General Blue Jays Discussion Thread (2025)

[Terminator]

DeGrom could be available...

[glory]

In the absence of a true ace, and with the way Schneider typically uses the bullpen, I think a high leverage reliever is mandatory to add at the deadline. I'd be shocked if any of the current SP is allowed to face a lineup for the 3rd time in a playoff series regardless, so stacking up high leverage arms out of the pen is a good idea. If you're going for the 2015 Royals model, then go all in. Stack the pen up. 

There doesn't appear to be a top of the rotation arm available so tough to see where the rotation add is going to come from. I still think Sandy is fixable, and if you put him in front of the Jays defense, along with Pete Walker who has a decent history of helping veteran starters, he seems like someone who the Jays could benefit from. The question is whether you get that benefit in 2025, or if it's more of a 2026-27 play. Either way, that's the closest thing to a TOR starter available. I don't think you can be satisfied with Scherzer whose thumb could explode at any moment and Lauer who a year ago was in the KBO. Maybe you can get by with that, but it would be asking a lot. 

Hitting to me is a "depends on who is available and for what cost" decision. It's not mandatory to add there if everyone is back healthy and DS is a MLB player again, but Santander to me is the biggest wild card. You absolutely need power in the playoffs. If he's out for longer than expected, then I think you have to get a power bat somewhere. 

[PickleJ]

6 minutes ago, Terminator said:

DeGrom could be available...

Interesting. Atkins has stated they will be aggressive at the deadline. I interpreted that to mean an willingness to deal prospects, but maybe it can mean a willingness to take on large salaries and a tax bill  

I have tended to dislike the old man pitching contracts given out to the DeGrooms and Verlanders. But I’ve enjoyed our very brief and injury interrupted experience with Scherzer, so I am more open to taking on another creaky vet that can still deal when healthy. 

[jaysblue]

23 minutes ago, Terminator said:

DeGrom could be available...

I suggested deGrom as a potential trade candidate last week. Rangers would be smart to move him and shed that salary.  $37M AAV each season though and his injury history could be a concern. Otherwise, would be fun to watch him at the top of the rotation and pitching in the Postseason. 

Another obstacle: deGrom has a full no-trade clause, so not sure if he would want to pitch in Toronto. 

[PickleJ]

5 minutes ago, jaysblue said:

I suggested deGrom as a potential trade candidate last week. Rangers would be smart to move him and shed that salary.  $37M AAV each season though and his injury history could be a concern. Otherwise, would be fun to watch him at the top of the rotation and pitching in the Postseason. 

Another obstacle: deGrom has a full no-trade clause, so not sure if he would want to pitch in Toronto. 

He’s buddies with Scherzer, isn’t he? Maybe that will help sway him. 
 

On a related note, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how engaging Scherzer appears to be. I thought he was surly.. But with his teammates and the media he seems quite upbeat and positive (realistic about his health, but upbeat about the team). I didn’t know this side of him.

[mphenhef]

9 minutes ago, jaysblue said:

I suggested deGrom as a potential trade candidate last week. Rangers would be smart to move him and shed that salary.  $37M AAV each season though and his injury history could be a concern. Otherwise, would be fun to watch him at the top of the rotation and pitching in the Postseason. 

Another obstacle: deGrom has a full no-trade clause, so not sure if he would want to pitch in Toronto. 

Scherzer being here (and hopefully speaking highly of it) could help with that as him and Degrom have played together a fair amount.

[mphenhef]

2 minutes ago, PickleJ said:

He’s buddies with Scherzer, isn’t he? Maybe that will help sway him. 
 

On a related note, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how engaging Scherzer appears to be. I thought he was surly.. But with his teammates and the media he seems quite upbeat and positive (realistic about his health, but upbeat about the team). I didn’t know this side of him.

Bassitt too I suppose

[Laika]

Here is one sneaky trade target:

Kris Boob Itch. 

Arb 3 next year and will get a big raise. Free agent after 2026. 

Flamed out of the rotation and was a good reliever in 2024 and is now a good starter. 2,9 fWAR and counting - he has been as good as Mackenzie Gore and Max Fried.

Stuff+ doesn't completely buy it but he is a lefty. FIP, xFIP, xERA are all good. 

The Royals have a horrendous offense and need a bat boost. Like, they have some terrible position player stat lines and aren't even a good defensive team now so they have lost their identity completely. 

You would try to trade for him and extend him before free agency like Berrios.

[PickleJ]

Yeah, they all seemed to have good vibes around each other during Bassitt’s stint with the Mets.

And I enjoy Bassitt. I don’t always love watching him get bogged down with his own pitch calling. But I enjoy his quirkiness.  He’s seems like the type of teammate you love, but also one you need a short break from every once in a while.

I’m now fully behind Rogers paying DeGroom $40 mil (plus the corresponding tax) for the next couple of years.

[PickleJ]

12 minutes ago, mphenhef said:

Bassitt too I suppose

 

1 minute ago, Laika said:

Here is one sneaky trade target:

Kris Boob Itch. 

Arb 3 next year and will get a big raise. Free agent after 2026. 

Flamed out of the rotation and was a good reliver in 2024 and is now a good starter. 2,9 fWAR and counting - he has been as good as Mackenzie Gore and Max Fried.

Stuff+ doesn't completely buy it but he is a lefty. FIP, xFIP, xERA are all good. 

The Royals have a horrendous offense and need a bat boost. Like, they have some terrible position player stat lines and aren't even a good defensive team now so they have lost their identity completely. 

You would try to trade for him and extend him before free agency like Berrios.

I like that idea.

 

[Terminator]

17 minutes ago, Laika said:

Here is one sneaky trade target:

Kris Boob Itch. 

My man 👊

 

[max silver]

3 hours ago, PickleJ said:

@max silver 

I read a few quotes from Kirk this morning in an article about his selection to the all-star team. His current mindset appears to be the complete opposite of what you’d we’re suggesting.. He stated he was too pull/homer focused the past few years and is now focused on hitting the ball to all fields. 

So I took another look at his batted ball profile and it does seem that much of his increase in fly balls has come from concerning ground balls up the middle into fly balls between the gaps.  His home runs also appear to tend towards the big part of the diamond. He has definitely improved his batted ball profile this year by adjusting his approach, which probably contributed to better mechanics, seeing the ball better, and hitting more balls hard (which in turn probably built up his confidence that help stabilize those things), but it also likely contributing to more fly outs in the big part of the field as you suggested.

So I won’t expect a massive shift in his approach this year, but perhaps as he feels more confident in his abilities he will gradually zero in on pitches he can pull over the outfielders heads  

I’d also be curious about your thoughts on Laureano and Bryan Reynolds. I like both as potential acquisitions, but they see to have opposing trends regarding their fly ball profiles. Reynolds appears to have a healthy batted ball metrics except that his launch angle has tanked, while Laureano has had a major shift towards the pull side on fly balls.

 

 

I saw the same set of quotes. I do largely agree that this is likely a case of where it's prudent to avoid trying to fix something that isn't broken. Kirk has been flat out mashing over the last 2+ months of the season with the present approach as evidenced by a 142 wRC+ over his last 222 PA. The results are lagging behind the expected statistics to a large degree to be certain, so perhaps over time Popkins and the rest of the hitting staff can make a few tweaks to unlock a tad more over the fence power in time. 

With his best in MLB defense behind the plate he's amassed a team best 2.8 FWAR over this span which is a remarkable outcome. I was always hopeful that he could rediscover the form at the plate that he displayed during the career best 2022 season and combined with the tremendous improvements behind the plate in recent seasons we are enjoying peak Kirk right now. Thank goodness the front office got the extension done in spring training as it would costed a lot more money to do this now given the offensive resurgence.

Laureano is an interesting trade candidate, but surprisingly he's running a sizeable reverse platoon split this season as evidenced by only 94 wRC+ vs LHP and 163 wRC+ vs RHP. This is more of a small sample size anomaly compared to the rest of his career as evidenced by a career 120 wRC+/107 wRC+ LHP/RHP split. He certainly fits the bill as a right handed outfield bat for the club and is almost certainly an upgrade on Davis Schneider, so I'll place a tentative thumbs up towards acquiring him based on potential acquisition cost. I looked up his advanced defensive metrics and he doesn't appear to be a realistic option to spend any time in center field but is likely passable in the corners.

I had a look at Reynold's and there are aspects of his game to like. He's swinging the bat from both sides of the plate with the highest average speeds and fast swing rates since Statcast started tracking bat swing speed. The quality of contact metrics are all at career best rates as well which is also very encouraging. It appears as though he's been remarkably unlucky with batted ball results as the .360 xwOBA is very solid, but the results are poor at .295 wOBA. Perhaps this is something that could even out over time. One concern I have is that he appears to have lost all of his defensive ability to the point where he's a massive liability in the field. With the team already employing below average defenders in Springer and Santander acquiring Reynolds would likely force two of these guys into the corners in most games and that would weakness the outfield defense tremendously.

[max silver]

1 hour ago, PickleJ said:

Interesting. Atkins has stated they will be aggressive at the deadline. I interpreted that to mean an willingness to deal prospects, but maybe it can mean a willingness to take on large salaries and a tax bill  

I have tended to dislike the old man pitching contracts given out to the DeGrooms and Verlanders. But I’ve enjoyed our very brief and injury interrupted experience with Scherzer, so I am more open to taking on another creaky vet that can still deal when healthy. 

DeGrom is technically an older starter but the stuff is still top notch. It's crazy that he appears to have dialed back the intensity a bit and is still averaging 97 MPH on the heater at age 37. He's managed to finally stay healthy as he's pitched nearly as many innings this season as the previous 3 years combined. The team has shown they are willing to roll the dice with older injury prone starters with the signing of Scherzer, so if DeGrom is made available I fully expect them to enter the sweepstakes. I'd hope that this incredibly spotty injury history would serve to lower the asking price a bit but aces are in short supply and this is especially true at the deadline.

[Eat My Shatkins]

Aw man, now I want DeGrom on the Jays. I wouldn't think in a million years he'd accept a trade to TO, but didn't think about the Scherzer connection.

 

[jaysblue]

13 minutes ago, max silver said:

DeGrom is technically an older starter but the stuff is still top notch. It's crazy that he appears to have dialed back the intensity a bit and is still averaging 97 MPH on the heater at age 37. He's managed to finally stay healthy as he's pitched nearly as many innings this season as the previous 3 years combined. The team has shown they are willing to roll the dice with older injury prone starters with the signing of Scherzer, so if DeGrom is made available I fully expect them to enter the sweepstakes. I'd hope that this incredibly spotty injury history would serve to lower the asking price a bit but aces are in short supply and this is especially true at the deadline.

Also, not many other contenders can take on his $37M AAV like the Blue Jays would be able to. 

Rays, Brewers, and Tigers are out for sure. Yankees, Mets, Dodgers and Phillies likely can't add on that future salary anyways. Maybe the Giants, Cubs, & Padres in the NL I suppose. Possibly the Astros if the Rangers trade within the division? Mariners rotation is already deep enough as is and don't need any SPs. 

[PickleJ]

18 minutes ago, max silver said:

I saw the same set of quotes. I do largely agree that this is likely a case of where it's prudent to avoid trying to fix something that isn't broken. Kirk has been flat out mashing over the last 2+ months of the season with the present approach as evidenced by a 142 wRC+ over his last 222 PA. The results are lagging behind the expected statistics to a large degree to be certain, so perhaps over time Popkins and the rest of the hitting staff can make a few tweaks to unlock a tad more over the fence power in time. 

With his best in MLB defense behind the plate he's amassed a team best 2.8 FWAR over this span which is a remarkable outcome. I was always hopeful that he could rediscover the form at the plate that he displayed during the career best 2022 season and combined with the tremendous improvements behind the plate in recent seasons we are enjoying peak Kirk right now. Thank goodness the front office got the extension done in spring training as it would costed a lot more money to do this now given the offensive resurgence.

Laureano is an interesting trade candidate, but surprisingly he's running a sizeable reverse platoon split this season as evidenced by only 94 wRC+ vs LHP and 163 wRC+ vs RHP. This is more of a small sample size anomaly compared to the rest of his career as evidenced by a career 120 wRC+/107 wRC+ LHP/RHP split. He certainly fits the bill as a right handed outfield bat for the club and is almost certainly an upgrade on Davis Schneider, so I'll place a tentative thumbs up towards acquiring him based on potential acquisition cost. I looked up his advanced defensive metrics and he doesn't appear to be a realistic option to spend any time in center field but is likely passable in the corners.

I had a look at Reynold's and there are aspects of his game to like. He's swinging the bat from both sides of the plate with the highest average speeds and fast swing rates since Statcast started tracking bat swing speed. The quality of contact metrics are all at career best rates as well which is also very encouraging. It appears as though he's been remarkably unlucky with batted ball results as the .360 xwOBA is very solid, but the results are poor at .295 wOBA. Perhaps this is something that could even out over time. One concern I have is that he appears to have lost all of his defensive ability to the point where he's a massive liability in the field. With the team already employing below average defenders in Springer and Santander acquiring Reynolds would likely force two of these guys into the corners in most games and that would weakness the outfield defense tremendously.

Yeah… for some reason I thought he’d be better in the field on the bases than he is. 

[max silver]

21 minutes ago, jaysblue said:

Also, not many other contenders can take on his $37M AAV like the Blue Jays would be able to. 

Rays, Brewers, and Tigers are out for sure. Yankees, Mets, Dodgers and Phillies likely can't add on that future salary anyways. Maybe the Giants, Cubs, & Padres in the NL I suppose. Possibly the Astros if the Rangers trade within the division? Mariners rotation is already deep enough as is and don't need any SPs. 

Atkins has directly stated that he has the ability to flex financial muscles at the trade deadline, so hopefully this can be utilized a bit to keep the prospect capital down a tad. I'm much happier with the state of the minor league system compared to pre-deadline a year ago, but at the same time I'm also a bit of a prospect hugger so bringing in any kind of impact is likely to be very painful.

[John_Havok]

4 hours ago, Eat My Shatkins said:

With Burr back, Green looking better as of late and Yimi only nursing a sprained ankle the bullpen seems pretty legit from top to bottom and they still have some legit looking options in AAA with Fluharty, Bruihl and Estrada. 

 

If the Jays were to bring a high leverage reliever, who gets the boot?

 

1. Hoffman

2. Rodriguez 

3. Garcia

4. Little

5. Fischer

6. Burr

7. Sandlin 

8. Green

 

Assuming all healthy, Sandlin to the minors would be the most correct move. There isn't a true long man on that list, so theyd have to use a few guys for 2 IP at a time, depending on how efficient they were. Green, Burr, Fisher can all go 2 IP, Yariel can too though he's more high leverage now. 

It would be an excellent problem to have Sandlin, Fluharty, Estrada, Pina, Schultz, Bhuihl, and Lucas in the minors as capable call-ups in case of injury. 

[mphenhef]

1 hour ago, max silver said:

I saw the same set of quotes. I do largely agree that this is likely a case of where it's prudent to avoid trying to fix something that isn't broken. Kirk has been flat out mashing over the last 2+ months of the season with the present approach as evidenced by a 142 wRC+ over his last 222 PA. The results are lagging behind the expected statistics to a large degree to be certain, so perhaps over time Popkins and the rest of the hitting staff can make a few tweaks to unlock a tad more over the fence power in time. 

With his best in MLB defense behind the plate he's amassed a team best 2.8 FWAR over this span which is a remarkable outcome. I was always hopeful that he could rediscover the form at the plate that he displayed during the career best 2022 season and combined with the tremendous improvements behind the plate in recent seasons we are enjoying peak Kirk right now. Thank goodness the front office got the extension done in spring training as it would costed a lot more money to do this now given the offensive resurgence.

 

I am of the opinion that the increased workload is good for Kirk.  I noticed many times over the years he would have little hot streaks around the time Jansen would get hurt (and his playing time would increase).  I think someone in the Jays management chain incorrectly assumed since he is a bigger guy he needed more rest and more time off despite the success he had in his early years playing more frequently.  It's a shame that those assumptions were made.

[max silver]

11 minutes ago, mphenhef said:

I am of the opinion that the increased workload is good for Kirk.  I noticed many times over the years he would have little hot streaks around the time Jansen would get hurt (and his playing time would increase).  I think someone in the Jays management chain incorrectly assumed since he is a bigger guy he needed more rest and more time off despite the success he had in his early years playing more frequently.  It's a shame that those assumptions were made.

I believe a big part of why Kirk didn't catch more was due to the team employing two starter quality catching options on the roster. Kirk and Jansen made for a fantastic 1/2 punch for the team as they largely enjoyed MLB's most productive catching tandem with the two of them on the roster. Thank goodness the team appears to have chosen the right catcher to keep as Jansen has largely lost his ability to hit and has become a pretty lousy defender as well whereas Moreno hasn't developed offensively much beyond a league average bat.

[Spanky__99]

5 hours ago, Laika said:

The Barves control everyone through 2026 other than Ozuna and Iglesias. 

They will just re-rack and try again next year. Same as Toronto did this year. 

Right, I don't believe they sell anyone with control, just expiring contracts. There's a reason AA said he isn't moving Sale. 

[Ryu In My House]

Anthony Kay is having quite a season in Japan. He may be a guy to target this offseason. 

[Vancouverite]

if DeGrom is a realistic target how much trade value does he really have?

he's owed 37M for the next 2 seasons + a conditional option.

The money owed on a 37 year old is significant, and I don't see why the Yankees, Red Soxs, Mets or Dodgers would go for him.

if Jays are ok with being a luxury team, than us and maybe the Tigers or Phillies would be the only suitors.

I think DeGrom could be had pretty cheap - asset wise. Adam Macko and Orelvis Martinez might get it done if you ask me. Dude is owed 100M and is 37 years old with a hefty injury track record.

[John_Havok]

5 minutes ago, Vancouverite said:

if DeGrom is a realistic target how much trade value does he really have?

he's owed 37M for the next 2 seasons + a conditional option.

The money owed on a 37 year old is significant, and I don't see why the Yankees, Red Soxs, Mets or Dodgers would go for him.

if Jays are ok with being a luxury team, than us and maybe the Tigers or Phillies would be the only suitors.

I think DeGrom could be had pretty cheap - asset wise. Adam Macko and Orelvis Martinez might get it done if you ask me. Dude is owed 100M and is 37 years old with a hefty injury track record.

Youd think, but Texas isn't a penny pinching team. They don't HAVE to move him, they just could if they wanted to. Plus, given the lack of high end arms on the market this year, they'd have tons of competition lining up. I suppose his no-trade clause could be a bit of a roadblock, but typically it's not

[Rimar]

For DeGrom this will cost few young pitchers prospects, like Tidermann, Rojas, Stephen, King. And no crap players like Orelvis, Macko 😄 They will probably try get Nimmala or Yesevage, but Atkins will refuse for sure. 

[Rimar]

Just need to remember what AA paid for R.A. Dickey.  

[Vancouverite]

Question for the analytics guys on here

Do the numbers show Lukes is for real and can stick?

It's such an amazing development that within a year Jays went to have such OF depth. If everyone gets healthy it'll be interesting

Springer

Varsho

Santander

Barger

Lukes 

Schneider 

Straw

Roden

Loperfido

Close 

That's a lot of MLB ready guys and i absoloutely think Roden, Loperfido and Clase need to get an opportunity. The kids have tools.

[Vancouverite]

3 hours ago, John_Havok said:

Youd think, but Texas isn't a penny pinching team. They don't HAVE to move him, they just could if they wanted to. Plus, given the lack of high end arms on the market this year, they'd have tons of competition lining up. I suppose his no-trade clause could be a bit of a roadblock, but typically it's not

That's the thing im unsure on. Not sure how much competition there will be when he's owed 100M potentially still and is 37 years old.

If Jays buy they better be willing to absorb that tax bill because I wouldn't be up for letting other good players walk away at expense of DeGrom. He is 37 after all and his health could fall of any minute the way he pitches.

Big risk and just not sure how many teams will take that risk

[Spanky__99]

I don't think the Rangers make deGrom available, they're still on the bubble and they want to win moving forward.

[infinitebook]

4 hours ago, Vancouverite said:

Question for the analytics guys on here

Do the numbers show Lukes is for real and can stick?

It's such an amazing development that within a year Jays went to have such OF depth. If everyone gets healthy it'll be interesting

Springer

Varsho

Santander

Barger

Lukes 

Schneider 

Straw

Roden

Loperfido

Close 

That's a lot of MLB ready guys and i absoloutely think Roden, Loperfido and Clase need to get an opportunity. The kids have tools.

The analytics dont actually love Lukes, because he doesn't really provide value defensively or on the basepaths, and hits for no power. But his statcast page seems to suggest everything he has done the last 2 seasons has been legit.