Blue Jays Discussion Thread (2026)

[JaysFan99]

1 hour ago, Laika said:

Could put Corbin on the Gentleman's IL. 

I have no problem with optioning Macko and cutting Seabold. 

I'd prefer to keep SWR for now 

Yeah I don't think anyone cares about cutting Seabold. 

I would definitely hang onto SWR though.  He's definitely going to need to eat some innings if we keep letting Scherzer and Corbin start.

[Landry_25]

7 minutes ago, JaysFan99 said:

Yeah I don't think anyone cares about cutting Seabold. 

I would definitely hang onto SWR though.  He's definitely going to need to eat some innings if we keep letting Scherzer and Corbin start.

If he pitches like last night he may get starts over them two even 

[glory]

2 hours ago, BTS said:

So how much leash does Gimenez actually have as an everyday player? The team can't pencil him in as their starting SS next year if he keeps hitting like he has the last 2.5 years, and its hard to see that changing at this point. 

He's not a starting caliber player even with the defense. Projected for a 2.5 WAR by the end of the season but they are expecting a 90+ wRC+ from him during that span, and I think that's a big reach at this point. The sample size for him being a bad hitter is far greater now, and he's not stealing bases like he did previously (maybe due to injuries) so he's not even adding that much value there. I know JS values vetrin presents more than skill sometimes, but at the very least he has to accept that Gimenez is a platoon bat and stick someone else at 2B/SS against LHP. He has a 52 wRC+ against LHP since 2024. 

Atkins absorbing over $100M in guaranteed money for Gimenez and Straw has to be investigated. No other GM on the planet, regardless of available payroll, would have done that, much less given up an asset (Horwitz) in the process. At least Straw had a good 2025, and Gimenez had some big hits in the playoffs last year. 

[Terminator]

Yeah, we’ve gotta keep SWR. His velo was up, his Stuff+ was 94 (up from 87 with the Twins), and his Location+ was 108 (up from 95).

Seabold is the obvious cut and Macko (who is a little overrated right now) is optionable.

Beyond that, I wonder if Corbin’s days are numbered. Doesn't seem fair but he’s looking like a fringe #5 again, and I’m not sure he fits in the bullpen.

Even if Scherzer struggles and is IL'd, SWR and Bieber are probably better options than Corbin anyway and Yimi may be coming back as well. And if Corbin is throwing like junk, is he really worth cramming in the bullpen instead of just cutting him loose? If we get desperate to the point we need to go back to Corbin we could just use Chad Dallas and make a move at the deadline.

There’s always the Phantom IL too (aka the Dodgers Special). Maybe Corbin would be open to that but I think Fisher and Miles could be good Phantom IL candidates as well. Fisher is on pace for 85 innings, and Miles is already at 41 after barely pitching in pro ball, though I bet the Giants are watching that situation like a hawk.

[Terminator]

15 minutes ago, glory said:

He's not a starting caliber player even with the defense. Projected for a 2.5 WAR by the end of the season but they are expecting a 90+ wRC+ from him during that span, and I think that's a big reach at this point. The sample size for him being a bad hitter is far greater now, and he's not stealing bases like he did previously (maybe due to injuries) so he's not even adding that much value there. I know JS values vetrin presents more than skill sometimes, but at the very least he has to accept that Gimenez is a platoon bat and stick someone else at 2B/SS against LHP. He has a 52 wRC+ against LHP since 2024. 

Atkins absorbing over $100M in guaranteed money for Gimenez and Straw has to be investigated. No other GM on the planet, regardless of available payroll, would have done that, much less given up an asset (Horwitz) in the process. At least Straw had a good 2025, and Gimenez had some big hits in the playoffs last year. 

I don't know if the projections are that out of whack. They are projecting a .302 wOBA for him and his xwOBA was better than that just last season, he just got extremely unlucky.

And yes, his numbers SUCK this year, but hopefully it's just a bad May slump that is dragging his numbers down.

All that said, this isn't looking like the slick trade that I had hoped it would be. He's awfully expensive for a glove first player.

[Terminator]

11 minutes ago, Terminator said:

Yeah, we’ve gotta keep SWR. His velo was up, his Stuff+ was 94 (up from 87 with the Twins), and his Location+ was 108 (up from 95).

Seabold is the obvious cut and Macko (who is a little overrated right now) is optionable.

Beyond that, I wonder if Corbin’s days are numbered. Doesn't seem fair but he’s looking like a fringe #5 again, and I’m not sure he fits in the bullpen.

Even if Scherzer struggles and is IL'd, SWR and Bieber are probably better options than Corbin anyway and Yimi may be coming back as well. And if Corbin is throwing like junk, is he really worth cramming in the bullpen instead of just cutting him loose? If we get desperate to the point we need to go back to Corbin we could just use Chad Dallas and make a move at the deadline.

There’s always the Phantom IL too (aka the Dodgers Special). Maybe Corbin would be open to that but I think Fisher and Miles could be good Phantom IL candidates as well. Fisher is on pace for 85 innings, and Miles is already at 41 after barely pitching in pro ball, though I bet the Giants are watching that situation like a hawk.

What do you guys think of my use of bolding names in this post?

I am testing a few things out here and since I speak ball at a really high level I thought it might help you all follow along. Just trying to help because I'm a good guy.

[Laika]

Gimenez was 95th percentile sprint speed a few years ago, now he is 65th. Speed is gone. Not coming back. 

Sadness. 

That is a small part of why his hitting is down as well. He was probably able to beat out a dozen infield hits a year when he was 23 that just aren't happening now. 

[Laika]

Just now, Terminator said:

What do you guys think of my use of bolding names in this post?

I am testing a few things out here and since I speak ball at a really high level I thought it might help you all follow along. Just trying to help because I'm a good guy.

Accessible and readable writing is a great approach in almost every venue of life. People with low IQs and poor reading comprehension LOVE:

• Bolded words
• Capitalized words
• Headings
• Lists 
• Plain language (smaller words)
• Examples when appropriate 

[max silver]

23 minutes ago, Terminator said:

Yeah, we’ve gotta keep SWR. His velo was up, his Stuff+ was 94 (up from 87 with the Twins), and his Location+ was 108 (up from 95).

Seabold is the obvious cut and Macko (who is a little overrated right now) is optionable.

Beyond that, I wonder if Corbin’s days are numbered. Doesn't seem fair but he’s looking like a fringe #5 again, and I’m not sure he fits in the bullpen.

Even if Scherzer struggles and is IL'd, SWR and Bieber are probably better options than Corbin anyway and Yimi may be coming back as well. And if Corbin is throwing like junk, is he really worth cramming in the bullpen instead of just cutting him loose? If we get desperate to the point we need to go back to Corbin we could just use Chad Dallas and make a move at the deadline.

There’s always the Phantom IL too (aka the Dodgers Special). Maybe Corbin would be open to that but I think Fisher and Miles could be good Phantom IL candidates as well. Fisher is on pace for 85 innings, and Miles is already at 41 after barely pitching in pro ball, though I bet the Giants are watching that situation like a hawk.

It's a little early to make any declarations about SWR. He had something like a 10+ day break in between outings and he'll need to prove that he can continue to show improved stuff with more frequent usage.

[Terminator]

Just now, max silver said:

It's a little early to make any declarations about SWR. He had something like a 10+ day break in between outings and he'll need to prove that he can continue to show improved stuff with more frequent usage.

Yeah that's fair lol

I'm pretty down on Corbin though

[Orgfiller]

29 minutes ago, Laika said:

Gimenez was 95th percentile sprint speed a few years ago, now he is 65th. Speed is gone. Not coming back. 

Sadness. 

That is a small part of why his hitting is down as well. He was probably able to beat out a dozen infield hits a year when he was 23 that just aren't happening now. 

Have to imagine those ankle injuries are catching up to him. Obviously he could've just peaked athletically already and is in somewhat of decline, but just in 2024 he was 89th percentile and tanked to 65th the following two seasons. His lower half might be kind of f***ed and I'm not sure if there's a way back to that. It's affecting his base running but surely it must also be affecting his hitting.

[Orgfiller]

48 minutes ago, Terminator said:

Yeah, we’ve gotta keep SWR. His velo was up, his Stuff+ was 94 (up from 87 with the Twins), and his Location+ was 108 (up from 95).

Seabold is the obvious cut and Macko (who is a little overrated right now) is optionable.

Beyond that, I wonder if Corbin’s days are numbered. Doesn't seem fair but he’s looking like a fringe #5 again, and I’m not sure he fits in the bullpen.

Even if Scherzer struggles and is IL'd, SWR and Bieber are probably better options than Corbin anyway and Yimi may be coming back as well. And if Corbin is throwing like junk, is he really worth cramming in the bullpen instead of just cutting him loose? If we get desperate to the point we need to go back to Corbin we could just use Chad Dallas and make a move at the deadline.

There’s always the Phantom IL too (aka the Dodgers Special). Maybe Corbin would be open to that but I think Fisher and Miles could be good Phantom IL candidates as well. Fisher is on pace for 85 innings, and Miles is already at 41 after barely pitching in pro ball, though I bet the Giants are watching that situation like a hawk.

23 minutes ago, max silver said:

It's a little early to make any declarations about SWR. He had something like a 10+ day break in between outings and he'll need to prove that he can continue to show improved stuff with more frequent usage.

The main thing for SWR to maintain is the location more than the stuff. Obviously when his stuff is this mediocre to begin with, 87 to 94 is a significant jump, but it's even more important that he's hitting the spots consistently. When he was serviceable for the Twins the Stuff+ was bad - 90-91 but the Location+ was 97-106. He needs above average command to be valuable or he's going to get crushed.

[max silver]

3 minutes ago, Orgfiller said:

The main thing for SWR to maintain is the location more than the stuff. Obviously when his stuff is this mediocre to begin with, 87 to 94 is a significant jump, but it's even more important that he's hitting the spots consistently. When he was serviceable for the Twins the Stuff+ was bad - 90-91 but the Location+ was 97-106. He needs above average command to be valuable or he's going to get crushed.

I can agree that SWR needs to sufficiently command the baseball to maximize his chances of success. Having said that the worse the stuff is the more likely it becomes that even well located pitches lead to solid contact against him. I recall seeing somewhere that his arm angle had changed this season and wonder if this is something the Blue Jays are working towards addressing. I believe a key factor in whether he can turn his season around will be commanding the splitter more effectively. I believe that can potentially be an out pitch for him if he can avoid the number of apparent mistakes shown in the heat maps.

[Brownie19]

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25K likes, 122 comments - sportsnet on June 4, 2026: "Chad Dallas shares how special it was to learn on Lou Gehrig Day...

Cool little follow up to the Chad Dallas call up. I think I flagged this little nugget in the GDT.  Love it.

[Brownie19]

Sanchez has been amazing since Laika said they should cut him.  121 wRC+ on the season now.  Good add following the injury to Tony Taters.

[jmomcc]

They kind of need to wait to see what Max looks like feels like before they make a final decision on Corbin/SWR.

[Landry_25]

8 hours ago, jmomcc said:

They kind of need to wait to see what Max looks like feels like before they make a final decision on Corbin/SWR.

For sure, and not just 1 or 2 starts. Max can be lights out one start and total crap the next lol we’ll see how it goes. Nice to have 5 actual starters back in the rotation though at the moment 

[max silver]

11 hours ago, Brownie19 said:

Sanchez has been amazing since Laika said they should cut him.  121 wRC+ on the season now.  Good add following the injury to Tony Taters.

Sanchez has handily outperformed Kyle Tucker with the bat so far this season. He's an outright disaster in the field but he's delivered a solid 135 wRC+ against right handed pitching.

[Laika]

Toronto should consider DFA-ing Vlad

I wonder if a desperate team like the Mets or Red Sox or Padres would claim him 

Or the PIRATES OR NATS OR WHITE SOX imagine that PR infusion into their rebuilds?

[Governator]

On 6/9/2026 at 10:31 AM, BTS said:

Jeff Hoffman and the Worst BABIP of All Time | FanGraphs Baseball

Sure it's noteworthy and there will be some leveling out.... He also had a very lucky .248 BABIP last season and gave us a whopping -0.4 fWAR.  Where's that in the article.

He can take his (very likely league leading) 20%+ hr/fb to a team that wants to bank on his luck to turn around.  Thanks for the postseason memories though, it was good times.

[Laika]

5 minutes ago, Governator said:

Sure it's noteworthy and there will be some leveling out.... He also had a very lucky .248 BABIP last season and gave us a whopping -0.4 fWAR.  Where's that in the article.

He can take his (very likely league leading) 20%+ hr/fb to a team that wants to bank on his luck to turn around.  Thanks for the postseason memories though, it was good times.

HR/FB rate takes like 400 flyballs to stabilize 

Hoffman's career rate is 14.5% with 600+ flyballs but that includes pitching exclusively in bandbox stadiums and Coors Field, up until Toronto. He should be closer to 13% going forward. 

xFIP will win eventually. 

I love Jeff Hoffman

[Terminator]

I will say that Jeff takes all of this on the chin.

A lot of guys, like notorious scumbag Blake Snell, will immediately start pointing to bad luck anytime they have a bad outing.

Hoffman has more reason than anyone to do the same but he just says he didn't perform well.

Classy guy.

[max silver]

47 minutes ago, Governator said:

Sure it's noteworthy and there will be some leveling out.... He also had a very lucky .248 BABIP last season and gave us a whopping -0.4 fWAR.  Where's that in the article.

He can take his (very likely league leading) 20%+ hr/fb to a team that wants to bank on his luck to turn around.  Thanks for the postseason memories though, it was good times.

Last night was yet another instance of Hoffman being comically unlucky on the results of batted balls in play as he gave up a single which shouldn't have occurred with proper fielding. Hoffman is only allowing a 27% fly ball rate this season so the HR/FB ratio isn't hurting him to any great degree. I fully believe the historically unlucky BABIP is going to eventually normalize we'll eventually get a better read on what Hoffman actually is this season. The underlying numbers are elite and there's no conceivable way he's going to be subjected to a .500 BABIP over a full season of play. He very well may be an elite reliever this season once his luck normalizes albeit one still prone to the occasional meltdown. 

[Governator]

43 minutes ago, Laika said:

HR/FB rate takes like 400 flyballs to stabilize 

Hoffman's career rate is 14.5% with 600+ flyballs but that includes pitching exclusively in bandbox stadiums and Coors Field, up until Toronto. He should be closer to 13% going forward. 

xFIP will win eventually. 

I love Jeff Hoffman

Yes that's true but the 2 years he's been with us has been 20% any way you look at it.  Regardless, my counterpoint to the article is that he had one of the best BABIP last season and what happened?

[max silver]

7 minutes ago, Governator said:

Yes that's true but the 2 years he's been with us has been 20% any way you look at it.  Regardless, my counterpoint to the article is that he had one of the best BABIP last season and what happened?

Hoffman had an excellent xBA last season and suppressed line drive contact with a 16.5% line drive rate so the BABIP wasn't necessarily completely underserved. His primary issues were regarding the home run ball and that's not captured by BABIP anyway. I think your counterpoint is a bit of a false equivalency anyway as potentially being 50 points on the lucky side of BABIP isn't really a direct counterpoint to being punished 200 points on the bad fortune side this season.

[Governator]

51 minutes ago, max silver said:

Hoffman had an excellent xBA last season and suppressed line drive contact with a 16.5% line drive rate so the BABIP wasn't necessarily completely underserved. His primary issues were regarding the home run ball and that's not captured by BABIP anyway. I think your counterpoint is a bit of a false equivalency anyway as potentially being 50 points on the lucky side of BABIP isn't really a direct counterpoint to being punished 200 points on the bad fortune side this season.

I understand what you're saying and I know it's difficult to assess relievers with their sample sizes, especially season to season.  I hope his xFIP really is the telling story as some of his underlying numbers are there, maybe it'll balance out and he'll look like a stud down the 2nd half. One can hope.

[max silver]

8 minutes ago, Governator said:

I understand what you're saying and I know it's difficult to assess relievers with their sample sizes, especially season to season.  I hope his xFIP really is the telling story as some of his underlying numbers are there, maybe it'll balance out and he'll look like a stud down the 2nd half. One can hope.

Even if Hoffman's xFIP isn't a true indication of his actual talent level this season the 3.19 xERA, 2.86 FIP and 2.04 SIERA all point to a reliever that should be enjoying more success than he has so far. Ultimately I believe Hoffman is a reliever that needs a little more downtime compared to rubber arm guys like Rogers and Varland who can pitch 2 out of every 3 days. I think with Hoffman the disaster outings/weeks tend to arrive when he's throwing 3 out of 4 or even 4 out of 5 days. Fingers crossed we get something close to a fully loaded version of Yimi back as that would add another high quality leverage arm and allow the club to pull back a little on the entire leverage group to avoiding burning them out.

[Omar]

On 6/9/2026 at 1:36 PM, Laika said:

Gimenez was 95th percentile sprint speed a few years ago, now he is 65th. Speed is gone. Not coming back. 

30% of the league got faster😜

[BTS]

20 minutes ago, max silver said:

Even if Hoffman's xFIP isn't a true indication of his actual talent level this season the 3.19 xERA, 2.86 FIP and 2.04 SIERA all point to a reliever that should be enjoying more success than he has so far. 

Yeah. People mostly understand that luck is a thing and things need time to stabilize. But they struggle with that idea for relievers because it feels like a multi-month stretch should be long enough. But its still only like 25-30 innings and there's no reason why things like BABIP or HR/FB would have stabilized by then, even if people would have liked them to. Reality is that it's basically impossible to run a 25% K-BB% and actually be a bad pitcher. If the team listened to the fanbase and DFA'd him everyone would be whining when he's running a 2.5 ERA for the Rays for the rest of the season while basically doing the same thing he's doing now. 

[Laika]

Yes and even if he runs a 2.00 ERA the rest of the way, the fans will still think he's a bum at the end of the year because he'll end up at 4.00 or whatever