G-Snarls

Hopefully JB is in the running too. (Jose Bautista, not Justin Bieber)

Hahahaha Probably true. But obviously I was comparing him to Prince Fielder because Texas was clearly looking for a power hitting 1B when they decided to deal Kinsler.

Exactly

But what a dumb comment. Who plays harder than Reyes and Bautista? The DR team won a world championship. Sure, we had some attitude problems, Escobar and Arencibia, but those are just individual cases.

Oh, and I know I'll get reported. Not for posting a racially charged story but for the source. LOL. Bring it on.

Oh boy

I think so Sammy I expect Rogers to get put on waivers when Janssen is activated. I doubt AA can pull off any trades now. He's much more likely to get a deal done in June.

LOL He does seem like one of those guys who will always blame anyone but himself for his failures. And he barely even recognizes that they're failures.

They are being converted into outfielders. We'll see how that works. They have room in the outfield since, um, Eric Thames didn't work out. LOL

Fox Sports: - Drawing a market for Drew An executive had an interesting thought on free-agent shortstop Stephen Drew, one that Drew's agent, Scott Boras, surely has considered. Assuming Drew waits to sign until after the June draft, an American League contender with a need would have the added incentive of blocking him from going to the Tigers. Let's face it, the Tigers eventually will need to make a move at short; Alex Gonzalez, 37, is batting .208 with a .532 OPS and is playing below-average defense, to boot. Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, meanwhile, already is dealing with physical issues, and after this season the Yanks could have openings at second, short and third, depending upon what they do with Alex Rodriguez. For now, Drew could play shortstop for the Yankees on days when Jeter is unavailable and third on other days. One exec says Drew is so even-tempered, "I don't know if he even would notice" if he had to play third. The Pirates, who look offensively challenged, are another team with a potential need for Drew, as I mentioned Saturday in my Full Count video. By June, other teams also could enter the mix, without fear of losing a draft pick.

I know what you mean. He's actually a pretty big dude, but he somehow doesn't have the presence that some smaller MLB managers have

You mean like this? http://msn.foxsports.com/content/dam/fsdigital/fscom/mlb/images/2014/04/13/041314-MLB-RED-SOX-JOHN-FARRELL-DC-PI.vadapt.955.medium.63.jpg

Hey other teams: STOP ASKING FOR EDWIN. YOU CAN'T HAVE HIM. Edwin >> Prince Especially when you factor in the contract, at which point it's laughable how much more valuable Edwin is

The Toronto Blue Jays were pursuing a trade for Ian Kinsler earlier this offseason, before Kinsler was traded by the Rangers to Detroit for Prince Fielder, according to reports. Shi Davidi writes that the deal was "scuttled by Kinsler's no trade clause," which some are interpreting as meaning that Kinsler rejected a trade to Toronto. However, Ken Rosenthal writes that Kinsler was never asked by the Rangers to approve a deal, and it may be that the Rangers halted talks with the Blue Jays because they figured Kinsler would not waive his no-trade clause, making negotiations moot. Rosenthal also writes, though, that the Rangers wanted Edwin Encarnacion in a Kinsler deal, which the Blue Jays weren't willing to do. Rosenthal says the Blue Jays and Rangers talked about Sergio Santos (who was also part of a three-way deal that would have sent him to Texas, with Brett Anderson going to Toronto, that fell apart when Anderson failed his physical) and Ricky Romero, but that that package wouldn't have been enough for Kinsler. So while Davidi says the deal collapsed because of Kinsler's no trade clause, Rosenthal's column would seem to indicate it may have fallen apart because the Rangers couldn't get back from the Jays what they felt was fair value for Kinsler. While both the Davidi and the Rosenthal pieces talk about the Santos/Anderson deal, there's no mention of what the Rangers would have sent to Oakland in that trade. Anderson ended up getting shipped off to Colorado for an underwhelming package, so while I initially wondered if Craig Gentry would have been part of that deal, I have to think it was something less than that.

The team/AA didn't, of course Shi Davidi and Ken Rosenthal reported it: http://www.lonestarball.com/2014/1/30/5361116/toronto-tried-to-trade-for-ian-kinsler-per-reports

Exactly. There's another recent thread on Happ where that was discussed. In a nutshell - If he refuses a minor league assignment, we have to keep him on the MLB club or we can release him. If we release him he becomes a free agent and we still have to pay him. If another team signs him (and someone almost certainly probably would, for league minimum salary ~500k) we would have to pay 5.4M (2014 salary plus buyout on his 2015 option) MINUS whatever his new team is paying him.

I love the defense, too. I just don't trust that Reyes is going to play more than 2/3 of the time at best. I'd prefer a more well rounded player be present to play with him or instead of him on and off. For a bit there, it looked like Izturis might be that, but he probably just had a hot flash. And now he's hurt too. AA has said he's after a younger player for 2B that will be around for awhile. Hopefully he's still keeping an eye out. But obviously the asking prices have been too high so far. With the complete failure of Goins with the bat (worse than anyone feared) there is more motivation. I like what I see in Diaz actually, but to me he's my utility IF for 2015 and onward, not my starting 2B.

I know what you mean. As a human being, I feel a bit bad for him too. But as a team wanting to win, you have to separate yourself from that. JA Happ has had ONE decent stretch of pitching with the Jays, over the first 5-6 weeks of 2013. Other than that he's been bad. He wasn't good at the end of last season when he came back, and he was worse in spring training this year. Should he get some starts? Not out of sympathy. Only if someone or two someones get hurt. And if you can move him to a team more in need of a #5 starter, I would do that. I think they made a mistake in trading for him and extending him.

Except you can't. Unlike Rogers and Redmond, who don't have enough MLB service time, Happ can refuse a minor league assignment. And unfortunately, based on what we're hearing from him right now, I am quite convinced that he WOULD refuse it.

They don't show it every inning. Just sometimes they show these "ads" for mlb.com that include highlight plays and historical moments in baseball. It's better than what's on Sportsnet. Then again, a nice thing abouyt baseball is the commercial breaks are only 60 seconds.

I'm not asking for Robinson Cano here. I think a younger league average 2B or a 4th OF/DH platoon type could be had for pieces that won't be missed. That's all I'm saying.

It's also NOT too late for AA to make some improvements either. The pitching actually looks solid (knock wood) but he could easily upgrade the bench or 2B in June if he wanted to. Some of these fringe starters like Happ and Rogers might be appealing to teams with positional depth but major pitching woes.

Retire In Peace?

LOL, you're right. RR wearing the RR hat!

@Buster_ESPN: Solarte coming out to play the infield in the top of the seventh.