Offseason Roster Thread 2025-26

[Bob_Gratton]

2 minutes ago, glory said:

If the Jays are running a Clement/Gimenez infield, then my fear is still waking up to a "Jays sign IKF to a minor league contract" notification. You'll have people who don't know better saying "there's no such thing as a bad minor league contract", completely oblivious to the fact that it would ultimately lead to JS twisting the roster into a pretzel trying to figure out how to get IKF 400 big league PA next season. The Jays better be in love with Leo Jimenez or spend actual money on a good backup infielder. I don't care which one, just pick one of those options.

As far as the pivot from Tucker, and speaking of the Cardinals, I wonder if Nootbaar would be of any interest. Two more years of control and statcast data looks intriguing despite him playing hurt last year. 

 

They are rumor Seattle want Nootbaar and Donovan, and Yankees also interested in Donovan. To take advantage of the Cards, is like when teams take advantage of the Twins last year. opportunities get good players at discount price.

[Bob_Gratton]

1 hour ago, Carlos Danger said:

I am referring to FA competition vs the big boys. We are like 0-6. 

I also don't believe we are substantially better Team ****today then the end of last year with the loss of Bo, and not able to add Tucker.

****Albeit, still a lot of players/trades to be had.

.

Padres lost many good players, and they have financial problem, so maybe it's time to see if Tattis or Mason are available.

[Ryu In My House]

42 minutes ago, Orgfiller said:

I can't believe the Vlad contract doesn't even look that unreasonable already. If he was a free agent he'd have the Mets trying to pair him with Soto as a Pete Alonso replacement, and the Dodgers probably bidding for him for shits and giggles to replace Max Muncy. Probably gets 70M AAV for 5 years or creeps up on the Soto deal.

Great point! 

[Eat My Shatkins]

6 minutes ago, Bob_Gratton said:

Padres lost many good players, and they have financial problem, so maybe it's time to see if Tattis or Mason are available.

Why the hell are you in full panic mode?

 

The Jays are projected to be 5th in batting WAR, 5th in pitching WAR and 2nd in overall WAR in all of MLB. Plus we know how good their D is.

 

Take a breath FFS, we are in great shape.

[BatFlip]

1 hour ago, Stangstag said:

Yeah, there were signs that Bo didn’t really want to come back here. It is what it is. 

Its frustrating that we always seem 1 more piece away from having a perfect offseason. Like yes this was a great offseason, but feels like we needed 1 finishing touch to put the cherry on top. Kinda feels like we may be done.

Yup, couldn't agree more.  I just had a feeling Bo wasn't going to be back and frankly, I'm ok with it.  I didn't like the way he showed up in spring training (plumped up), the massive deterioration in his baserunning, and his reported stubbornness about moving off SS.  Everyone has already said it, but man I am convinced his tools would age horribly on a long-term contract.  Maybe he'll prove me wrong.

The offseason isn't quite over yet, but it does feel like we are one legit bat away from entering the pre-season with a serious swagger.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mphenhef]

1 hour ago, Governator said:

Kind of my point... Sometimes money only goes so far. If wife prefers to be in LA where the travel is likely easier with a newborn (ahem Tucker) what are you going to do?  

I can guarantee you the Jays offered Tucker nowhere near 60 million a year.  If they had, I would bet he signed there.

[jaysblue]

1 hour ago, Laika said:

Brendan Donovan has projections between 2.5 and 2.8 fWAR in 520 to 580 PA 

That's probably quite a mild upgrade on the roster. Maybe 0.5 to 1 win? 

That’s fair based on the projections, and I agree it’s probably a modest upgrade in terms of raw WAR -something like 0.5 to 1 win on paper. That said, the value isn’t just in the aggregate WAR. Donovan raises the floor offensively, brings strong on-base skills, and offers real positional flexibility, which helps with lineup construction, injury coverage, and optimizing matchups over a long season. Those marginal gains can matter more than they look, especially once you factor in depth and variance.

[Carlos Danger]

28 minutes ago, Eat My Shatkins said:

Why the hell are you in full panic mode?

 

The Jays are projected to be 5th in batting WAR, 5th in pitching WAR and 2nd in overall WAR in all of MLB. Plus we know how good their D is.

 

Take a breath FFS, we are in great shape.

These projections are not counting Bo?

[Laika]

1 minute ago, jaysblue said:

That’s fair based on the projections, and I agree it’s probably a modest upgrade in terms of raw WAR -something like 0.5 to 1 win on paper. That said, the value isn’t just in the aggregate WAR. Donovan raises the floor offensively, brings strong on-base skills, and offers real positional flexibility, which helps with lineup construction, injury coverage, and optimizing matchups over a long season. Those marginal gains can matter more than they look, especially once you factor in depth and variance.

But who are you benching for him? 

I dunno. Dude hit 10 homers last year. He has THIRTEENTH percentile bat speed. He has below average sprint speed. He has a noodle arm. Despite the defensive versality he has negative OAA.

I'm out, man. This is a dude with soft tools who builds most of his value on singles and not being a butcher at a few different positions. You take playing time away from someone like Ernie or Barger for him, you are actually just REDUCING the productive ceiling of the roster! 

[jaysblue]

1 hour ago, Alejandro Murphy said:

Sad day for the Jays, punch in the gut after inches away to a Championship trophy then this 24 hours of torture waiting for the big shoe to drop

the what if game, Bo may have stayed if we won but yet again money talks for him and for that insane money given to Tucker

 

Excited for Ernie to a more stable role.

 

personally can’t stress enough Vlad’s importance to this team.

 

Lets go Jays !

This is why you shouldn't get too emotionally attached to players as a fan. 

Watching Bo here was fun and it's too bad him and Vladdy couldn't win a Championship together, though it is what it is. Move on. Bo isn't paying your mortgage. 

 

[Eat My Shatkins]

4 minutes ago, Carlos Danger said:

These projections are not counting Bo?

No, not counting Bo

 

https://www.fangraphs.com/depthcharts.aspx?position=Team

[jaysblue]

6 minutes ago, Laika said:

But who are you benching for him? 

I dunno. Dude hit 10 homers last year. He has THIRTEENTH percentile bat speed. He has below average sprint speed. He has a noodle arm. Despite the defensive versality he has negative OAA.

I'm out, man. This is a dude with soft tools who builds most of his value on singles and not being a butcher at a few different positions. You take playing time away from someone like Ernie or Barger for him, you are actually just REDUCING the productive ceiling of the roster! 

I get the concern about tools, but this is where production vs. aesthetics gets blurred. Donovan isn’t flashy, but the bat has clearly played. He posted a 119 wRC+, which is meaningfully above average, while Clement put up a 98 wRC+ in what’s widely viewed as his best offensive season. Giménez, meanwhile, was at 70 wRC+. Over a full season, both Clement and Giménez carry very real downside with the bat.

Donovan’s value isn’t about raw power, bat speed percentiles, or highlight tools. It’s about consistently getting on base and not giving away plate appearances. That matters over 500–600 PAs, especially when you’re trying to avoid lineup dead zones.

And the versatility matters. Donovan can play third, short, second, and the outfield, which makes the “who are you benching?” question less zero-sum. It’s not about permanently sitting Barger or Ernie. It’s about reallocating playing time, managing matchups, and insulating the roster against regression and injuries, which inevitably happen over a full season. He doesn’t lower the ceiling; he stabilizes the floor and keeps the lineup from cratering when the bottom half goes cold.

[Terminator]

Signing Framber raises the projected WAR about as much as Tucker and more than Bo. I will now take my tar and feathering like a man.

[Hipfan]

Last 24 hrs feel like huge gut punch and makes me feel like the off season has been a let down, which obviously it hasn’t been. Still want the Jays to add a bat though. 

[Governator]

My only concerns at this point is are we getting 2025 Springer or 2024 Springer (He is turning 37 this year) and we still have to watch Hoffman close out games.  You can't convince me his playoff run is what we can expect from him in the 9th.

[philly30]

Today makes me hate Hoffman more

[philly30]

23 minutes ago, jaysblue said:

This is why you shouldn't get too emotionally attached to players as a fan. 

Watching Bo here was fun and it's too bad him and Vladdy couldn't win a Championship together, though it is what it is. Move on. Bo isn't paying your mortgage. 

 

They won the Al championship, best anyone is getting not located in Los Angeles for awhile 

[Carlos Danger]

11 minutes ago, Governator said:

My only concerns at this point is are we getting 2025 Springer or 2024 Springer (He is turning 37 this year) and we still have to watch Hoffman close out games.  You can't convince me his playoff run is what we can expect from him in the 9th.

These two issues are also high on my list of worries about the Team.

[max silver]

18 minutes ago, Governator said:

My only concerns at this point is are we getting 2025 Springer or 2024 Springer (He is turning 37 this year) and we still have to watch Hoffman close out games.  You can't convince me his playoff run is what we can expect from him in the 9th.

I expect a good chunk of Springer's improvements to stick. He added several MPH to his average swing speed, kept the chase rate at elite levels, adjusted his swing plane to get the ball in the air more etc. I have essentially zero concern about the 2024 bat suddenly reappearing as I think he's sustainably fixed his issues, at least in the short term 2026 context. 

[Laika]

32 minutes ago, jaysblue said:

I get the concern about tools, but this is where production vs. aesthetics gets blurred. Donovan isn’t flashy, but the bat has clearly played. He posted a 119 wRC+, which is meaningfully above average, while Clement put up a 98 wRC+ in what’s widely viewed as his best offensive season. Giménez, meanwhile, was at 70 wRC+. Over a full season, both Clement and Giménez carry very real downside with the bat.

Donovan’s value isn’t about raw power, bat speed percentiles, or highlight tools. It’s about consistently getting on base and not giving away plate appearances. That matters over 500–600 PAs, especially when you’re trying to avoid lineup dead zones.

And the versatility matters. Donovan can play third, short, second, and the outfield, which makes the “who are you benching?” question less zero-sum. It’s not about permanently sitting Barger or Ernie. It’s about reallocating playing time, managing matchups, and insulating the roster against regression and injuries, which inevitably happen over a full season. He doesn’t lower the ceiling; he stabilizes the floor and keeps the lineup from cratering when the bottom half goes cold.

Nah he has about as much versality as Davis Schneider 

He has basically just been an emergency SS. Only played 3B meaningfully back in 2022. 

Dude is a LF/2B. 

And he's even a minus OF by OAA, and a minus 2B by DRS. 27th percentile sprint speed and consistently negative baserunning... I hate him. 

[Carlos Danger]

18 minutes ago, max silver said:

I expect a good chunk of Springer's improvements to stick. He added several MPH to his average swing speed, kept the chase rate at elite levels, adjusted his swing plane to get the ball in the air more etc. I have essentially zero concern about the 2024 bat suddenly reappearing as I think he's sustainably fixed his issues, at least in the short term 2026 context. 

Jose Bautista helped lead us to a ALCS birth in 2016 when he was 35. A year later when he was 36 we couldn't wait to get rid of him . His age 36 year (2017)was the last with the Blue Jays and he played his last MLB game in 2018 (37).

I don't have faith in Springer being able to sustain last year or even come close in his age 37 yr. Especially when 2025 was an outlier of the previous 4 yrs.

I think the above, plus the expiring contract in 2026 is exactly why the Jays were hot after Tucker.

[Funky]

38 minutes ago, Terminator said:

Signing Framber raises the projected WAR about as much as Tucker and more than Bo. I will now take my tar and feathering like a man.

I don’t disagree with this, but when it comes to postseason, you can basically only pitch three starting  pitchers unless you wanna go with a four man rotation, which in the end would probably be smart

 

not every starter can come out of a bullpen like Bassett.
 

 I wasn’t on the Bellinger train, but if we could get them on a short term high AAV deal like the last two contracts I would feel much better..  As a lefty , hitting in the two hole with Vladidy protecting him, we could trot out quite a lineup. 
 

My dad‘s in the hospital right now pepping for open heart surgery so I haven’t had a whole lot of time to look at advanced stats and stuff, but off the top of my head, we would throw a difficult lineup

Springer -R

Belly - L

Vladdy - R

Barger - L

Santander - S

Varsho  -L

Okamoto - R

Kirk - R

Gimenez - L  /Clement- R

 

Plus a decent bench.   Trade Straw for an infielder and we still have Schneider, Lucas, Heineman and a very versatile line up. 

[Bob_Gratton]

1 hour ago, Eat My Shatkins said:

Why the hell are you in full panic mode?

 

The Jays are projected to be 5th in batting WAR, 5th in pitching WAR and 2nd in overall WAR in all of MLB. Plus we know how good their D is.

 

Take a breath FFS, we are in great shape.

Maybe because other teams like Mariners, Red Sox, Baltimore, Yankees will continue to improve their team with trades and free agent signing. We lost Bichette bat and didn't replaced him. We shouldn't have too much expectations on Santander, Barger, Lukes, because the first he's prone injury, and the last two just had  the best season in their career. Barger in minor league wasn't a star player, so he probably come back to prior 2025. And the actual lineup is filled with many guys who barely can hit for .230 AVG, We saw the result in game 3 during WS , when have too much similar players in lineup.

[Jays24]

2 hours ago, JaysFan99 said:

This has probably been discussed, but what would a trade for Brendan Donovan cost?  

Ceiling isn't high enough.  Team needed someone of Bo/Tucker/Bregman's calibre tbh.  

[Bob_Gratton]

9 minutes ago, Laika said:

Nah he has about as much versality as Davis Schneider 

He has basically just been an emergency SS. Only played 3B meaningfully back in 2022. 

Dude is a LF/2B. 

And he's even a minus OF by OAA, and a minus 2B by DRS. 27th percentile sprint speed and consistently negative baserunning... I hate him. 

He won a gold glove few years ago, often hit for .270, . 280 AVG, things that Schneider will never do. 

[Bob_Gratton]

1 minute ago, Bob_Gratton said:

He won a gold glove few years ago, often hit for .270, . 280 AVG, things that Schneider will never do. 

Arenado, Donovan win historic Gold Glove Awards

[max silver]

5 minutes ago, Carlos Danger said:

Jose Bautista helped lead us to a ALCS birth in 2016 when he was 35. A year later when he was 36 we couldn't wait to get rid of him . His age 36 year (2017)was the last with the Blue Jays and he played his last MLB game in 2018 (37).

I don't have faith in Springer being able to sustain last year or even come close in his age 37 yr. Especially when 2025 was an outlier of the previous 4 yrs.

I think the above, plus the expiring contract in 2026 is exactly why the Jays were hot after Tucker.

I don't expect Springer to necessarily repeat his 2025 performance as there are only a handful of players in MLB you could safely project that level of offensive output. I don't know if Bautista is a great comparison, as he never found a way to reverse his own decline at the plate. He was steadily declining year over year until he was no longer a viable starter, whereas Springer actually appeared to improve his relative skill level at the plate due to the changes that he implemented. Projection systems view George from 115-123 wRC+ which is very "safe", but I would actually be rather surprised if he doesn't beat these pretty handily.

[Eat My Shatkins]

7 minutes ago, Bob_Gratton said:

Maybe because other teams like Mariners, Red Sox, Baltimore, Yankees will continue to improve their team with trades and free agent signing. We lost Bichette bat and didn't replaced him. We shouldn't have too much expectations on Santander, Barger, Lukes, because the first he's prone injury, and the last two just had  the best season in their career. Barger in minor league wasn't a star player, so he probably come back to prior 2025. And the actual lineup is filled with many guys who barely can hit for .230 AVG, We saw the result in game 3 during WS , when have too much similar players in lineup.

Despite all that the Jays remain ranked 2nd in MLB in projected fWAR

They already did their heavy lifting.

[mphenhef]

50 minutes ago, Hipfan said:

Last 24 hrs feel like huge gut punch and makes me feel like the off season has been a let down, which obviously it hasn’t been. Still want the Jays to add a bat though. 

I have felt for a while they were not getting either.  It is much nicer this way.

[gruber9292]

3 hours ago, Vancouverite said:

Good for Bo

But considering hes not a power bat, avg defense and his up and downs over the years I think its good we didnt sign him to such a contract.

 

Bo's defence is below average