jaysblue

At the time, looked good for optics showing that the Jays were willing to spend money on big FA's and to win. Same with the Hyun Jin Ryu signing the previous offseason. In terms of results, Springer was only great for his first two seasons here. Only got into 78 games in 2021 however. They did sign him as a 31-year-old so yeah there was obvious risk and given his injury history, likely was unable to hold up or play at an elite level through the entirety of his contract. Right now it looks like he's just a sub 2 WAR and 100 wRC+ guy making $25M. Gotta hope for a dead cat bounce from him. Teams like the Yankees or Dodgers or Red Sox or Mets could end up absorbing those types of contracts when they don't work out. Not so much for the Blue Jays. They have to be smart with their money. So yeah not the best signing by Atkins and it's looking like a mistake. Don't understand why that is so controversial. Let's talk about another Ross Atkins big signing: Kevin Gausman. He's been fantastic and even despite some regression this season, he still put up a 3 WAR season and made his 31 starts. Hopefully Gausman returns to his elite form in 2025 but even if he doesn't, he still likely provides 2.5 to 3 WAR over the next year or two. Overall, the end results have been really positive with Gausman. Green is a decent BP arm, but he's not worth $10.5M. So yes it's hindering the Jays from being able to spend money on other upgrades. If Green was making $4-5M, I wouldn't be too bothered by it. But if he's making $10.5M, you better be getting more than 0.0 WAR over 53 innings of work from him! Berrios at $18.7M AAV through 2028. Some huge red flags with him this season. You gotta hope Berrios returns to this 2023 form moving forward. Also, Bassitt at $21M for next season at age 36. As long as he eats his innings and provides a 2.5 to 3 WAR season again. Overall that's around $75M of payroll spent on all those 4 players alone (Springer, Green, Berrios, Bassitt) and you only got a combined 4.4 fWAR. At the end of the day, this is an aging/expensive team with no farm system that needs to address a lot of issues this offseason in hopes of being contenders in 2025. So yes, when they only have around $50M or so in payroll to spend on FA's, why is that? Who is responsible?

Was at that game. Those 2015 and 2016 teams were really fun to watch and definitely both came close to reaching the World Series. AA put together a solid core of bats and made some big moves ahead of the 2015 deadline, and Atkins did a solid job replacing David Price and some other key FA's to keep that window open in 2016.

As long as Soto puts up 6 to 8 WAR seasons from now until 2034 and doesn't all of a sudden drop to being a sub 2 WAR and 100wRC+ in his third season like Springer did, don't think you will hear me complaining.

A's will make the Postseason in 2025. I actually like them as a sleeper. Hope they can make a couple under the radar FA signings.

It would be cool to see Judge/Soto versus Ohtani/Betts/Freeman or Harper/Turner/Schwarber in the World Series.

Yeah from an entertainment standpoint, seeing the Yankees versus either the Dodgers or the Phillies in the World Series would be fun!

Braves still have Kelenic under club control until 2029 and it's not like he's costing $25M over 6 years as Springer is. He's only 25-years-old still and has shown flashes of his potential over short periods. Struggled in 2024, but he's still not a complete write off at his age. But yeah according to you a 28-year-old Varsho with a career 96 wRC+ still has room for more offensive potential. Maybe the Blue Jays make the Postseason if they had more funds available rather than wasting $25M on that stinker Springer contract and others. Would be a shame if they don't have any room in the payroll to add everything they need this offseason, because contracts like Springer and Green are hindering them from making those moves!

My picks: Tigers Royals Padres Phillies

Can't have a discussion with you period when it comes to Atkins and this front office. Yes you do have to judge a GM's moves on the results at the end of the day. That comes with any job. If a CEO of a Fortune 500 company blows billions of dollars on a bad decision, they made a mistake and are judged on it. They are held responsible. Did Kelenic really cost a lot for the Braves? Sure even myself at the time thought he was worth the risk/gamble and hasn't paid off. But it's not like AA traded a top 5 prospect or is paying him $25M AAV. Big difference. You keep giving Atkins a free pass on everything he does it seems. Like it's alright to admit that the Springer deal has been a mistake and has not worked out, which it hasn't. Like literally, people are concerned about how much the Blue Jays have to spend this offseason on roster upgrades and a reason why there isn't much wiggle room is because of contracts like Springer, Bassitt, Green, and Berrios, which total over $75M. At the end of the day, who is responsible for that?

Should be a fun series!

I thought the Reds could have been a sleeper team in the NL Central this season. Let's see if Terry can be one of the missing pieces.

Also, Hader was developed and came up with Milwaukee. Williams took over the closers role after Hader went to San Diego. They both blew games this WC series.

Jesse Winker is crazy haha

30% off site wide at Pink Cherry!

But Atkins did mess up. It wasn't his best FA signing, let's call it what it is. Springer is making $25M this upcoming season and in 2026. There is a reason why the Jays only have $50M or so left in their budget this offseason. It's because of expensive contracts like Springer and others. If AA makes a bad trade or bad FA signing, it's all his fault. And I do agree, people at the top should be held accountable. But when Atkins makes a mistake, you pull every excuse out of your hat, defending him and this front office no matter what! Grow up man! As well, why is Atkins so good at targeting starting pitchers who can stay healthy but when it comes to outfielders, he's been meh. Like you think he would use the same magical formula he does with his starters?

My picks for next round: Royals over Yankees Tigers over Guardians (toss up but will go with the hot Tigers) Padres over Dodgers Phillies over Brewers/Mets

LOL what? I want the Royals to beat the Yankees. I couldn't care what happens to the Orioles. I have no attachment to them. Other than saying they have a solid young core and bright future, I guess I'm considered a huge fan boy. Yeah Braves weren't the same team with all their injuries this season. But actually looking forward to a Dodgers/Padres series which should be fun.

I hate Yahoo. Can we move this league to Fantrax?

What did I fail? And why am I considered an Orioles fanboy? For stating in some baseball discussion how they have a solid young team? Geez you can't even say anything positive about any of the 29 other MLB teams in this league or else you get bombarded by posters on here. Like heck even saying anything positive about the Royals or Tigers you get responses saying "their lineup sucks though" or "the Jays even have a better team" etc. Also, I'm happy the Royals won like I said earlier. Would collect $1200 if they win the World Series after making a $10 bet back in March. Only buying beers for Term if that happens. Leaving you out!

Eduardo Rodriguez got 4 years/$80M last offseason. Sonny Gray got 3 years/$75M. Fried is better than E-Rod and is also younger than Gray. When Fried is healthy, he looks capable of providing anywhere from a 3 to 5 WAR season. Probably can expect more of 3ish WAR seasons. In 2023, he only made 14 starts, so that's the only blip on the radar in terms of injury concerns, though he did come back strong in 2024 which was encouraging. I think max years he gets is around 5 or 6. He likely gets higher AAV than E-Rod and something similar to Gray. Could see him signing a 5 year deal between $125-150M. We'll see how the market plays out. Like who would have thought Snell would only get a 2 year deal with an opt out last offseason haha.

Don't think anyone said that on here haha. But yeah just stating some good things about the Orioles club during the season when having a general baseball discussion automatically makes you a fanboy for some reason. I recall the Rays love on this board was far way more cringe a couple years ago. Guys on here were kissing the floor their front office walked on.

The nerds definitely have been ripping on Preller for a long time. He has weathered the storm down in San Diego despite some questionable moves, but things have been paying off this season. Imagine if they still had Blake Snell damn haha.

Yeah I don't think anyone on here thinks the Royals lineup is close to being on-par with the Yankees, but we've seen plenty of times in a short series where big bats go cold. Royals still have Bobby Witt Jr. and they just got Vinnie Pasquantino back. Salvador Perez is still going strong. They have some guys like Michael Massey who looks interesting, and someone like Hunter Renfroe or Paul DeJong can get hot over a short series haha.

She still going strong in Milwaukee!

I like the Mets better tonight based on their pitching matchup, but rooting for the Brewers to tie things up!