]

Last year we were 8th in MLB v. RHP and 9th in MLB v. LHP (based on wRC+). Can someone explain why adding a 'strong LH bat' is so important to this team?

 

LOL I cant believe you just made this comment. Take a break from the numbers and use some actual baseball logic sir. Answer should be self-evident as to why majority of teams prefer lineup balance...

[Brownie19]

You’re right. The fact that every other elite team has great L/R balance is just a coincidence

 

It was an honest question. I've always just thought I'd rather take the best hitter - regardless of which side of the plate they bat from. I mean if you have 2 equal players and one is LH and one is RH - then sure, give me the LH bat to create more balance, but I'm not sure I'd go out of my way, or pay more, just to get balance. Perhaps I'm understating the importance.

 

That said, it seems A LOT more LH batters are complete s*** v. LHP and have to be platooned and/or can be neutralized late in games by bringing in a LHP (like Joc would have been). RH batters don't seem to have the same issues.

 

No need to be dick man.

[L54]

Right handers don’t have the same platoon split issues because they see 90% righties their whole life. Lefties might another lefty 10% of the time if that

 

Righty heavy lineups can be susceptible to really good right handers. Pretty sure we saw that lots in 2022

[John_Havok]

Last year we were 8th in MLB v. RHP and 9th in MLB v. LHP (based on wRC+). Can someone explain why adding a 'strong LH bat' is so important to this team?

 

Situational deficiency imo, rather than a chronic one. Without a legit LH power threat in important PH situations (especially playoff ones) it's a bit easier for opposing team's managers to work their bullpen to their advantage.

[Laika]

Situational deficiency imo, rather than a chronic one. Without a legit LH power threat in important PH situations (especially playoff ones) it's a bit easier for opposing team's managers to work their bullpen to their advantage.

 

I agree it's situational deficiency but it's not exactly about PH situations. It also includes the lineup facing those sweeper dominant RHSP.

[John_Havok]

I agree it's situational deficiency but it's not exactly about PH situations. It also includes the lineup facing those sweeper dominant RHSP.

 

Also true. Fortunately theres not a ton of sweeper dominant starters out there. about 100 MLB pitchers in total used sweepers at the start of last season according to some MLB article i just read, and my guess is the majority of them are relievers. I havent looked up any data to back that up though.

 

Ohtani throws one of the best though.