jaysblue

Yup. I actually had the opportunity to buy a single World Series ticket at face value through the Blue Jays site, but even the upper-level prices were ridiculous. A single 200-level ticket would’ve basically cost me an entire paycheque. I just can’t justify that. I was disappointed, obviously, but it is what it is. I followed this team through a lot of the dark years when they weren’t even drawing 20,000 fans a night or sniffing the postseason. I’d still go to games, buy jerseys and merchandise, watch almost every night on TV, etc., back when most of Toronto and Canada really didn’t care about the Jays. Then the team finally reaches the World Series and suddenly a lot of the fans who supported them through all those years are priced out, while plenty of people who recently jumped on the bandwagon are paying crazy money to go to games, take selfies and make TikTok videos. That part does bother me. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always said I’d do almost anything to be at the Dome for a Game 7 of the World Series. Hopefully I still get that opportunity someday - and while I’d obviously expect Game 7 tickets to be expensive, hopefully they aren’t quite as ridiculous as the prices were this time around.

As for the Brewers ticket situation, those tickets didn’t guarantee a specific section. So if the best available seats ended up being standing room or high in the upper deck, then technically that may have been the best available at the time. If better seats later open up, though, I do think those ticket holders should have access to them. Regardless, the Brewers should honour the ticket and give them the best seat available. That said, I still don’t understand why anyone would buy something that vague to begin with and put up all that money up front lol. The bigger issue is how so many fans are priced out of these events now. Similar to with the Blue Jays last Postseason. You can support a team for 20–30 years as a true fan, watch almost every game, attend 10–20 games a season, buy merchandise and stick with them through all the terrible years. Then the one time they finally make the World Series - the moment you’ve been waiting for your entire life - you’re suddenly priced out of attending. That’s probably one reason I don’t get as emotionally attached to sports teams as I used to. At the end of the day, I just try to enjoy them for the entertainment.

You can’t go into 2027 relying on Santander to be healthy. If his presence somehow prevents the front office from adding another bat, I’d be pretty disappointed, although I really don’t see that happening. If he is healthy, like I said before, the Jays will find ways to get him into the lineup through lineup shuffling, platoons, pinch-hitting and, inevitably, injuries elsewhere. But heading into 2027, Santander should be viewed on the depth chart as a bench bat, not someone occupying a guaranteed starting spot. If he stays healthy, he’ll still find his way into 300–400 ABs, maybe even more, without the Jays needing to plan the lineup around him.

Yeah don't understand the Torres contract haha. Jazz I think likely gets a one-year deal maybe with some options attached, or an opt out. Think he gets at least $25-30M AAV on a one-year deal from someone. Seems like a head case, but even in one of his worst offensive seasons statistically, he still put up a 3.5 WAR season. Also, could play some OF as well when not playing 2B, so that means you can even get Clement in the lineup at times.

I believe incentives can give a player a little extra motivation, sure. That’s just human nature - whether it’s in baseball, at work or really anything else, people are generally going to be a little more motivated when there’s a meaningful reward attached to reaching certain goals. But yes, I just don’t believe Rasmussen suddenly had one of the best seasons of his career because there were incentives attached to his contract. When healthy, he's proven he can pitch at an elite level. The bigger factor is that he stayed healthy, made 30 starts and pitched really good. The incentives may have provided some extra motivation along the way, but they weren’t necessarily the reason he performed at that level.

You might get some regression from all of those guys, but I don’t think it would be anything drastic. Cease, at worst, should still be a mid-3 WAR starter, and he’s consistently been around the 4-WAR range throughout his career. Varland probably won’t be quite as lights-out as he was this season, but I’d still expect him to be a very good reliever and capable of giving you 2+ WAR out of the bullpen. Okamoto is the one I could actually see staying around the same level or even improving. The power is legitimate, and I don’t see why he couldn’t replicate his 2026 season. The worst-case scenario would probably be the strikeouts really piling up and his average dropping closer to the Mendoza Line, which is always a possibility with that type of power hitter. Bateman is the bigger unknown because he still needs to prove it over a full season. I’d probably set expectations somewhere around 2–3 WAR over a full year. Anything beyond that would be a bonus.

Sato would be the younger option with more offensive upside, while Suzuki is more of the veteran with the higher floor and a proven MLB bat. I’d love either one, and obviously both would be even better, but I doubt that happens. You have to figure other big-spending teams like the Dodgers and Yankees will be heavily involved on Sato as well. I do like the idea of the Jays continuing to target top Japanese hitters and pitchers, though. Hopefully Toronto can become more of a destination for Japanese players, especially after the success Okamoto has had here. There’s a business angle to it too. Building a stronger presence in the Japanese market could be valuable for the organization, so continuing down that path would make a lot of sense.

Agreed. Santander shouldn’t really factor into the Jays’ plans going into the season. If he’s healthy, he’ll find his way into the lineup naturally when guys need days off or injuries start piling up. I’m not worried about finding at-bats for him. If he can actually stay healthy, I could easily see him getting around 300 ABs over the course of the season without the Jays having to reserve an everyday role for him.

No wonder why Rasmussen had one of his best seasons yet: CONTRACT: 2027 Club Option includes a $500,000 buyout 2027 Option Escalators 2026 Injury-Conditionals (must pass 2027 physical) 75+ arm-related IL days: 105 total IL days: $2.5M 75 or less arm-related IL days + 105 or less total IL days: $3.5M 45 or less arm-related IL days + 75 or less total IL days: $4.5M 15 or less arm-related IL days + 45 or less total IL days: $6M (earned) 2026 Games Started (cumulative) 8: $500k (earned) 12: $750k (earned) 16: $1M (earned) 20: $1M (earned) 24: $1.25M (earned) 28: $1.5M (earned)

Think the Rays shop him during the offseason?

I can't watch late games anymore on a work night. Anything that starts at 8 or 8:30PM, whether it's NFL or baseball, I'm out.

I was trying to think of a comparable player with a bad contract who could make sense in a Vladdy trade, but couldn’t really come up with anyone. Even if the Mariners wanted to shake things up, there isn’t an obvious fit. I doubt they’d move J-Rod for Vladdy given how much money Vlad is still owed. I did read this piece discussing concerns about Julio and whether he’ll become the star they were expecting: https://sodomojo.com/it-s-too-soon-to-fret-over-mariners-upcoming-240m-julio-rodriguez-decision If their contracts were similar, I could see the argument for a one-for-one swap. Both teams would be betting on a change of scenery getting more out of the player coming back. But that roughly $460M remaining on Vlad’s deal is the big deterrent. Maybe there’s something with the Braves, but I doubt they’d have the payroll room or willingness to take on that contract. Acuna is making next to nothing relative to his talent and is much closer to free agency, so I can’t see that making sense for Atlanta. Austin Riley might be someone they’d consider moving, but he looks pretty cooked himself.

Worse than Vladdy. Maybe needs laser eye surgery.

Miller Park is a fun environment. They even tailgate before the games in the parking lot. Went to watch two games during the 2018 NLCS in Milwaukee and they were playing the Dodgers as well. Game 1 saw Kershaw vs. Gio Gonzalez and then Game 2 was Ryu vs. Miley.

She's been in Milwaukee for years haha.

Yeah surprising. Jake Bauers made him throw a lot of pitches. Nice to see Yelich with a big hit. Hope he bounces back next season.

Nice to see Brewers take Game 1.

Conspiracy theorists online think it's a fake story, only to cover up as a reason why Vladdy struggled so much this season, since it was part of the script that the Blue Jays weren't going to make the Postseason, so Vladdy had to have an awful season offensively lol.

Blue Jays trade idea involving Vladdy (probably never happening, but hear me out haha). Sorry for the long read. If the Jays wanted to move on from Vladdy, it wouldn’t be easy. That 14-year, $500M deal is pretty much immovable right now unless they’re taking back some expensive contracts themselves, probably involving a player coming off a rough season. I read the other day that the Phillies are looking to shake things up and could be open to moving Bryce Harper and Trea Turner. So, what about a deal built around those two for Vladdy? Harper has roughly five years and $126M left, while Turner has seven years and around $190M remaining. Vladdy will be 28 next season, with another 13 years and roughly $460M owed to him. Using those numbers, that’s about $316M going one way and $460M going the other. Ridiculous amounts of money either way haha. From the Phillies’ perspective, they’d be swapping two players entering their mid-30s for a much younger bat who should still have his prime years ahead of him. Instead of paying for Harper’s and Turner’s decline years right now, they’d be pushing that concern further down the road with Vladdy. Obviously, the back end of his deal could get ugly, but if they can get him back to being the hitter we know he’s capable of being, they could have a monster bat in the middle of their lineup for years. They’d also lower their combined AAV, potentially giving them room to pursue another bat. Maybe they circle back to Bo, put him at shortstop and reunite him with Vladdy. For the Jays, the main appeal would be getting out from under that 13-year commitment. Harper would be off the books after five seasons and Turner after seven, shortening the whole thing by six years. They’d be taking on more money annually in the meantime, but there’s at least a baseball argument for doing it, too. Harper can still be an elite bat when healthy and would give the lineup some much-needed power from the left side. Turner would be the bigger concern after the season he just had, but the Jays have room at either second or short. If he bounces back and Harper stays healthy, those two could help them contend over the next couple of seasons. Of course, the obvious risk is that both decline and the Jays end up paying around $50M a year for two aging players while Vladdy figures it out in Philadelphia. Getting out of the longer contract only looks good if the players coming back still have something left. Maybe the Jays would have to eat some money or add something else to make the difference in total dollars work. I’m not saying it’s a straight-up swap that either team jumps at, but I can see some motivation on both sides. Philly gets younger and bets on Vladdy’s upside. Toronto takes on the more immediate age risk but gets a much earlier end date on the money owed. Probably never happens, but would you consider it?

I wonder if we see more of that next season by some teams. Interesting.

All excellent points and agree. That 8-year peak is pretty insane. When you actually look at the numbers, it’s almost Juan Soto-esque in terms of sustained elite offensive production. His career ended earlier than guys like Ortiz, Pujols, Cabrera and Helton due to that late career hip injury at 37. He still was putting up solid power numbers in his mid-30's and yeah if he played for another 2-3 more seasons, for sure he would have surpassed 500 HR's and might have reached 50 WAR. Also, guys like Cabrera and Pujols started to decline in their mid-30's at the ages of 34/35, whereas Delgado didn't power wise. Guys like Cabrera and Pujols were pretty much negative WAR players for their 6-7 last seasons in the bigs. Delgado aged better and was still raking.

Yeah that's true. Something like that would have to happen for sure. I would only do it for the DS. But it rewards the top two teams in the AL/NL at least.

I know the advanced metrics weren’t always kind to him, and defensively he was never anything special, but do you think Carlos Delgado deserves to be in Cooperstown someday? When you look at the offensive numbers, he was one of the better power hitters in baseball for a good 10–12 year stretch. I also think he gets underrated because he spent most of his prime playing in relatively smaller baseball markets at the time with Toronto and Florida before eventually joining the Mets. He had some monster seasons, especially in 2000 and 2003, and finished his career with 473 HRs, 1,512 RBI and a .280/.383/.546 slash line with a 135 wRC+. He also ranks 32nd all-time in career slugging percentage, ahead of names like Albert Pujols, Jeff Bagwell, Ken Griffey Jr., Sammy Sosa, Lance Berkman and Chipper Jones. That’s pretty impressive company. I guess the biggest thing holding him back is that he never reached the 50-WAR threshold. But even then, when you compare his overall career value to someone like David Ortiz, who spent most of his career at DH, or even Todd Helton, who played half his games at Coors Field, Delgado really wasn’t that far off. I’m not saying he’s an obvious Hall of Famer, but I do think his case deserves more consideration than it usually gets. He was probably one of the more underrated sluggers during that time period in comparison to other sluggers at the time. Blue Jays lineup could really use a Delgado slugger right now!

I also think it would be cool to reward the top seeds with home-field advantage for the entire seven-game series, similar to what they do in Japan during the Climax Series (First and Final Stage). Then in the CS and the World Series, you go back to 2-3-2. So for example, in the DS series, teams like the Dodgers, Brewers, Rays, Guardians would have all their games at home against the WC teams. That would be a significant reward for teams that finish #1/2 in the AL and NL.