OFFSEASON THREAD, '27...

[glory]

[Eat My Shatkins]

Wouldn't give up much for Marte, dude just turned 33 and is coming off a mediocre season where he left his team for two weeks during a playoff race.

[Omar]

3 hours ago, jaysblue said:

Yeah it's a no brainer bringing back Scherzer for $1-2M as a 7th/8th starter on our depth chart. He'll manage to make 10-12 starts still most likely, and is capable of putting together a decent 4-5 start stretch in there as we've seen before. 

Mad Max is coming back to get four strike outs to pass JV.  He will sign with whoever will have him.  That said, if he can give the Jays four starts in September (don't want to see him otherwise), sign him I guess.

[Omar]

Didn't know that Ketel Marte was married to Vladdy's cousin!  This is a time bomb waiting to go off.

Vladdy and Marte going MIA for a series would turn Schneiders face ever more crimson red!

[Eat My Shatkins]

1 hour ago, Omar said:

Didn't know that Ketel Marte was married to Vladdy's cousin!  This is a time bomb waiting to go off.

Vladdy and Marte going MIA for a series would turn Schneiders face ever more crimson red!

Vladdy already went MIA for a whole entire season, what's one more series?

[jaysblue]

52 minutes ago, Eat My Shatkins said:

Wouldn't give up much for Marte, dude just turned 33 and is coming off a mediocre season where he left his team for two weeks during a playoff race.

He should be banned from entering Fallsview or Woodbine. 

If he's visiting Niagara Falls every weekend, we're in trouble. 

[jaysblue]

34 minutes ago, Omar said:

Didn't know that Ketel Marte was married to Vladdy's cousin!  This is a time bomb waiting to go off.

Vladdy and Marte going MIA for a series would turn Schneiders face ever more crimson red!

[Terminator]

13 hours ago, Omar said:

Didn't know that Ketel Marte was married to Vladdy's cousin!  This is a time bomb waiting to go off.

Vladdy and Marte going MIA for a series would turn Schneiders face ever more crimson red!

The two cousins hitting up the casino the night before a big series against the Yankees

[Terminator]

 

Jazz as a 2B/CF is appealing

[Laika]

Ketel Marte to the Jays is just too perfect.

Arizona seems done with him. They need to move on for social and PR reasons. They won't take peanuts for him but they won't be greedy holdouts either. 

Marte's talent and contract are in a bit of a sweet spot. He still projects as a 3.5 WAR+ player. He didn't get to that mark in 2026 but he underperformed his xwOBA and his Statcast page is still very solid. The tools are still there. His basic athleticism measurement did not crater in 2025 (range, arm, sprint speed, bat speed). His plate discipline skills are very good. No problematic changes I can see in his batted ball profile. NO SIGNS OF DECLINE. No reason to believe he is not capable of All Star seasons. 

His contract is very palatable. This is a sweet deal for a player with a 4 WAR projection. Guys like Suzuki and Arozarena are arguably not even 3 WAR projection dudes and they will probably get multiple years at a higher AAV. 

2027	33	Arizona Diamondbacks	$12,000,000	10.162	salary may increase by up to $5.5M based on 2026 PA and MVP voting$600k paid by Arizona Diamondbacks (pro-rated signing bonus)
2028	34	Arizona Diamondbacks	$20,000,000		salary may increase by up to $5.5M based on 2027 PA and MVP voting
2029	35	Arizona Diamondbacks	$22,000,000		salary may increase by up to $5.5M based on 2028 PA and MVP voting
2030	36	Arizona Diamondbacks	$22,000,000		salary may increase by up to $5.5M based on 2029 PA and MVP voting
2031	37	Arizona Diamondbacks	*$11,500,000		$11.5M Player Option

Toronto needs right handed hitters and a second baseman. Marte is a switch hitter. 

Toronto has lefty bats to spare and Arizona needs one as their roster is too RH heavy.

Toronto should be able to get him without giving up their very best prospects. They will have to give up something that will hurt to lose, but maybe it's just Ricky T or Daniel Guerra or whatever, packaged with Keys or Pinango. 

[glory]

Marte makes $12M in 2027 (may not matter as much if some/all of the season is wiped out) and is a $17.5M CBT hit, which is very affordable for a player of his quality. Biggest issue is age (33) and off field nonsense. Being with Vlad might make it better or could make it a whole lot worse.

I think Jazz makes more sense. Four years younger, might take a shorter term, has played CF/3B before so some versatility if necessary, and adds a much needed dimension with his speed. Doesn’t have the superstar ceiling that Marte has but Marte himself is 33 now so who knows how many more of those seasons (if any) he has left. One will require trading assets too, the other just cash. I guess a lot will depend on the trade cost. If you can get Marte for a bag of balls because the D-Backs want out of his contract then that changes the equation.

On the bright side, if the Jays are looking at Marte, then they probably won’t be scared off by whatever Jazz’s reputation is.

[Brownie19]

13 hours ago, Eat My Shatkins said:

Vladdy already went MIA for a whole entire season, what's one more series?

[Laika]

Yes, you can look past performance and upside and speed/power combo and think Jazz and Marte have similar ceilings and floors and Jazz is somehow comparable or a better target if you can get him without giving him $100M or whatever... and it may be true.... but it severely underrates performance risk, I think. 

Jazz is a near 30% K guy. He is perilously close to falling off the planet, offensively. His xwOBA cratered to .294 this past season and has been mediocre for most of his career. He's a speed and D guy with pop, but it's really an annoying offensive profile because it's guess hitting and he can't hit LHP. You also get some weird stuff happening on D with him, because of attention or declining arm strength or whatever. 

Marte projects for a way higher wRC+ for a reason. Just a rock solid profile with the stick. You don't get much range or speed on the bases, but Marte was/is still fine in those categories. 

[Jays24]

Give me Marte as the player over Jazz but Marte will cost prospects while Jazz costs just cash.  Picking up either of them and then adding an OFer like Suzuki/Sato will make it a perfect offseason from an offensive perspective.  

Then we'd need to focus on adding 1 good starter and 1 good lefty reliever.  Place your World Series bets now while the odds are low :) 

[Jays24]

If the Jays had a choice between trading for Marte or Bo or signing Jazz... which one would you choose assuming each of the players would get their expected return/contract? 

While I like Jazz, Jays need to add 2 top 4 of the order bats (ya, im a broken record on this topic but I feel im right lol).  I dont think Jazz is a top 4 bat on a contender while I think Bo/Marte can be.  

[Brownie19]

Marte's risk is almost exclusively linked to his age.  He's also a ticking time bomb, even if you think there are no major signs of it yet.  

But are there signs?

ISO has declined and was below his career average last year.

BB% dropped off last year, which I've noticed IS often a sign that a hitter is declining.

wOBA and xwOBA both dropped sharply last year.

I do generally agree with you. I think Jazz has some scary warts too - my opinion on him is 100% tied to term and AAV. 

This is a class short term gain v. long term pain debate.  I certainly don't want to see much prospect value being given up to land Marte.

[Laika]

The perfect offseason. 

 

[Terminator]

3 minutes ago, Jays24 said:

If the Jays had a choice between trading for Marte or Bo or signing Jazz... which one would you choose assuming each of the players would get their expected return/contract? 

While I like Jazz, Jays need to add 2 top 4 of the order bats (ya, im a broken record on this topic but I feel im right lol).  I dont think Jazz is a top 4 bat on a contender while I think Bo/Marte can be.  

If you just go off the projections it's Marte, Bo and then Jazz.

Marte and Bo are both buy low opportunities tradewise, but you would still have to trade for them nonetheless. Not sure how realistic a Bo trade is either. Jazz is a FA without a QO.

Jazz's speed, defense and versatility is nice. He must be an absolute dumbass though, the Yankees not even offering him the QO is telling. Marte also has character issues. Bo doesn't.

I do think Marte is a realistic trade option for us. The D-Bags are on record saying they want to cut salary so players like Keys and Pinango will likely interest them. 

[Brownie19]

I think there's a ton of risk adding Marte (age 33-36 seasons) and like a Suzuki/Randy on a 4 or 5 year deal (age 32-36 seasons).  Sinking like $50M per year into these old farts (on top of Santander) is asking for trouble, especially when there's little to no sign this is a WS contending roster.

The only advantage is it seems Rogers is committed to burning money in hopes of building a winner in Toronto, so it's less of an issue than it's been in years past.

[Brownie19]

Keys for Dylan Crews is hilarious.  Sign me up if that's a possibility.

[Jays24]

46 minutes ago, Laika said:

The perfect offseason. 

 

If this is our offseason, I will buy a Shatkins Blue Jays jersey lol. 

Small nitpick is us adding a leverage lefty instead of Loaisiga.  

[BTS]

2 hours ago, Terminator said:

 

Jazz as a 2B/CF is appealing

This forum is going to be hilarious when Atkins signs top contact hitter and IF/OF Mauricio Dubon 

[BTS]

Why is literally everyone who fills out that roster tool putting Jose Rodriguez on the 26-man? 

[Brownie19]

9 minutes ago, BTS said:

Why is literally everyone who fills out that roster tool putting Jose Rodriguez on the 26-man? 

You read my mind.  It's like he's a lock for a role in our pen!

[Brownie19]

15 minutes ago, Jays24 said:

Small nitpick is us adding a leverage lefty instead of Loaisiga.  

Yeah - I don't see the appeal of Loaisiga.  I mean he throws hard, but 6.5 K/9 for a 1 inning RPer?  He's like a hard throwing version of Rogers...

[Terminator]

Rodriguez throws hard, projects well, has good stuff according to the models, etc.

He's certainly no lock but we've got a couple of holes in the pen so even if we sign someone it's either him or a guy like Cellucci, Dallas, Chase Lee, etc. 

[Terminator]

15 minutes ago, Brownie19 said:

He's like a hard throwing version of Rogers...

That sounds like one of the best relievers in baseball to me lol

[bluejaysinternNo5]

I really am quite torn on Marte. On one hand I believe he has some more all star seasons left in him. On the other hand he is old and a headcase. In one reality he and Vlad become a great duo at the top of the lineup while Keys flames out in Arizona. In another, Vlad hits another 9 bombs while gambling with Marte every week while Keys breaks out for ROTY in Arizona. 

 

I am happy I am not a GM.

[Brownie19]

25 minutes ago, Terminator said:

That sounds like one of the best relievers in baseball to me lol

Indeed.  That, um, didn't come out the way I wanted it to.  

I mean, if Loaisiga is the next Rogers, then perfect.  Sign him before everyone realizes he's going to be a complete stud with a 58% GB rate and 6.5 K/9.  I'm just not sold that these results are repeatable.  

[Terminator]

14 minutes ago, bluejaysinternNo5 said:

I am happy I am not a GM.

It's not as easy as it looks!