jaysblue

If you were the GM of the Jays and the Astros agreed to send Abreu for Jansen, would you pull the trigger? Curious. It's a tough one.

Yeah I would worry Abreu turns into a Sergio Santos which is definitely possible. I'm perfectly fine with acquiring him, though he would have to be paired with one their SPs like Urquidy. Though if the Astros value Abreu pretty high which I bet they do and probably value him even higher than Urquidy, likely doesn't happen even if it's a 1 for 1 swap.

I would definitely be happy if that was the return but yeah you make a good point about the Astros being hesitant on moving Abreu. He's only 25 and likely will move up the bullpen pecking order since their other top BP arms are all over 30. They probably value him more than Urquidy.

Rotation: Gausman Manoah Berrios Urquidy Free agent (one of Kyle Gibson, Corey Kluber, Jose Quintana, Ross Stripling, Andrew Heaney, Chris Bassitt) That's a solid rotation if the Jays can add one of those FA starters along with guys like White/Kikuchi/Tiedemann as depth. Bullpen: Jordan Romano Taylor Rogers (sign as a FA) Bryan Abreu Anthony Bass Yimi Garcia Tim Mayza Adam Cimber Nate Pearson etc. That bullpen is vastly improved with Abreu and if the Jays signed Rogers. Two high K arms who both can post 1.5-2 WAR seasons. Overall, these moves won't break the bank and greatly improve the roster. Kirk/Moreno are fine as a catching tandem and I'm sure the Jays could go after a left-handed bat who could DH and play OF occasionally (one of Michael Brantley, Cody Bellinger, Joc Pederson, Andrew Benintendi, or Joey Gallo would be nice adds).

Would prefer Christian Javier or Framber Valdez over Urquidy though doubt the Astros move them for Jansen. If Jansen stays healthy, he can definitely put together a 4 WAR season so I understand your reasoning. You gotta hope Urquidy takes a step forward and becomes a 2-3 WAR pitcher. If you get a high end young reliever with some control like Bryan Abreu, I think you have to consider it.

Rogers would be a perfect fit IMO. Has closing experience and can be used as a bridge to Romano. Last two seasons he posted a 13.17 and 11.75 K/9. I actually like him better than Matt Moore given his lower BB/9 and experience. He would be a huge upgrade over Mayza and in the late innings. Mayza, Bass, Garcia, Cimber etc, can all be pushed down the pecking order which is fine. Plus if one of Pearson or Merryweather emerge into an elite setup guy with high K rates, this bullpen will be fine!

You said it perfect! Same applies to the bench!

Mayza as a second lefty down in the pen is fine, though I don't want him pitching in critical situations next season. Jays need a Brett Cecil type lefty down there.

Urquidy and Abreu would be nice.

Taylor Rogers would be a really nice addition. Bring his brother Tyler as well haha. Having the Rogers twins would be awesome. Great marketing!

Replacing Mayza (who wasn't that good this season to begin with) with someone like Matt Moore would be a nice upgrade.

Spanky coming after you now.

Richards becomes the next Liam Hendriks.

If the Jays add two starters this offseason, Kikuchi probably would be better utilized out of the pen instead of starting in Buffalo.

I would even be open to trading some relievers if the team can make one or two upgrades to the pen. Just move everyone else down one spot on the depth chart. Bring in another elite late inning arm or two with high K rates, who could be a bridge to Romano. That means you move guys like Bass, Garcia, Mayza, Cimber down for the 6th/7th innings. I hope Pearson or Merryweather can have a breakout year out of the pen. Would definitely help!

After travelling through Asia extensively, my abilities to distinguish Chinese/Japanese/Korean/Filipino/Vietnamese/Thai is quite good.

Would rather have the Leafs suck now and hopefully turn it on for the second half and into the Playoffs.

I always get mistaken for another nationality and it doesn't bother me at all. I'm Canadian though background is Italian. I get a lot of people thinking I'm Middle Eastern like from Lebanon, Egypt, Pakistan or Afghanistan, which I find interesting. Also, I get a lot of people thinking I'm Serbian or Portuguese. I'm proud of being Canadian and having an Italian background, though I wouldn't get upset if someone mistakes me as an American or Portuguese.

Yeah maybe the Yankees thought Donaldson could have aged like Beltre did with the Rangers. Urshela had the better year obviously, though I don't think the Yankees care about losing him unless he becomes a 4-5 WAR guy which I highly doubt.

Yeah I'm okay with the Springer contract, always have been. Though he is made of glass and a significant injury risk. As long as he stays somewhat healthy even with the odd recurring injury, he'll be fine.

A lot is riding on McClanahan and Glasnow staying healthy. Springs I could see regressing. Rasmussen is meh but still a solid No 4-5 starter. Patino I still like, but he's a lottery ticket and can't be relied on. Beeks is better as a reliever. Chririnos isn't anything special but could give them innings. Romero sucks. Not having Shane Baz healthy sucks. I actually feel safer with Gausman/Manoah more than McClanahan/Glasnow. Though far way more upside with McClanahan and Glasnow if they both stay healthy.

Blue Jays owe Springer, Ryu and Kikuchi $55M next season. If Springer, who we all know is made of glass, misses significant time with an injury, not good.

Was it a terrible trade at the time though? Money doesn't matter for the Yankees as it does other teams. Donaldson did put together a 5.2 WAR and 3.0 WAR season in 2019 and 2021 respectively. Whereas Urshela posted a 2.8 WAR and 0.7 WAR in 2019 and 2021. I think we can all agree that Donaldson was an upgrade over Urshela at the time of the trade. Obviously, the trade didn't work out for them given Donaldson's rapid decline in 2022.

Yeah Rays need a star bat or two for their lineup. Starting pitching is more than fine if they stay healthy. If the Yankees have a bad offseason, I think you can have a three way race between the Rays, Blue Jays and Orioles (if they spend money this offseason to complement their young core).

I don't think the 2021 Braves were "garbage" and "one of the worst teams ever" to win the World Series. They weren't the favorites or best team heading into the 2021 Postseason sure but they had the right mix of talent and luck regarding some players they brought in at the trade deadline. Things clicked for them at the right time. - Rosario hit .383/.456/.617 in the 2021 postseason. Had some solid years with the Twins before, nothing special. Posted a 4.0 WAR season in 2018. - Soler hit .242/.342/.606 in the 2021 postseason. 48 HR's in 2019. - Duvall sucks I know, though he still hit 38 HR's in 2021 and posted a 2.7 WAR. - Pederson didn't do much with the Braves, though had some big hits in the Postseason. I recall a lot of posters on this message board wanted the Jays to acquire Pederson at this past trade deadline. - Matzek was decent in 2021 (2.57 ERA, 3.20 FIP, 11 K/9 and 1.1 WAR). In the postseason he had a 1.72 ERA, 0.87 FIP and 13.79 K/9 in 15.2 innings. Better lefty than Tim Mayza! Will Smith wasn't that good, will admit. Braves had a far superior bullpen during the 2022 regular season and heading into the 2022 Postseason. The Braves in 2021 weren't that bad of a team, even without Acuna. AA did a great job acquiring some bats with previous success at the trade deadline to fill in for the injuries they had. Sure those turds got lucky and were productive, though they also had previous success at the MLB level before. Freeman, Riley, Albies, and Swanson were still solid. Yes, Riley and Swanson were better in 2022, though they still were solid in 2021 and progressed even more as you would expect with young players with their skillsets. Albies put up 3.9 WAR in 2021 while Acuna wasn't even at his best in 2022 posting a 2.0 WAR. Obviously, the 2022 Braves team is far better than the 2021 Braves team was on paper. Though I don't think the 2021 Braves were "garbage" at all. They had some solid young pieces who broke out, Freddie Freeman, some solid young pitching to go along with Morton, and got lucky on some trade deadline acquisitions that did an adequate job replacing Acuna and Ozuna.