ElNik2013

So if the payroll is 150M, AA would have around 15M to spend this off season. If he can trade Happ and Janssen, that would free up close to 10M more, but I doubt he can get much for Janssen since there are several FA closer types out there. 150M is also almost twice the 2012 budget and the farm system has gone from top 10, arguably 5, to bottom 10. No way do I want this guy handling the upcoming rebuild.

Point well taken regarding Morrow, I don't think anyone would disagree although coming into 2013 a good number of people thought he would be the real ace of the staff. Having said this, the amount of money and/or prospects it would take for Morrow to be considered the #5 starter is way too high.

I agree. However, Dickey was acquired as a #1-2 starter not as a 3. The same can be said about JJ. What I would say is that AA already paid for #1-2 starters, his moves quite simply didn't work out the way he expected them to. I just cringe at the thought of AA addressing a need that he already paid dearly to address last off season as this has dire consequences for the franchise. This rotation has been overpaid for both in terms of $ and prospects. One big problem with this rotation is that the 2 guys the team was counting on to be building blocks have either been injured or imploded. Arguably, without Romero's implosion in 2012, Happ and Buehrle wouldn't be on this team. That's 20M right there. As it stands, they'll be paying 30M for Buehrle, Happ and Romero next year and this doesn't look worse only because Buehrle is almost a lock to pitch 200 innings as a #4.

Remember, one of the catchers has to be able to catch Dickey, imo this was one of the negatives of getting Dickey or any knuckleballer, so this eliminates JPA from the backup role, not that I'd want to have him there.

What does China have to do with Japanese players?

I say sign Ruiz and a FA pitcher with the money available. If the Tigers will take Janssen+ for Porcello, then great. Maybe the + would be Nolin, but I think we'd take that since the Jays would be getting a young starter for a AAA starter and a reliever with a year left on his contract. Trading Happ and his 5M would be awsome, I wonder if the 'Stros would give AA back a bit of the package he gave them...lol, definitely not. If there's enough money to sign Infante or another option at 2B, then great. I do have a problem with the idea that the team needs to trade for a top of the rotation starter. AA already made this move when he overpaid for Dickey and JJ, he knew quite well that JJ was a FA to be and should've known that he was overpaying for a 38-year old CY winner. AA made his bed and he needs to be made to lie in it. No matter how you slice it, this team will need big bounce-back years from Cabrera and Morrow as well as healthy seasons from Reyes, Lawrie, Bautista. They'll need Dickey to pitch close to how he pitched in 2010-12 and Rasmus and Lind to have similar years as well. Adding Ruiz would help, but so much has to go the Blue Jays' way that trading Sanchez and/or Stroman as centre pieces for a #2 or 1 starter makes no sense to me. Unless you're getting a Chris Sale, but that's a pipe dream.

Well, they won't do the rebuild now, but I feel they'll admit defeat either by next July or next off season, in the mean time, they'll probably trade Stroman and or Sanchez.

I'm convinced Stroman or Sanchez and Hutchison are goners this off season, if not all 3. The guy has gone retard. Just sign Ruiz, Infante and get a pitcher. Trade Janssen or Santos and NT JPA.

I'd give Ruiz the 3 years, f*** it.

Good bye Stroman and Sanchez

Gotta love the off season! I feel like Bautista will be traded, but not in the off season. I think it'll be around mid to late July next year as the team admits the "all in" strategy didn't work. He and EE will fetch quite the haul for the next rebuilding phase.

And as I said, the way I see it, if they hadn't blown their budget on Reyes and Buehrle, they might've still been in on him when he signed which was around the same time of the Dickey trade. Anyway, it's all a moot point now.

What will Kendry Morales command? Maybe if someone is willing to trade a young 2B, like Ackley, you go out and sign Morales. I guess the Mariners could just re-sign Morales, lol.

Sanchez signed for 5 years with the Tigers. In fact, the Tigers were initially not willing to go over 4 years, but once the Cubs had offered Sanchez 5 years, they gave him the 5 years. It was also reported at the time that the Sanchez would give the Tigers the last chance to match the best offer he received so it's probable that even if the Jays had stayed in the hunt for Sanchez and not made the Marlins trade, they would've struck out. I wouldn't have minded, but they were determined, to a fault, to address the starting rotation holes. As it turned out, had they only traded for JJ, they would've still had the payroll room to make a last-ditch offer to Sanchez in mid December which is when he signed. Instead, since AA blew the budget on Reyes and Buehrle, Dickey became more attractive because of his contract.

They'd have to replace Lind's bat to move him, but I could see them trading him and his salary. AA gave away the team's financial flexibility in the trade with the Marlins, so I think in order to address the team's issues, they'll have to trade some salary. I would think Janssen or Santos's salary should be moved.

They've apparently had some issues with him in the minors and pulling him out of the postseason rotation apparently didn't sit well with him either. Not saying they'll give him away, but I had read a piece by someone from the St. Louis post dispatch regarding the possibility of trading one of the young pitchers and some of this stuff was brought up. Again, I'm not saying they'd give him away, but trading him might not be as far-fetched as it would seem.

Bautista won't be traded this off season, AA doesn't have the balls nor the authority as it would be a marketing nightmare even with Jose's whiny reputation. I could see Bautista getting traded next July if the team stinks again in the first half. The team could get a nice haul for Bautista, EE and Dickey. Maybe even for Rasmus, if he maintains his performance, Reyes and Buehrle.

Haven't you heard? Only MLB players roid up.

The freakin' franchise would be in very good shape had they stayed the course, on the other hand, the "course" they were following might've been exactly what they did instead of the sustainable model we want. But just imagine, Stroman, Syndergaard, Sanchez, Hutchison, Nicolino, Nolin, Descaflani, Marisnick, Jimenez and Burns all starting next year at AAA or AA. D'Arnaud, Gose, Alvarez, Lawrie at the MLB level. And this doesn't include the guys traded for Happ. AA wouldn't look so moronic, but I guess he showed his true self last off season, at least we know who he really is now.

I see nothing wrong with what he said. He's obviously frustrated that he couldn't help the team. Last year's injury is concerning though, hopefully he can pitch 160 very good innings next season

Haha, gotta have some fun bro, everything is doom and gloom nowadays.

Just imagine if they had stayed the course, Syndergaard, Stroman, Hutchison, Nolin and Romero at AAA and Nicolino and Sanchez at AA to start next year. Plus 2 top 11 draft picks coming up. Oh well, too late now.

This s*** needs to stop. I'm convinced trying to please Bautista played a role in AA's decision making last off season. I'm sick of this crap.

I think I've had enough of AA "wowing" us.

I'm not sure I see what development years were wasted in development mode under the AA tenure. I can see that Snider should've been given a shot, but I don't know that they had many other players that were given a chance to develop. The way I see it, 2010 was a year where they signed or got some guys with the idea of letting them leave in FA in exchange for the draft picks and they also got Escobar in July. 2011 I can think of Drabek, Lawrie being called up and I guess Rasmus being acquired. 2012, I think the team was headed to a .500 or possibly better year, but injuries destroyed any hope of seeing improvements. If you mean that they should've been more aggressive in free-agency in 2011 and 2012, especially in the international market, then I agree because they ended up trying to go for it with Bautista and then EE as the core and paid dearly for it. I liked the direction the team was headed prior to the Happ trade. I think it's obvious they had to address the starting rotation, but I think they should've gone the FA route.