jaysblue

Yeah I think Votto retires if he doesn't get an MLB deal from someone. Donaldson may sign for a minor league deal before spring training if he's left unsigned. Same with Winker due to his injury concerns.

Ohtani Team Opening Day 2024 odds (Jays ranked third in Vegas): Dodgers - 1.90 Rangers - 5.50 Blue Jays - 6.50 Cubs - 8.00 Giants - 9.00 Mets - 9.00 Yankees - 9.00 Red Sox - 13.00

I agree that the Jays should take a run at Bregman if the Astros make him available. Bieber is interesting as well since Cleveland always likes to move arms when they're close to free agency. You can't sign both Donaldson and Votto here to get regular AB's haha. I don't mind bringing in one of them in as a veteran presence for one of the last roster spots on the bench. There is no room to roster both of them. Winker isn't a bad target as a bounce back for a LF/DH bat, but Jays would have had to strikeout on a lot of other players in free agency to go that route. Plus, heard about Winkers attitude so not sure he would be a great fit. Would not trade Bo for Adames haha. I doubt Whit is coming back to Toronto. He still likely get's a 1 year deal worth around $10-12M with a club option somewhere to play everyday.

Lets see your list buddy!

I am confused? I said the Yankees could be a possible spot for Ohtani. Dodgers are still the No. 1 team to sign him most likely, but never count the Yankees out when it comes to a big name FA. As well, NYC is a huge market and the Yankee pinstripes always have a huge appeal to a lot of baseball players. Ohtani would be a perfect fit there if he wants to play in the Pinstripes.

They have been a frustrating team to watch this season. How many wins to they have in regulation? Just 5? They need to start playing better hockey. The Leafs are lucky if they get past R1 again in the Playoffs with the way they're playing currently.

Should we also place the same blame on Melanie Bedard if those rumours are true?

Still, they should have won that game in regulation. As well, they were awful in OT. They were lucky they got so many breaks. I got the Leafs and Vegas in a parlay so was on edge.

Bedard's mom is pretty hot!

Yankees won 82 games with an awful team in 2023 and in one of the toughest divisions in baseball. They were only 5 games behind the Jays considering. If the Yankees make some big adds like Yamamoto and Soto + others, they make up that ground and likely are in the 88-90 win range.

Yankees will be spending money this offseason after their extremely poor 2023 season. Any rational poster on here knew that. They throw money at problems and they have the luxury to do so. Yankees will be better in 2024. Does that mean the Yankees are going to be a top team in the AL and win the division? No, but they can be a borderline WC team with 88-90 wins with a couple of big moves this offseason. As well, if they sign a combo of some big name FA's or trade for some big name players, that takes away from the FA pool and trade market for other teams including the Jays, meaning there will be more competition and suitors for other FA's and trade candidates. Will have a domino effect.

McNeil is signed to a very team friendly contract through 2026 with an AAV of $12.5M. Even after a down season, he still posted a 2.6 WAR. He's just one year removed from a 5.7 WAR season and he posted 4.9 WAR back in 2019. Only downside with McNeil is his age and he doesn't hit for much power. He kind of reminds me a bit of Justin Turner. Late bloomer and who could hit for a very high BA with 15-20 HR's in any given season offensively. He also fills the 2B void for the next three or four seasons as well. Alonso is a proven power hitter and you know he's good for 3-4 WAR at least with 40 HR's. He's in a contract year as well, so he's definitely going to be motivated. Would be nice if the Jays could extend Alonso. Vlad on the other hand offers more upside and two years of control vs. one. However, Vladdy also could be a pumpkin again, and only produce 1.0 WAR. Plus he's going to get paid $18-20M each season through arbitration likely. Manoah depends a lot on the relationship with the club and FO now. We really don't know how things are. If things are sour, Atkins isn't going to come out publicly and say it since that will impact the leverage the Jays have in trade. If Manoah and the Jays worked things out and he agrees to come into ST next year in better shape, a bounce back is definitely possible. Overall, it's a tough call but I'm definitely leaning towards that offer if the Jays feel like Vladdy can't be fixed over the next year or two and if the relationship with Manoah has completely soured. Jays have a shorter window now, so you have to really emphasize the importance of the 2024 and 2025 seasons when you have guys like Bo still under club control and guys like Gausman still pitching in top form. Also, have to remember the Jays like will add around this trade as well, so this lineup could end up looking really good with other additions through FA and trade.

The one guy I could be worried about is Kikuchi next season. I think Berrios will be fine. Anything is possible like you said though. I expected Manoah to regress a bit, but not at a Josh Towers level. Both Berrios and Kikuchi stepped up huge with Manoah tanking this season, so big props to them. Hope the rotation continues to be a strong point of this club!

Yeah of course, thanks for supporting my point!

Yeah I'm pretty confident in the Jays rotation moving forward, though its not foolproof. Injuries or some regression is possible with one or multiple of these guys. Can't assume that everything in 2023 will repeat itself in 2024 or 2025.

They have for sure, but Gausman already has 1500+ innings and Berrios has 1200+ innings under their belt. Bassitt only 937.1 so not bad for his age but still. We can't just assume the Jays rotation will be the exact same in 2024 and 2025. If someone regresses a bit, or if Berrios and Kikuchi revert back to their 2022 version, it's not looking as promising. If Manoah is kept around, hopefully he gets back in top form in case someone else has a drop-off.

Yeah the Jays rotation is definitely better, but aren't you worried about their ages? Our top 4 arms are all above 30 and pretty expensive. '

Nice move by the Dodgers keeping him. Wouldn't have minded Heyward here as a platoon bat in LF or DH, and as a backup CF at that price.

In the big picture, it's still $25M more. Ohtani has spent his entire MLB career in the LA area already, so he either loves it there or wants a change of scenery. Downtown LA is really no different than Downtown Detroit lol. But LA has a lot better surrounding areas like Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Malibu, along with better weather all year round and it's a bigger market. I doubt he signs in Detroit but if they end up signing Yamamoto, could make things interesting.

I think he's fired after the season if the team fails to make the Playoffs or has an early Playoff exit.

Blue Jays rotation by age for 2024: Gausman - 33 Berrios - 30 Bassitt - 35 Kikuchi - 33 Manoah - 26

I find it ironic that Kirk at 25 still has upside according to some on here, but Moreno who is younger is deemed a "limp noodle bat." Why doesn't Moreno have upside but Kirk still does? If we're talking about catchers with a "limp noodle bat," I think Kirk fits that description perfectly haha. If Varsho can return to being a 3-4 WAR player over the next three years, I won't have an issue with the trade. It all depends on what Varsho does in 2024, 2025 and 2026. But yeah at his age of 27, Varsho could improve, still has upside and be so much better, but Moreno at age 23 is what he is.

I think most posters on here even preferred to trade/shop Jansen first before Kirk and Moreno because he was older, injury prone and had less years of control. Kirk was overhyped on this board by many and still is. Teams were concerned with his conditioning and his huge second half slump in 2022. Even the Jays preferred moving Kirk over Moreno if they had the choice according to Sorrow. Regardless, looks like the value of all three catchers on the trade market weren't what we thought according to Sorrow's intel. A lot of teams had concerns regarding all three.

I like the Tigers pitching and they have some good young bats as well. Skubal is my pick for the AL Cy Young next season and the Detroit Tigers win the AL Central.

Such a disappointing loss. Bills outplayed them as well and could have won that game. Very frustrating. Bills needed to score a TD in OT. And that 59-yard FG by Philly at the end of the 4th quarter FFS! Game should have been over!