Laika

Gurriel could be in the majors this year. More likely next but still possible.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. baby

Is DeRozan actually doing anything different, or is he just hitting more shots? Randomness?

This is my dream signing. I would probably just play Pearce every day unless they get a better platoon partner than Smoak. I don't think Smoak is even good against RHP.

That's true. Gurriel likely is the better player now and short-term but Gurriel Jr. could feasibly have gotten the bigger contract because of age, potential position, etc.

I don't understand how the conversation landed on Izturis. Lourdes is nothing like him. He's like 8 inches taller and he has louder tools across the board haha.

Nope. Older brother had long been considered the best hitter outside of MLB.

Yeah you can infer that Toronto likes him more than his projections. Hopefully they are right and this doesn't end up like Billy Butler in Oakland. Could swing either way.

It's possible but even then you're talking about marginal, almost irrelevant gains. I don't think Morales is that reliant on the home run. Last year (2015) he had 41 doubles. He's always struck me as more of a "pure" hitter, batting average and bat-to-ball line drive hitter than a big fly ball slug monster.

Morales was 69th (nice) out of 131 qualified players in FB% in the last two years. He does not seem like an extreme FB hitter. But yeah. Possibly.

On Morales' poor baserunning.... The way Fangraphs BsR works is that the run value of each base running event is summed up as the season goes along. For example, if a player is on second base and the batter hits a single, the baserunner is graded based on how often the average player scores in that particular situation. Morales scores less often from second on singles, advances to third from first less often on singles, scores less often on doubles, etc. On a team like the Royals poor baserunning value is magnified because the Royals rely heavily on small-ball. They plunk singles for days, try to advance runners and keep the line moving, bunt, and when they get "the big hit" it's more than likely a double. Toronto doesn't play like this. If Morales is on first base and Tulo or Martin swing for the downs with success then his baserunning is irrelevant. Morales' baserunning will be irrelevant on the Blue Jays a lot more often than it was on the Royals. So, don't expect his BsR to be as bad. But I can't quantify how much better it should be. And on park factors.... Be careful when you say that Morales should be a better player because the Rogers Centre is a hitters park. It's true that his offensive numbers will be (or should be) better, but that probably won't make his hitting worth any more. That's not how park factors work. You would only expect him to actually be worth more if he has a certain skill-set that is specifically and personally catered to the environment.

Well, looks like I got the price right. Cost Philly essentially nothing.

Although of course in an ideal world at least one of your two 1B/DH options would have defensive utility elsewhere on the field.

Makes contact, switch hits, has decent slash numbers (AVG and OBP). If they give him 3/$33 they are only paying him to be a slightly below average player. He really doesn't have to do much to be worth that money.

Maybe an emergency OF. Yeah I think his reputation at 1B is decent. If you look at anything (DRS, UZR, fans scouting report) his numbers are average or slightly above.

Well, he's a lot worse at hitting.

Yeah he can. The Royals just have Hosmer there. Morales actually played some OF this past season which I don't remember.

Keep in mind that Toronto needs a DH and a 1B. Morales doesn't preclude Edwin.

Like Javy Baez. 2B/SS/3B/LF yes please.

This is probably an intended leak to serve as posturing in the EE negotiations. That's my 2 cents!

Jeff Passan ‏@JeffPassan 4m4 minutes ago Toronto's plan is to start Lourdes Gurriel Jr. at shortstop, probably at Double-A. Ultimately, thought is he may end up a corner outfielder.

Cuban contract evaluations remain all over the place. The Cardinals signed Aledmys Diaz for $8M and he looks like a stud now, after the #1 org gave him the proper amount of minor league seasoning. The Braves signed Dian Toscano for $8M and he literally doesn't even exist. The Angels gave $8M to Roberto Baldoquin and he's been the worst player in A+ for two years in a row. Alex Guerrero got $28M from the Dodgers and he blows. The Reds gave Raisel Iglesias 7/$27 and he's a f***ing weapon. The Cubbies thought the world of Soler and gave him 9/$30 as a youngin'. Puig at 21 got 7/$42 from the Dodgers. It's hard to read anything into the dollar amounts given to these Cubes. IIRC Gurriel had a showcase back in September. It's safe to say that he didn't blow anybody's socks off. I think the suppressed dollar amount is indicative of the fact that he probably needs a lot of minor league seasoning in the eyes of scouts. Don't expect him to knock on the door in 2017. It's probably correct to say that if teams viewed him as a 2017 solution then he would have received something closer to the Tomas/Castillo/Olivera deals.

I really thought Gurriel Jr. would get more money than that.

Wow, this is great. Toronto operating like a big boy team. As they should. As a player, Gurriel Jr. seems like a bit of an enigma. He really could be anything. Middle infielder? Third baseman? Corner outfielder? Bench player? Slugger? OBP guy? Hacker? Total bust?

Yes, if people want to suggest that I discuss certain transactions, feel free.