jaysblue

How much do you think Christian Walker is going to cost? He's going to be 34 next season. Would prefer a shorter term deal with him.

Yeah if we were in the late 1990s/early 2000's, Berrios would be crowned as a top arm based on his wins, ERA and innings this season lol. Definitely would be able to get a very good return.

Yeah Berrios has had a strong finish which is encouraging but if we don't see an uptick in K/9 next season, could be a bit worried. He's unlikely to keep his BABIP around .250 again. Given the mileage on his arm and now being on the wrong side of 30, there is always the possibility of some regression. I think he's more of a No. 3/4 starter right now. Hopefully he can return to being a 2 to 3 WAR arm which would help greatly and who knows if he has a big 2025 or 2026, might decide to opt-out after 2026. Gausman worries me still a bit as well. He's pitched effectively, but his low K/9 is alarming. As well, he's going to be 34 next season, so again there might be some regression who knows. We need to see an uptick in K/9 with him as well and hope he can return to being an elite top of the rotation arm. Otherwise, he's looking more like a No. 3 starter. As for Francis, he's been fantastic, though I also temper my expectations on him for next season. Can't expect him to make 30 + starts and post a 3ish WAR season. We've seen many times arms that have a solid stretch of starts in the final two months of the season then struggle out of the gate come April.

7.02 K/9 is a bit worrisome for someone with a career 8.59 mark. BB/9 is around career average, so no concern. His 1.42 HR/9 is high like you said, almost like in 2022. He probably is a pitcher that will outperform his FIP moving forward. Hopefully next season he can increase his K rate and return to being a 2-3 WAR arm. Otherwise, he likely is what we see now - an innings eater who with some BABIP luck can keep his ERA below 4ish with low K rates. If his BABIP creeps back up to around .290 to .300, then his numbers could look way worse.

Yeah that's a good comp. If he demanded that much, would you bring him back at that price tag?

Speaking about the Astros, was thinking about how Brandon Belt was left unsigned this year and geez they could have used him at 1B/DH with who they were running out there. He would have been a nice fit there. Would have been an improvement over Abreu & Singleton. Shocked they never considered signing him in May/June.

Wonder what type of contract Kikuchi gets in the offseason.

Why was he going head first there? I love Tua and it sucks that he might never play again, but like literally that was avoidable. Slide down feet first so you avoid a hit to the head. Looks like that division now will be a battle between the Bills and Jets.

Which fans are turning on him? Reality is, he wasn't that great of a signing by Atkins. Stop sugar coating it, making it sound like he's such a great teammate and great person, so therefore Atkins gets a free pass for spending $150M on him. I love Springer's hustle and style as well. He's definitely a likeable guy and an easy player to root for. I hope he can return to being a 2-3 WAR player in 2025 and 2026 which helps the Jays greatly if they want to contend those seasons. There is nothing wrong however in stating that his signing hasn't been a great one by this front office.

Yeah the Jays really don't have a choice, so hope that Springer can maybe find some magic in one of the last years of his contract here. Otherwise, like you said maybe a young OF pushes him into a 4th outfielder role at some point. I would hope he's moved down in the order at the beginning of 2025. You can't have Springer hitting in the top half of the lineup anymore if this team expects to contend.

Yeah obviously. Ideally you hope you can get a player performing at a high level for about 60% of their contract when you sign someone to a big deal. 2 good seasons of 6 years is meh.

Did I say anything about Springer's deal being the worst? Springer still can be a contributor, but at the end of the day he's an aging player on an expensive contract and eating $25M of the payroll every season for the next two years. So yeah I'm not giving Ross Atkins a free pass here.

Typical one word response from you lol.

The issue is only Year One and Two of his FA deal were great. Year Three and Four haven't and there is little hope Year Five and Six will be either. So only TWO out of SIX years. Not the greatest FA signing by Atkins.

That's pretty much the only move for Springer at this point. The Jays have two more seasons of him, so let's hope maybe he has a rejuvenated season offensively where he can provide 2 WAR. Tough to come up with a list of trade partners given his regression, age and contract. As well, that team would need an outfielder. Nolan Arenado perhaps, but doubt the Cards move him straight up for Springer. Would be nice since he would fill in the void at 3B and has posted a 2.8 WAR season thus far. He's under contract until 2027, so an extra year longer than Springer. Trevor Story, but the dude is made of glass and under control until 2028. Plus the Red Sox outfield looks crowded as is. Would rather have Springer for the two remaining years instead of 4 years of Story anyways. As for pitchers, not many that I could think of. Robbie Ray would be interesting (has an opt-out after 2024 but doubt he uses it). $24.33M AAV over the next two seasons, so identical to Springer. Not sure if the Giants want a veteran OF bat however. Yu Darvish is under control until 2028 with an AAV of $18M, though again not sure if the Padres need another OF.

7.96 K/9 and 4.49 FIP over 92.2 innings. I voted #3SP when the poll was made and I think his ceiling is a No. 3 starter if everything goes right and with me being optimistic. He's shown to be durable and someone who can give you innings in his short time up in the bigs thus far, which is what I like about him. Seems to have that workhorse mentality. Let's hope he can continue that in 2025. He reminds me of a similar pitcher to Dave Bush kinda and I think he's capable of pitching like how Bush did with the Brewers in 2006 and 2007, which I think we all would take in a heartbeat. That's a realistic comp IMO. Worst case, he's a back-end rotation starter. Otherwise, Bowden Francis has been a great story for the Blue Jays this season and I'm hoping myself to make my way down to the Dome to see one of his starts before the season ends. Really haven't said that about anyone else this season!

What a bargain!

He is what he is. A valuable super utility player with a strong glove who likely could post a 1.5 - 2 WAR season for you with around an 80 to 90 wRC+ and that's it. Would love to dig up some of the comments about IKF earlier this season. Regardless, he was a solid signing last offseason.

Last 11 games, Judge has failed to hit a homer run and has struggled as a whole during the power drought, slashing .175/.327/.250 with a 34.7 percent strikeout rate. If Judge continues to struggle in September, increases the chances for Bobby Witt Jr. for AL MVP.

I think Horwitz definitely deserves an opportunity next season as a starter at 2B. Ideally, he would be perfect in a platoon where he receives majority of the AB's hitting against RHP. If the Jays decide to go the cheap route at 3B, Clement should be able to fill the void. As for the others, I wouldn't be writing their names anywhere in the starting lineup if this team plans on contending in 2025. They should be used either as AAA depth or on the bench starting in 2025. Will Wagner has been great, but lets not get crazy about only 75 PA's and a 2.7 BB% thus far! If Wagner was struggling out of the gate, I guarantee you some would be saying he has no future here even after just 75 PA's which is absurd. Can't get too excited or can't panic especially when we're only talking about a 75 PA sample size at the big league level thus far!

I don't think anyone on this board has anything against Varsho as a player, though I think more of the criticism is how he has been utilized during his time here in Toronto. First and foremost, Varsho should be starting in CF everyday so the Blue Jays could extract as much defensive value from him as possible. Having him play LF is a complete waste. Secondly, ideally Varsho's bat should be in the bottom half of the order, like anywhere #6 through #9 on a day-to-day basis. If the Jays are relying on Varsho to hit in the middle or top of the order, we're in trouble. I would argue that this team has mishandled his role here which is the issue. Varsho should have been made an everyday CF when the acquired him and they should have realized offensively he's someone who is best situated in the bottom half of the order.

Yeah definitely would be interesting. Wonder if anyone suggested that to him. I could see him mastering it. Would allow him to carve out a longer career as a mid-rotation starter. Might even have a couple of RA Dickey Mets seasons in store! Haha.

5 seconds left in the game! WTF! Kind of a dirty take down if you ask me. There is always a couple of freak injuries during Week 1 of the NFL.

Likely around $200M or so.

Can he learn how to throw a knuckle ball?