King

Hello Sir

Some team should do it. Of course it depends on if he wants to make the switch or not. If he made a successful transition to the mound he could be useful as a RP/OF/pinch runner.

lol

3/26 (and an option to make it 4/40) is a steal

Rip http://assets2.sportsnet.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/jays_upclose_640.jpg http://l7.alamy.com/zooms/835805520a7544cc84d3c88c6375b3c4/toronto-blue-jays-players-l-r-brett-lawrie-jp-arencibia-and-travis-gfygb0.jpg http://www.myentertainmentworld.ca/site/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/J+P+Arencibia+Boston+Red+Sox+v+Toronto+Blue+Q6Ir2A1uoDnl.jpeg http://www.battersbox.ca/images/articles/20150427160423514_2.jpg

Does anyone remember the Arencibia vs Zaun drama? https://www.thestar.com/sports/bluejays/2013/09/19/blue_jays_analyst_gregg_zaun_says_jp_arencibia_shouldnt_be_starting_catcher_next_year.html Sportsnet analyst Gregg Zaun told the Star on Thursday he hasn’t given up on Blue Jays catcher J.P Arencibia as a major-league player. It’s just that he doesn’t think he deserves to be the starting catcher in Toronto. In a telephone interview, Zaun said he believes that if the Blue Jays don’t upgrade for next season, it’s sending the wrong message to Toronto’s baseball fans. “How can you expect the fans to take you seriously when you don’t upgrade one of the most important positions on the field? And you’re telling them that you’re serious about winning?” Zaun said the struggling catcher could still be a major league player, “but the Jays need an upgrade in my opinion.” Zaun’s comments came moments after he gave a blistering critique of Arencibia on sports talk radio. Crticism has been piling up again on Arencibia after he struck out to end a 4-3 loss against the New York Yankees, punctuating a year of frustration and controversy for the team’s No. 1 catcher. Speaking on the Tim and Sid show on Sportsnet the Fan 590, Zaun ripped into Arencibia for his sagging performance — a .199 batting average and .234 on-base percentage. Zaun urged the Blue Jays to pull the plug on Arencibia, who is last among catchers in almost every category. The former Jays catcher said Arencibia was using bursitis in his knee as “an excuse” for his poor play. “The stats don’t lie,” Zaun said. “He’s either last or near dead last in the all the seasonal categories.” The one that jumps out at Zaun is the catcher’s .147 road batting average, which he called the worst number in major league history. Not even Arencibia’s 20 home runs impressed Zaun. “Anybody can swing for the fences,” the analyst said, adding that it doesn’t make up for the amount of times that Arencibia strikes out. Zaun also attacked Arencibia’s defence, saying he is getting worse behind the plate. The Blue Jay analyst said he believes Arencibia wants to do well. “I think he craves and desires the approval of everybody in Toronto,” Zaun said. “I think he wants to be the darling of the city.” In the interview, host Tim Micallef told Zaun he wanted to strike a balance between the criticism and being fair to Arencibia. “Right now I’m struggling to find the other side of the coin,” Micallef told Zaun. Zaun told the radio host that his comments on Arencibia weren’t personal. “A lot of people think I’m out to get him. I’m not. All I’m doing is reporting the facts.” This latest broadside follows an incident in July when Arencibia went on radio to criticize Zaun and analyst Dirk Hayhurst, saying “there’s not one person in our clubhouse that respects those guys.” He also dismissed Zaun and Hayhurst as below-average MLB players when they played and who are now “informing fans the wrong way.” Zaun and Hayhurst defended their analysis and Arencibia finally closed his Twitter account after making a multi-entry burst of tweets.

Pretty cool what he did for Matt Harvey. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/jays-superfan-gets-a-surprise-from-player-1.1318942 Aside from that. He was a mega douche. http://www.cbc.ca/sports/baseball/mlb/arencibia-believes-he-is-one-of-league-s-top-catchers-1.1184052 J.P. Arencibia stood in the clubhouse and glanced at a television program that was ranking baseball's top 10 catchers. After only one full season in the major leagues, he feels he already belongs in that class. "I see myself in it right now. I don't care what anyone has to say," Arencibia said. "Not a lot of catchers have done what I've done in my first year, and it's only going to get better." The Toronto Blue Jays certainly hope Arencibia is right. An MVP in the minor leagues, Arencibia hit 23 home runs in 2011 in his first full season as a big leaguer. At 26 years old, he's part of Toronto's attempt to surround slugger Jose Bautista with enough talented hitters to make some headway in the AL East. Arencibia was a first-round pick in the 2007 draft after a terrific college career at Tennessee, and three years later he was named MVP of the Pacific Coast League. He made his major league debut in August 2010 against Tampa Bay, homering on the first pitch of his first at-bat — part of a two-homer, four-hit day. He played only 11 games with the Blue Jays that year, and in the off-season, Toronto acquired Mike Napoli — another power hitter who can play catcher. But the Blue Jays traded Napoli a few days later, paving the way for Arencibia to take over the catching job. And in 129 games last year, he put up impressive power numbers. Only three rookie catchers (Mike Piazza, Earl Williams and Matt Nokes) have hit more homers than Arencibia, according to STATS, LLC. "We all knew he had the pop. It's tough as a rookie. Nothing can prepare you for it," Blue Jays outfielder Eric Thames said. "These guys are nasty, and it takes a while to adjust to it. He did a great job for the year he put up." Arencibia said the most challenging part of the transition from the minors was in the field, not in the batter's box. "I think the biggest thing is going out there and calling a game. ... Not watching it — doing it live," he said. "Hitting, you have to learn all the guys, but I would say defensively, you've got to learn your pitchers, you've got to learn the hitters in the league, so I think that's the biggest adjustment." Arencibia hit only .219 last year and struck out 133 times, but he's part of a group of younger catchers — all under 27 — who have shown they can hit with power. Cleveland's Carlos Santana hit 27 homers last year, Baltimore's Matt Wieters hit 22 and Detroit's Alex Avila had 19. Boston's Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit 16 and Washington's Wilson Ramos had 15. Arencibia says he keeps an eye on other catchers when he has a chance. "I think definitely you look at guys around the league and you see what they do," he said. "Everyone's different, so you have to be yourself, but it's definitely something you look at." After an 81-81 season, the Blue Jays face the daunting task of trying to overcome the New York Yankees, Boston and Tampa Bay in their division. Bautista has emerged as one of the game's top power hitters, but Toronto needs production throughout the lineup. The Blue Jays are looking forward to a full season from Brett Lawrie, the 22-year-old third baseman who was impressive in his first 43 big league games last year. Adam Lind and Edwin Encarnacion can also provide power. Arencibia hopes to take another step in his own development — and help the team do the same. "That experience — there's nothing that takes the place of being able to have that experience," Arencibia said. "I think a year with the pitching staff, a year more around the league, is going to be beneficial."

He's talking about going forward. They project to win 84 games. They could be in the wild card mix but are definitely a tier or two below the Cubs, Red Sox, Dodgers etc.

Suzuki is f***ing terrible.

I wanted Michael McKenry but he signed with the Rays.

I know of at least one person who would be considerably upset.

Same.

No one. AHL level dman Ben Chiarot to the IR.

Wow!

I regret nothing.

Thoughts fellas. http://www.fanragsports.com/mlb/blue-jays/spector-blue-jays-re-signed-wrong-outfielder/ http://d3d2maoophos6y.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/19105105/DCD161014021_ALCS_Blue_Jays_at_Indians.jpg The Blue Jays came into this offseason with both of their corner outfielders going to free agency. The decision on which one to prioritize re-signing should have been easy. Take away their names, and maybe it would have been easy. Player A, an All-Star in 2016, turned 30 in November after a season in which he hit .253/.338/.478 with 24 home runs in 558 plate appearances. His outfield play was not good, at -11 defensive runs saved, but he added a necessary dimension to the lineup as a left-handed batter. Player B, an All-Star previously but not in 2016, turned 36 in October after a season in which he hit .234/.366/.452 with 22 home runs in 517 plate appearances. His outfield play, once a strength, clearly was not at the same standard as he posted a DRS of -8. He is a right-handed batter. It’s obvious enough who these players are – Michael Saunders is Player A, Jose Bautista is Player B – but taking names out of the equation should make the choice clearer. http://i.imgur.com/tOZcawk.png The 2016 production is just about equal, but Saunders is in his prime while Bautista appears to have hit the downside of his career. Even with the addition of switch-hitter Kendrys Morales and the loss of Edwin Encarnacion, the Blue Jays still have a righty-heavy lineup led by Josh Donaldson, Troy Tulowitzki, and Devon Travis. Steve Pearce, Toronto’s other big free agent addition this winter, also hits right-handed. Not only is Saunders a better player to have on your team in 2017, he’s on a friendlier contract to his team. Saunders went to the Phillies for one year and $9 million, with an $11-14 million option for 2018. Bautista’s deal to return for the Blue Jays is for one year and $18 million, plus two option years. There’s also the matter of the draft pick. Had Bautista gone to another team, the Blue Jays would have gotten a compensation pick at the end of this year’s first round, since they gave Bautista a qualifying offer. Granted, Toronto is getting one of these for the loss of Edwin Encarnacion, but another would have been plenty sweet. Saunders, who did not get a qualifying offer, brings no compensation with his departure. The Blue Jays misplayed the free agent market when they quickly signed Morales and Pearce to essentially ensure they would not have room for Encarnacion, who wound up lingering on the market until January and signing a reasonable deal in Cleveland. That may have led to this second miscue, because the name does matter. For the Blue Jays to lose Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista, their cornerstone players of the 2010s, in the same offseason would be a big psychological jolt. The problem with thinking that way is twofold. The obvious part is that it leads the Blue Jays to pay more money to the wrong player, as far as on-field performance is concerned. But, say you’re willing to pay that extra money because he’s Jose Bautista, dammit, the bat flipper in chief, Twitter follower nonpareil, and emotional fulcrum of the Toronto Blue Jays. Well, you’re still wrong. The Blue Jays do not lack for personality regardless of Bautista’s presence. It’s not just because of veteran leaders like Donaldson and Tulowitzki, with Morales also bringing a wealth of experience. Think about Marcus Stroman, the pitcher whose clothing line is named after his signature hashtag, #HDMH — height doesn’t measure heart. Personality is on display in Toronto, and by the end of last October, Bautista was spending more time worrying about “circumstances” of umpiring than he was making a positive impact with his bat. Bautista still should be a decent contributor in 2017, and maybe he defies age to remain a star into the future. That’s just not a proposition the Blue Jays needed to or should have bet on, not when Saunders was right there, for less money, with the chance to let Bautista walk and add another prospect to a farm system in need of further replenishment.

Scott MacArthur ‏@ScottyMacThinks Per TSN #MLB Insider Steve Phillips: Bautista gets $18M in 2017. Could get up to $60M over 3 years with options/incentives. #BlueJays Rosenthal said an agreement is final but Passan says it's not. Also pending a physical.

http://www.fangraphs.com/depthcharts.aspx?position=Standings Jays are projected for 84 wins with Bautista. Before Bautista they were projected for 81 or 82.

Jeff Passan ‏@JeffPassan 2m2 minutes ago The Bautista deal is not done. Still some details being worked out, like the vesting option, and he has to pass a physical. Back to square one.

I guess so looking back at the MLBTR posts.

How is this any different than what we've already known? People have been waiting for the "announcement later this week" for days. One year deal with a mutual option was reported 2 days ago.

It was sarcasm.

Well that's just a ridiculous jump to make. I follow other teams prospects more than the Blue Jays. I could not give less of a s*** about Law or whoever having a hatred for Blue Jays prospects.

Law thinks that Tellez won't be able to handle advanced velocity because he saw him overmatched in the AFL in 2015.

We've been through this before. Those are all valid and notable concerns/flaws. If one of Longenhagen/Law just came out and said what you said there, I could reason behind it. Calling him a non prospect because he struckout a few times in the AFL a year and a half ago when they were in attendance is laughable and 100% dismisable.