jaysblue

It shows commitment from ownership that they are willing to go big on the right player or pitcher, which is a great sign. Rogers viewed Ohtani differently than any other FA available for business and marketing purposes to coincide with their renovations to the Rogers Centre, which is why the Blue Jays were finalists.

Looks like the Rays could be selling off a lot of pieces this offseason. Would definitely target Paredes for 3B or Arozarena for the OF.

I'm busting your chops mate!

Finally they won a game in regulation!

Atkins was spotted at Pearson yesterday getting his shoes shined haha. Saw on Twitter.

The AFC is pretty wide open now. Jags won't be a force, no Bengals, Dolphins are beatable, and the Chiefs look broken. Bills just need to get in and they have a chance. If they play well over these last 4 weeks heading into the Playoffs, definitely helps. Only team that I think will be tough in the AFC are the Ravens. Though I don't consider them in the same class as the 49ers, Eagles or Cowboys.

It's posters like you why others have stopped posted and left this board. You're such a condescending individual.

I'm still waiting for those lists Spanky

Joey Gallo would be an intriguing platoon bat who could DH/play some LF and be had for cheap. Hit 38 HR's and put up a 4.1 WAR season back in 2021.

Thanks. So Ohtani would still have to pay US Federal Taxes, but not the California State Tax afterwards once he makes his permanent residence let's say back in Japan or wherever. He would just owe additional taxes in Japan or wherever he decides to move to afterwards?

Tennis players for tax purposes have their residence in places like Dubai and Monaco. So what happens when they win prize money at a tournament in the US? Is that prize money taxed by the state the tournament was played in? Or based on their residence? So if Ohtani resides back in Japan or somewhere like Dubai after he retires, wouldn't that deferred money not be taxable by California? Only where he resides after?

Spot on.

I'm saving up my waiver priority for this dude in the LOD, DDL and BORED!

Spanky enters the discussion after 24 hours haha

Roberts does come with some downside. His age and club control are what really makes him attractive. I don't view him as a superstar type of player like Ohtani or Soto. There are some flaws in his game. High K rates, and low BB rates and injury concerns. He could either be a 2 WAR guy or 4-5 WAR guy.

Yeah I don't see the White Sox trading their two best trade chips for an inferior package in order to shed salary.

He has had two really good years. In this weak 3B market, I could see a team taking it on if the asking price isn't much or if the White Sox eat some of it.

So you're okay with this type of trade? Weird.

Yeah I think it was a big setup as well. What happened on Friday was unheard of. Likely all orchestrated by CAA to get the Dodgers to panic and it worked. Dodgers were always Ohtani's main choice. I'm sure the Jays offer around $600M was more than what the Dodgers had on the table at the time. Ohtani was playing the waiting game hoping to get something better from the Dodgers. They escalated everything with the rumours on Friday and managed to scare the Dodgers and get them to pony up. Blue Jays definitely were used as leverage. Blue Jays were close and if the Dodgers didn't step up with that offer, I bet Ohtani would have accepted the Jays offer by the end of this weekend.

My two cents on what happened over the last couple of days or weeks: - Dodgers were Ohtani's main preference from Day 1. Dodgers are always one of the favourites to win the World Series, they've built a perennial contender, have a strong farm system and a very solid core of players such as Freeman, Betts, Smith, etc. Player development and the farm system were important to Ohtani where he was going to sign. He didn't want to experience what he did with the Angels again. Dodgers reduced payroll the past two seasons for this exact moment. - Rogers wanted to go after Ohtani as mentioned to support their investments in all the renovations at the Rogers Centre. Ohtani would have created hype and buzz around the team. They would have sold more season tickets and corporate tickets for their new Infield Club guaranteed. As well as the other positives from signing Ohtani as discussed in this thread. So Rogers, after the disappointing finishes the past two seasons probably went to Shapiro and Atkins in October and gave them the green light to target and lure Ohtani to the Blue Jays. - Shapiro/Atkins did their due diligence by making their pitch, giving Ohtani a tour of the facilities in Dunedin and talking about what they could do for Ohtani and his brand. Blue Jays have been competitive over the last 3-4 seasons, have kept their rotation healthy and have shown a willingness to spend on FAs, which are all positives to show Ohtani that they are serious about contending. - Ohtani liked what he heard from Shapiro/Atkins and strongly considered the Jays as an option. Blue Jays probably offered a deal around $600M over 10 years, and Ohtani likely would have accepted and was very close, but they wanted to give the Dodgers one last chance to beat that offer. - Rumours circulate on Friday that Ohtani is flying to Toronto to meet the Blue Jays. Whether it was orchestrated by Ohtani's agent, we don't know. But that probably alarmed the Dodgers, which is why they called an emergency meeting Friday night. - Dodgers realized the Blue Jays were to be taken seriously and rather than take the chance of losing Ohtani, they opened their wallets and offered $700 million to just end all of this drama. Ohtani's camp likely notified the Jays on Saturday morning and that number was too high for Rogers to meet. - Ohtani's main preference was always the Dodgers. He was comfortable in the LA area and was impressed with their player development/farm system which were advantages for the Dodgers. Plus they managed to get the Dodgers to give him $75-100M more. Dodgers panicked last night with all the rumours about Ohtani flying to Toronto etc., so they went all in and wanted to seal the deal.

According to Tom Verducci, when Ohtani visited the Dodgers on December 1st, he made a point about asking the club about its player development philosophy and the state of its minor league system. Dodgers ranked 6th according to MLB.com midway through 2023 whereas the Blue Jays ranked 25th. Blue Jays weak farm system likely was a negative, but at the end of the day the Dodgers opened their wallets and offered $700 million to sign him.

Yeah would have been really exciting having him here no doubt. There were always going to be concerns with that type of big contract anyways, so while I'm a bit sad the Jays didn't sign Ohtani, may turn out to be a blessing in disguise. I guess it's okay to say that now since he signed with the Dodgers. But if you raised any concerns about his potential contract just a couple of days ago, different story.

Yeah he was overrated and just a DH.

Shi Davidi was probably pissed off he wasted his Friday night driving all the way out to Derry Road for nothing. Then driving back downtown during rush hour. He wasn't in the best of moods yesterday probably haha.

He's a great fit in Philly but yeah there is no need for the Phillies to extend him even longer. He's under contract until 2031 and he'll be 38. Sure at that point the Phillies could go year-to-year with him or tack on some club options with any contract extension he gets.