jaysblue

Yeah the market for outfielders now looks pretty thin, especially if Teo and Santander get off the board. Might have to go the trade route or look at signing someone like Austin Hays or Max Kepler on a one-year deal if the Jays don't give Teo or Santander $100M+.

Yeah best case scenario he signed with a team in the NL. Seeing him with Boston or back with the Yankees would have been tough.

Would look bad from a PR perspective and likely for ticket sales next season. If there was a regime change, I could see that happening. With Atkins/Shapiro still here, doubt they trade Vlad. But yeah might be the best time right now to deal him and try to get a package like San Diego got last offseason for Soto.

Yup. Teams like the Yankees and Red Sox that missed out on Soto will look to make a big splash on one of the remaining FA's, which likely drives up their price. Not going to be easy for the Blue Jays this offseason even to land the guys in Tier 2.

$11M AAV for Blake Treinen isn't that bad at all, especially given his track record and bounce back last season. He's old but not that old at age 36. Posted a 1.93 ERA, 10.80 K/9 and 1 WAR across 46.2 innings last season. Yeah didn't expect him to get a second year, but whatever. If he's healthy, he's one of the few elite high leverage arms out there and could make a huge difference. Hoffman is likely getting a 4 year/$48M contract. Make him the closer! Martin and Yates might get 2 year deals somewhere. They definitely will use Treinen's deal now as a benchmark.

If the Jays sign Soto, we're all going streaking!

Don't know the registration for the Rogers corporate jet. Will ask around. I know the one for MLSE.

Rams were a great upset this week to bet. Bills have their minds on the Lions next week.

There is an Air Transat flight coming in tonight from Punta Cana at 11:56PM. Will be greeting everyone off that flight in the arrival hall at Terminal 3! Should be easy to spot Soto if he's on board.

If anyone wants Raptors tickets for any upcoming games or want to buy tickets as Christmas gifts, send me a DM. Could also do a deal if you want to take 4 or 5 games. Seats are in Section 323, Row 3, Seats 1 & 2 (aisle seats). Also, close to the elevators to take down to the Scotia Club at halftime. Raptors also use dynamic pricing so depends on games and dates.

If anyone wants Bills tickets for Dec 22nd or Dec 29th, send me a message. Asking $400 CAD. Seats in Sec 330, Row 4, seat 14 and 15. If anyone needs a parking pass for Highmark Stadium to tailgate, can get one since I'm a season seat holder. They're $45 USD, so avoid paying the resellers price.

You jinxed them you dingleberry!

Michael Soroka as a reliever: 36 innings, 60 K's, 20 BB, 15 K/9 and 2.75 FIP. Interesting.

Yeah would be a nice depth arm who likely would sign here for a couple of million. Would be nice competition for the No. 5 spot with Y-Rod and whatever arm loses out you make a multi-inning RP.

Yes.

Welcome back!

Not a bad deal at all. If the Jays signed O'Neill to that, wouldn't complain. Orioles found their Santander replacement.

Ironic how when advanced metrics don't fit your narrative, you toss them aside. Though in every other case, advanced metrics when used to evaluate players are considered the Bible around here. Yes Berrios outperformed his FIP to a large degree in 2024, but to expect him to continue to outperform his FIP as he ages and other numbers like K/9 dip, looks to be a recipe for disaster. Look I'm a Berrios fan. I do agree he's a valuable arm since he's durable and can provide innings, and there is value in that despite the non flashy numbers. Kind of the same when RA Dickey and Mark Buehrle were here from 2013 to 2015. You could rely on them to take the ball every fifth day and give you innings. If Berrios can return to his 2023 form, the better it is for the Jays and for the outlook of his contract. If we see Berrios where he barely cracks a 7 K/9, I'm concerned. Better hope he continues to outperform his FIP or else.

Best non-arbitration asset the Jays have? Gausman probably is still IMO. Agree that the Berrios contract doesn't look that bad if we see the 2023 Berrios moving forward. Last season's version of Berrios however posted a 4.72 FIP, career low 7.16 K/9 and only 1 WAR which is concerning. Still would be open to moving him if another team absorbed his entire contract. There might be a possibility given the expensive price tag for starting pitching. The hope is he bounces back to being a 2-3 WAR arm like he was in 2023. If we see the 2022 and 2024 version which barely cracks 1 WAR, those latter years are going to be tough to swallow.

Yeah that's the possibility as well. Holmes only has made 4 career MLB starts. Gotta go back to the 2016 and 2017 seasons when he was in the minors the last time he had full seasons of starting under his belt. Hicks started to tire in June and was awful in July. Started to pitch well out of the pen in August but then got injured and shut down in September. I guess the Mets are hoping for outcomes like Lugo and Lopez.

Interesting signing with Clay Holmes. Maybe the Mets squeeze 2-3 WAR out of him as a starter. $12.6M AAV isn't that bad even for a high leverage BP arm. Worst case scenario, they move him to the BP and he becomes a setup guy for Edwin Diaz. Mets rotation: Senga Peterson Montas Holmes Megill/Blackburn The Mets still gotta add another front of the rotation arm IMO.

Yeah he took a hometown discount for sure. Like I said, Jays probably would have had to go $18-20M.

Didn't I say one year + an option ya dingleberry lol. $14M AAV is nice. I would have went to $18-20M if he's returning May and his medicals checked out.

Bargain bin shopping can be fun. Reminds me of the days when JPR was the GM here in his early years haha. I do believe the Jays will still be spending money, but won't be for the Tier 1 or 2 guys unfortunately since their prices have inflated. They might have to bargain hunt for other spots on the roster. My bargain bin shopping list: First two guys aren't really bargain FA signings, but if the Jays were to spend money, would sign these guys based on needs, cost and upside they offer. - OF Tyler O'Neill (3 years/$42M): need to add thump to this lineup and when healthy O'Neill offers that. He's also still just 29 and offers some decent upside, which the Jays need to take a gamble on. Doubt he returns to being a 5 WAR player like he was in 2021, but out of all the outfielders/DH's not named Soto, he offers that kind of upside. All we need O'Neill is to be a 3-4 WAR guy and hit 30+ HR's. I've warmed up about signing him to a 3 year deal since Vladdy and Bo are both impending FA's after 2025, so at least the Jays would have a bat with some thump in 2026 at a decent cost. Jeff Hoffman (4 years/$48M): need to add a high leverage reliever and Hoffman has been really darn good the past two seasons (1.5 and 2 WAR seasons). Would automatically make him the closer and at $12M AAV wouldn't be a bad price at all. He might cost more, so Jays might have to add an extra year maybe or up his salary by 1-2M. If Severino is getting paid $22M to barely crack 2 WAR, would rather sign Hoffman at around $12M AAV who can provide the same WAR possibly. A.J. Minter (1 year/$8M): another high leverage arm who is a lefty, Minter would be a nice fit. Maybe at most he gets a second year tacked on. Has closing experience as well in case Hoffman can't handle the role from the start. Previous years had seasons of 1.3, 2 and 1.4 WAR. Might be a cheap way to add some WAR given the inflated prices of starters so far. - Yoán Moncada (1 year/$5M): still only 29 and has some prior seasons where he was really solid. Worth rolling the dice on if he comes cheap and might get lucky he has a rejuvenated season. If he doesn't pan out, always have Clement who can start at 3B for an extended period if need be. - SP Griffin Canning (1 year/$4M): I think the starting rotation is really down on their list right now, especially after seeing what arms like Severino and Boyd got as FA's. Rotation is actually fine as is if everyone is healthy, but depth is an issue. Atkins has always loved to target durable arms who can stay healthy and Canning fits that bill. He's still only 28 and posted a 1.8 WAR season in 2023. Maybe Pete Walker unlocks some more potential with him. Sign Canning to be the No. 5 starter and use Y-Rod in the bullpen to start the season and see if he can carve out a high leverage role. Kinda like filling two holes with one move. If Canning struggles, can always move Y-Rod into the rotation. So far all those moves would cost the Jays around $43M with some extra bucks left over to sign a backup C and maybe another reliever on the cheap. If Jays want to spoil themselves, sign Carson Kelly or bring back Dany Jansen on a one-year deal. Or just sign Reese McGuire for $1-2M. If the Jays wanted to go cheaper on adding an outfielder, Conforto (2 years/$18-20M) instead of O'Neill. Horwitz I'm assuming will DH still with Wagner at 2B. Lineup: C Kirk/Kelly 1B Guerrero 2B Wagner 3B Moncada SS Bichette LF O'Neill CF Varsho RF Springer DH Horwitz BN Clement BN Loperfido BN Schneider/Jimenez/Barger Rotation: 1) Gausman 2) Berrios 3) Bassitt 4) Francis 5) Canning Bullpen: RHP Hoffman LHP Minter RHP Swanson RHP Y-Rodriguez RHP Green RHP Burr LHP Little Another FA reliever As the Term would say, WC3 will be easy to make!