Blue Jays Discussion Thread (2026)

[Sasky05]

On 1/30/2026 at 12:04 PM, mphenhef said:

Because they pay them peanuts and they have to work multiple jobs to survive the grind of the season.  I don't understand why some owner isn't enabling their players to fully focus on getting better by paying their way.  Surely, that's far cheaper than doling out extra millions for free agents.

What about the $922K signing bonus he got when he signed? He didn't exactly get peanuts, and I don't think he has to work as a Walmart greeter just to pay the off-season bills.. 

[Laika]

Lmao

[Jays24]

4 hours ago, Laika said:

Lmao

Thought with the 500M contract, he didnt need the OnlyFans account lol.  

[mphenhef]

12 hours ago, Sasky05 said:

What about the $922K signing bonus he got when he signed? He didn't exactly get peanuts, and I don't think he has to work as a Walmart greeter just to pay the off-season bills.. 

My comment was a general comment on the state of minor league baseball.  yes, there are guys who signed big bonuses who can afford it, but many are not like that.

[Perfect Game]

1 hour ago, mphenhef said:

My comment was a general comment on the state of minor league baseball.  yes, there are guys who signed big bonuses who can afford it, but many are not like that.

Apparently there are caps in place as to how much teams can spend on the ops side, Front office execs, scouting, player development etc. The owners clamoring for a salary cap without a floor are leading the charge in that area too. 

[Olerud363.354]

Curious if anyone has any update on what is going on with Shane Bieber?  Seemed like he never quite recovered from TJ and couldn't pitch on 4 days rest.   Jays basically switched to the bullpen games last week of season to give him an extra day.  Then World Series wasn't given 2 starts.  Then accepts the option. 

Do you think 

a) Bieber will be able to handle a full workload 32 starts 180 innings, games 2 and 6 of World Series. 

b) Bieber will be healthy all year but have to be managed as kind of a once a week pitcher 115 innings, phantom dl mid season for rest and 1 start in in each playoff series. 

c) he is broken.  Will pitch at Josh Johnson 2013 level.

 

[Brownie19]

11 minutes ago, Olerud363.354 said:

Curious if anyone has any update on what is going on with Shane Bieber?  Seemed like he never quite recovered from TJ and couldn't pitch on 4 days rest.   Jays basically switched to the bullpen games last week of season to give him an extra day.  Then World Series wasn't given 2 starts.  Then accepts the option. 

Do you think 

a) Bieber will be able to handle a full workload 32 starts 180 innings, games 2 and 6 of World Series. 

b) Bieber will be healthy all year but have to be managed as kind of a once a week pitcher 115 innings, phantom dl mid season for rest and 1 start in in each playoff series. 

c) he is broken.  Will pitch at Josh Johnson 2013 level.

Nobody knows the answer to any of those questions.  Obviously it will be something to watch in Spring Training.  

[Terminator]

26 minutes ago, Olerud363.354 said:

Curious if anyone has any update on what is going on with Shane Bieber?  Seemed like he never quite recovered from TJ and couldn't pitch on 4 days rest.   Jays basically switched to the bullpen games last week of season to give him an extra day.  Then World Series wasn't given 2 starts.  Then accepts the option. 

Do you think 

a) Bieber will be able to handle a full workload 32 starts 180 innings, games 2 and 6 of World Series. 

b) Bieber will be healthy all year but have to be managed as kind of a once a week pitcher 115 innings, phantom dl mid season for rest and 1 start in in each playoff series. 

c) he is broken.  Will pitch at Josh Johnson 2013 level.

 

Didn't he pitch out of the bullpen on short rest in Game 7?

I think he'll be fine but I wouldn't pencil in 180 innings. Probably more like 150.

[Brownie19]

23 minutes ago, Terminator said:

Didn't he pitch out of the bullpen on short rest in Game 7?

I think he'll be fine but I wouldn't pencil in 180 innings. Probably more like 150.

100%

Only 21 pitchers in baseball threw 180+ innings last year. 

[Eat My Shatkins]

1 hour ago, Olerud363.354 said:

Curious if anyone has any update on what is going on with Shane Bieber?  Seemed like he never quite recovered from TJ and couldn't pitch on 4 days rest.   Jays basically switched to the bullpen games last week of season to give him an extra day.  Then World Series wasn't given 2 starts.  Then accepts the option. 

Do you think 

a) Bieber will be able to handle a full workload 32 starts 180 innings, games 2 and 6 of World Series. 

b) Bieber will be healthy all year but have to be managed as kind of a once a week pitcher 115 innings, phantom dl mid season for rest and 1 start in in each playoff series. 

c) he is broken.  Will pitch at Josh Johnson 2013 level.

 

When the Jays basically already have 7 high quality SP's on their active MLB roster, yet are still rumored to be chasing more high quality SPs it makes you question everything.

[Laika]

2 hours ago, Olerud363.354 said:

Curious if anyone has any update on what is going on with Shane Bieber?  Seemed like he never quite recovered from TJ and couldn't pitch on 4 days rest.   Jays basically switched to the bullpen games last week of season to give him an extra day.  Then World Series wasn't given 2 starts.  Then accepts the option. 

Do you think 

a) Bieber will be able to handle a full workload 32 starts 180 innings, games 2 and 6 of World Series. 

b) Bieber will be healthy all year but have to be managed as kind of a once a week pitcher 115 innings, phantom dl mid season for rest and 1 start in in each playoff series. 

c) he is broken.  Will pitch at Josh Johnson 2013 level.

 

I think what their plan will be with Bieber is to slow walk him through the first leg of the year with the ultimate goal of having him fully healthy and firing on all cylinders in the fall. 

Essentially, the Dodgers approach with some SP. 

I doubt the team cares about his IP or GS totals in 2026. 

And Bieber probably has no illusions that he is going to get paid as a workhorse anyway so 140 quality innings will look better for his free agency than 180 innings where he gets rocked a bit or ends up hurt. 

So, b) from your list will be closer to the truth but the first and second halves of the season may be quite different. 

 

[Terminator]

15 hours ago, Laika said:

Lmao

[Laika]

If his hair wasn't a bit longer you could question whether or not they were taken on the same day

It is amazing how fat he can get. Amazing how his baseball talent is just PURE genetics and baseball IQ (ignoring baserunning) since he appears to be a bottom of the barrel workout guy. He basically gets fat and sloppy and then pays a PT for 8 weeks in the offseason to help him lose 15 lbs and add 10 lbs to his bench press. Remarkably divergent as far as modern professional athletes go. Might as well be smoking and eating hot dogs during the games.

OR on the flip side, people just hyperfocus too much on aesthetics when it comes to physical preparation for some sports. Body fat can be beneficial, especially for recovery and generic human health and of course strength athletes are always "fat" and a lot of what he does (hit ball hard) is an exercise in strength. Maybe too many guys these days try to look like underwear models and then just blow out their obliques every year or come back slow from every injury (Tyler O'Neill)

[Terminator]

40th percentile speed while looking like an NFL offensive lineman (only shorter) is quite the accomplishment for Vlad

[max silver]

3 hours ago, Terminator said:

I thought it looks like Vlad is noticeably slimmer, particularly around the love handles is the most apparent. In a perfect world he'd be starting the offseason in the after picture level of conditioning instead of yoyo'ing up and down after every season. 

[Brownie19]

11 minutes ago, max silver said:

I thought it looks like Vlad is noticeably slimmer, particularly around the love handles is the most apparent. In a perfect world he'd be starting the offseason in the after picture level of conditioning instead of yoyo'ing up and down after every season. 

(checks mirror)

My love handles also look better when I raise my arms up and flex like that - so it could just be an optical illusion.  

[max silver]

30 minutes ago, Brownie19 said:

(checks mirror)

My love handles also look better when I raise my arms up and flex like that - so it could just be an optical illusion.  

There's certainly a lot of guesswork involved when the before and after photos aren't showing the same pose.

[Olerud363.354]

6 hours ago, Terminator said:

Didn't he pitch out of the bullpen on short rest in Game 7?

He did.  And that is why it is kind of a weird gray area.   They weren't confident going game 3 and 7 with him in the World Series.   And they weren't confident going with him on 4 days rest last Thursday of the regular season.

So kind of wondering if the extra rest thing is going to be be long term... if so that is probably still a great outcome for 16 million.   And maybe a 6 man rotation fits the roster (Yesivage stil young, Gaussman kind of getting old, Berrios not totally reliable)

 

[Olerud363.354]

4 hours ago, Laika said:

just hyperfocus too much on aesthetics when it comes to physical preparation for some sports. Body fat can be beneficial, especially for recovery and generic human health and of course strength athletes are always "fat" and a lot of what he does (hit ball hard) is an exercise in strength.

If he's doughy not a big deal.  The problems occurred when he was flat out obese.   The best he looked was honestly when he was 19.    Never got back to that ... convinced he would have won the triple crown at 19 if they called him up in 2018.  2 years later during Covid he had gained like 80 pounds.  Probably most of the time he is halfway between obese and fit which will be good enough hopefully. 

 

[max silver]

FFS it was announced that Santander is undergoing labrum surgery and will be out 5-6 months. Also announced was that Bowden Francis will need UCL surgery but that's a smaller blow given his status as more of a depth arm. 

[Laika]

Santander is a moron lol

[Terminator]

5 minutes ago, max silver said:

FFS it was announced that Santander is undergoing labrum surgery and will be out 5-6 months. Also announced was that Bowden Francis will need UCL surgery but that's a smaller blow given his status as more of a depth arm. 

Bieber not going to be ready for Opening Day either due to "forearm fatigue"

[BTS]

6 minutes ago, max silver said:

FFS it was announced that Santander is undergoing labrum surgery and will be out 5-6 months.

I think I f***ing hate this guy

[Jonn]

Well atleast we won’t have to watch Santander play the Outfield this Season. That signing is vomit inducing.

[glory]

Man, Tony's 2026 is probably a wash too at this point. A 5-6 month timeline puts him back around July/Aug, and there's no guarantee he will even be good when he does come back.

Lukes is fine as a 4th OF, but they really need to add a OF now. 

[G-Snarls]

Oh wow 

So we need a full time OF after all so Springer can full time DH

[Jays24]

Man wtf... the Jays just went from a potential stacked lineup with Bo/Santandar in the fold to being pretty damn meh offensively. 

Absolutely horrible timing after all free agents have already signed elsewhere too.  Not sure how but its a must we find a top of the order bat.

[harvey16]

How the f*** did the Jays not go out and sign a top tier outfielder, they had to have known that Santander was cooked, unreal!

[Jonn]

If he had a full labrum tear I’m assuming this was a gym injury. If it’s on the throwing shoulder he won’t be playing Outfield this year if he comes back. Which I doubt he will anywhere near 100%. I would have to think this just happened because no way they put it off this long.

[Terminator]

Lukes projects for about twice the WAR that Santander does so aside from how dumb this all is, the on field production will actually increase