So, The Blue Jays Now Have Myles Straw; Where Does He Fit In Toronto?

Buffalo 

There is a bit of a factual error in the article. It states that the American League's team average runs per game was 6.66, but this simply can't be true. The overall average runs scored per game in MLB was only 4.39 runs per game. I crunched the raw numbers for the American League and came to an average of 4.27 runs per game as the league was lower scoring as a whole compared to the National League. This shows the Jays offense to be a tad below average last season as their 4.14 runs/game was only 0.13 below the league average, vs being well over 2 runs below average.

7 minutes ago, mphenhef said:

He should be in Buffalo but Atkins will have him on the roster to try to save face

I'd actually be quite surprised if that were the case.  It would be pretty pathetic to play Straw over Loperfido and Clase - even Berroa.  

He's going to just have to come clean, explain why they wanted that international money, or what the angle was, and live with the backlash.  I don't see anyway he can spin this to suggest they really like Straw and wanted him as depth for the Varsho injury.  Like even if they also announced that Varsho will be out of the season (or it was a career ending injury) - it still makes no sense given all the other in-house options we have.

1 minute ago, Rusty_Savage said:

There's an article on The Athletic that states the Jays believe Straw could be a worthwhile addition to their team even if meant they didn't get Sasaki.  The spin machine is already firing full throttle.  

That article also stated that the money to Straw wouldn't affect the Jays signing other people. There could be more money available than we thought ... or cue the JP lie quote.

1 hour ago, Rusty_Savage said:

There's an article on The Athletic that states the Jays believe Straw could be a worthwhile addition to their team even if meant they didn't get Sasaki.  The spin machine is already firing full throttle.  

hopefully the Athletic is just trying to fill their quota...

1 hour ago, Abomination said:

That article also stated that the money to Straw wouldn't affect the Jays signing other people. There could be more money available than we thought ... or cue the JP lie quote.

I think the Tony Taters signing opens up more possibility that the money is there to spend.  It may even open up the possibility that Ross wanted the $2M in international bonus pool money to sign more prospects to help (even if it's just marginally) strengthen the farm system (signing the guys LA won't be).  If Rogers have the purse wide open and $5.5 AAV for Straw doesn't restrict them from buying elsewhere - then sure, I can find a little logic in there.

If we stop here because we're not out of money, then I really don't get it.

5 minutes ago, Vancouverite said:

If utilized correctly and money isn't an issue than Straw can absolutely offer value to the Jays in used minimally and situationally.

Straw and Varsho in the outfield when closing out a game will be unreal. Not sure how good i feel about a defensive outfield of Satander and Springer

Straw also steals bases with a high success rate, which is nice to have off the bench late in a game. He's a useful player, just not the best use of resources.

8 minutes ago, Vancouverite said:

If utilized correctly and money isn't an issue than Straw can absolutely offer value to the Jays in used minimally and situationally.

Straw and Varsho in the outfield when closing out a game will be unreal. Not sure how good i feel about a defensive outfield of Satander and Springer

Satander is passable and Springer is still decent (if healthy). 

Both Santander and Springer are playable in the outfield still. Santander the weaker of the group with below average range, but he's not a total butcher out there like a Teoscar. Springer just needs to clean up his throws, still providing average range with above average arm strength, but he's been brutal in terms of arm value.

It won't really matter if Straw is on the team or not. Loperfido, Clase, Berroa are all fast athletic types who can go get it out there. Straw is of course the superior defender and quite elite at that, but the others would get the job done. A Varsho, Springer and one of Straw/Loperfido/Clase/Berroa in the 9th inning defensively would be good enough for added run prevention.

11 minutes ago, Orgfiller said:

Both Santander and Springer are playable in the outfield still. Santander the weaker of the group with below average range, but he's not a total butcher out there like a Teoscar. Springer just needs to clean up his throws, still providing average range with above average arm strength, but he's been brutal in terms of arm value.

It won't really matter if Straw is on the team or not. Loperfido, Clase, Berroa are all fast athletic types who can go get it out there. Straw is of course the superior defender and quite elite at that, but the others would get the job done. A Varsho, Springer and one of Straw/Loperfido/Clase/Berroa in the 9th inning defensively would be good enough for added run prevention.

I think Santander and Teoscar are approximately equal quality defenders. Teoscar makes boneheaded mistakes but he's not nearly as bad as he's made out to be. Go back over the last 4 seasons in right field and Teoscar is +1 DRS/-8 OAA, vs Santander who is -7 OAA/-4 DRS.

20 minutes ago, max silver said:

I think Santander and Teoscar are approximately equal quality defenders. Teoscar makes boneheaded mistakes but he's not nearly as bad as he's made out to be. Go back over the last 4 seasons in right field and Teoscar is +1 DRS/-8 OAA, vs Santander who is -7 OAA/-4 DRS.

Not sure why you would filter for RF and not OF as a whole when Teoscar spent all of 2024 in LF. When you include all OF, Teoscar is at -16 OAA/-6 DRS. Granted ol' Tony Taters is at -12 OAA/-12 DRS so not exactly Kiermaier out there. OAA in particular has Teoscar as being unplayable over the last 1-2 seasons with Santander being below average but not catastrophic. Last 1-2 seasons being more relevant since Teoscar is two years older and at 32 might be entering his physical decline phase.

3 hours ago, Orgfiller said:

Not sure why you would filter for RF and not OF as a whole when Teoscar spent all of 2024 in LF. When you include all OF, Teoscar is at -16 OAA/-6 DRS. Granted ol' Tony Taters is at -12 OAA/-12 DRS so not exactly Kiermaier out there. OAA in particular has Teoscar as being unplayable over the last 1-2 seasons with Santander being below average but not catastrophic. Last 1-2 seasons being more relevant since Teoscar is two years older and at 32 might be entering his physical decline phase.

Teoscar didn't play all of 2024 in left field, he provided 436 innings in right field as well. 

Go look at Santanders numbers in left field and compare to Teoscar. Santander has produced a combined -8 DRS/-6 OAA in the last three seasons combined in only 336 innings. Over an entire season of play that would amount to something like -20 DRS/-18 OAA. His 2023 numbers where he played quite a bit of left field are actually far worse on a rate basis than what Teoscar provided last season in left field.

Teoscar 2024 LF

-8 DRS/-9  OAA 871 IP (-9 DRS/1000 IP, - 10 OAA/1000 IP)

Santander 2023 LF

-8 DRS/-5 OAA 299 IP (-26 DRS/1000 IP, -16 OAA/1000 IP)

Santander doesn't exactly come out smelling like roses in this comparison.

This gets back to my main point that these guys are basically equivalent defenders in the outfield. They are both below average defenders as a whole. Each of them has typically been a tad below average most years in right field, and each has been absolutely awful in left field. I don't think either of them are likely comfortable in left field and as such their respective team's would largely be shooting themselves in the foot by deploying them in this fashion.

5 hours ago, Rusty_Savage said:

There's an article on The Athletic that states the Jays believe Straw could be a worthwhile addition to their team even if meant they didn't get Sasaki.  The spin machine is already firing full throttle.  

I've read the same and potential starting CF till Varsho comes back. Woof... maybe he goes on a heater in April. 😝

Yes guys, they both suck defensively. 😅