Chappy

The salaries would work as well. Lee is set to make $25 million with Brown being irrelevant right now and Bautista/Buehrle combine for about $31 million. Close enough to get some serious discussions going.

After last winter, I wouldn't put anything past AA.

Who gives a f*** as long as it results in an overall better team.

Maybe AA dumps the Buehrle contract with Bautista?

Seems like a type of deal to clear payroll to use on FA or to use to take on another big contract via trade. If this has any merit, it will really depend on what the package is.

f*** if I know.

Brown likely ends up in LF, his D is kind of really bad from what I understand. As for getting younger, it does matter if done wisely.

AA loves controllable players, it's not that hard to believe. It would save a huge chunk of cash for 2014 and AA likely uses that to fix another hole. Could actually work out quite nicely depending on the other pieces involved. Plus the team gets younger.

He makes sense for so many reasons. If he is truly AA's guy then we have a good shot I think. Problem is no one knows what the f*** he is thinking right now. For all we know he ends up trading for a catcher.

They probably will trade off some contracts if this team isn't in it, but I highly doubt we see a full rebuild until the following year. I just don't expect this team to be this bad again. AA is going to put everything into getting this team into contention and if he fails, then it's going to be a regime change anyways, so the new GM likely gets to gut this thing.

It's not as doom and gloom as many are trying to paint Ken. This team is in a questionable spot right now, but it can be fixed with some savvy moves. As for payroll, I have been saying for quite some time I expect it to see a big jump and I still stand by that. If AA does indeed have the money that I think he does, he will be active on the FA market, plus dealing some excess BP pieces and signing some key short term pieces like a Ruiz for example could set this team up in a better position moving forward. I still have some faith in AA even if most want him gone. This will be his make or break year and it will probably end in epic fashion one way or the other.

Whoops, was thinking winter meetings.

Yeah I'm thinking it takes 4 years guaranteed, but who knows.

Usually first or second week of December if I'm not mistaken.

AA will surely do his diligence to improve the catching situation. Not sure if we can actually get McCann, but there are a few good options that can all improve this team quite a bit, both defensively and offensively.

Yup, it's a no brainer really. I have a hard time believing JPA is back next year, especially when there are other options that can be had on short term deals.

Yup. If catching isn't addressed then I suspect this team likely finishes in last again. It's so bad that a solid upgrade at catcher alone probably is the difference between last and not.

It has to be Gose or some other cheap option if he gets traded which I doubt. His team needs to focus on a new catcher, 2B and either 2 solid SP or 1 significant SP.

Everyone wants to belittle Farrell, but the fact is they won a WS with him. However big or small his contribution was, he was clearly the right man for the job. The same team that made a bunch of solid moves since that blockbuster trade went hard after Farrell and then won a WS. It was the perfect ending to an otherwise pathetic season for Jays fans, lol.

Not a bad option at all. Something more like 2/12 would seem fair.

I agree with this. I am quite interested to see what he does this winter. We all know its likely his make or break year, and I want to see how he goes about getting this team into contention. I am not ready to write him off like so many have already done. It's all about what he learned from his success and failures and if he can find the right pieces for this team without crippling the farm.

The only real problem is trading young controllable assets for players on contracts that we may have been able to find via FA. AA has done some very good things along with those blunders. I am of the belief that pressure to compete was put on him and that is why he made a complete 180 last winter. Before that he made some excellent trades and signed some great extensions. Fact is as bad as some of those moves seem from last winter, who really could have expected JJ to implode the way he did? Not one person here would have expected that. Our worst contract is Buehrle and even though it's a heavy price tag, Buehrle is a solid and dependable option in our rotation. Our other big contract is Reyes and it's not like he isn't capable of still putting up some big years. Romero is a sunk cost that we will likely never see a return on, but it's not a franchise crippling one. AA might have made some bad trades but he has always been good about contracts. Both Buehrle and Romero have two more years left and we will likely get a reasonable return from Buehrle in that time. Reyes is the only really big gamble contract wise. I don't like some things AA has done, but this team is not crippled. We have movable assets and it can be fixed. AA just might not be around if he doesn't make some savvy moves this winter and get this team into contention.

Before the season started I commented on how the farm was better than the majority were giving credit for, but most thought we were not even in the top 25. It's better than what I thought as well, but I'm not surprised. Not much star power, but we do have assets. I would love to see AA flip Janssen for prospect(s) and get creative with a Bautista trade then look to the FA market, but I doubt hat happens. A few savvy moves could get this team younger, stronger with the farm and still give us a chance to be competitive next year, but that seems like an extreme long shot based on what I think will actually happen.

It was the most obvious choice, but really who gives a s***. It's not like this team would have been much better with him here.

I bet AA is still looking to add to the pen. I certainly hope he moves Janssen though, could be a savvy move to save payroll and add another future asset.