jaysblue

Best post of the year!

Why would Cole want to come here? Let's be realistic.

Blue Jays should sign Michael Pineda. Some other intriguing starters who could be realistic possibilities are Michael Wacha, Tanner Roark, Jordan Lyles, Alex Wood, Trevor Cahill and Jerad Eickhoff. Sign two or three of these guys would definitely help solidify the rotation. Pineda, Wood, Lyles or Wacha offer some upside at least. Roark would be a bulk innings guy which would be valuable to this team. Cahill and Eickhoff more brought in to compete for the final rotation spot or as a swing-man/long reliever in the bullpen. I would say Anderson and Thornton should be locks in the rotation to open up the season, unless they completely implode during ST. Once Pineda returns from his suspension in May, the rotation could look like this: Pineda Anderson Roark/Lyles/Wood Thornton Cahill/Shoemaker/Waguespack or Font as an opener with one of those guys following him. Kay/Zeuch/Borucki in Buffalo At least in this case, the Blue Jays have some pitching depth and aren't scrambling to find arms for innings. I would even target Danny Salazar for a BP spot or as a reclamation project. Doesn't hurt.

Michael Pineda would be an interesting target as a SP. He was pitching very well with the Twins last season until his suspension. I'm sure his price will be discounted and there's no draft pick attached. There is still some untapped potential in his arm. I would actually rather roll the dice on Pineda over Gibson.

They make better money playing in Japan and Korea instead of signing just a MiLB deal. Also, they get to put up Playstation numbers overseas for a couple of years. If some players/pitchers have success after 2-3 years, they come back on an MLB teams radar and likely could end up getting a decent MLB contract. Better to make several millions and showcase themselves in Japan and Korea rather than signing a minor league contract and playing in Triple A all season. Better opportunities in Japan & Korea for those AAAA type of guys in their late 20's/early 30's and if they have success, MLB teams will come calling after 2 or 3 years. Look at Eric Thames, Merrill Kelly, Miles Mikolas, Chris Martin as examples.

What a great game! Was down there tonight! First game of the season for me and managed to see the best one so far!

If you consider players like Fisher, McKinney and Drury as major parts to the future of this club, the Jays won't be contending anytime soon.

Damn, so I guess you wouldn't have wanted David Ortiz on your roster. Or Nelson Cruz if he was available for that matter. Nothing wrong with rostering those guys if they rake. Would rather have Nelson Cruz or EE as a DH rather than rotating that spot with below average bats everyday.

Mine would be Strasburg or Cole, but realistically, we both know that isn't happening. EE is a realistic FA target given the fact that he likely will come on a cheap 1-year-deal (as we have seen the market of free agent DH's over the last couple of winters). Also, his addition to a young lineup would be beneficial. For example, look at how the Twins added Nelson Cruz last offseason. On a 1-year deal at $10-12M, EE could still provide a lot of value with his bat. Also, the Jays don't have anyone blocking 1B or DH. Tellez hasn't earned full time AB's yet from what I've seen of him.

If EE comes on a respectable 1-year-deal, I think you have to consider it. Adding him to the middle of the lineup with Biggio, Bichette and Vlad would be a nice fit. It's not like EE would be blocking anyone at 1B or DH unless you really believe in Tellez. Look at what the Twins did when the signed Nelson Cruz last offseason and the impact on their young lineup this past season. Just saying. If the price is right, bringing back EE isn't that bad of a baseball decision.

Knew the Leafs were going to win tonight. Should have put big bones on the game haha.

Would love to see the Blue Jays sign Drew Pomeranz for the BP. He was lights out last year after making the move to the BP. Has Andrew Miller BP type potential IMO.

Ellsbury is done. I could see some teams interested in rolling the dice on Bird. Wouldn't write him off just yet.

Nick Goody was DFA'd by Cleveland. Would be a nice BP pickup for the Jays!

Grandal would rake in Colorado and significantly improve the pitching staff with his framing, though the Rockies aren't spending any big money like you said. What an awful organization considering they have Arenado, Story, Dahl and Blackmon to build around. If the Jays signed Grandal, moving Jansen for Gray would be awesome. Rockies need a good framing catcher and Jansen does offer some offensive potential and would be cheap. Gray has ace potential if he puts it all together. A change of scenery is what he needs.

Odorizzi had success pitching in the AL East when he was with Tampa, so I could see why Toronto is interested.

Getting Raptors season tickets back in 2014/2015 was one of the best decisions I made.

Michael Jordan's Secret Stuff didn't work this week.

I'm shocked he hasn't signed with a CFL team for a year to showcase his talent.

OG isn't getting a max contract just yet. Lowry if he stays around after 2020/2021 will take a pay cut for sure. VanVleet will get a big raise next season though. If Masai is still in Toronto, the Raptors have a good chance at signing Giannis. If the Bucks don't win a Championship in the next two seasons, he's out of Milwaukee for sure.

Would love Bogdanovic, Aldridge or Gallinari if they were available.

At least the Raps fought back within 4 points and made a game of it. Sloppy 1st quarter cost them and turnovers. Lowry was amazing! Siakam needs to stop fouling out. I swear he's always playing with 5 fouls near the end of the game. If he wants to be an elite player, he can't do that anymore. Gasol has been awful. Hasn't found his shot yet and is causing too many turnovers. They need to play Ibaka more minutes instead of Gasol. Powell has been a disappointment early on. Need to start limiting his minutes if this continues.

Kevin Love is putting up crazy numbers early on as well. 16.8 RBG last time I checked. Dummond has been a beast though in the early going.

I messed up on most haha. Though some predictions were close. Clevinger if healthy could have finished in the Top 5 Cy Young voting. I picked the Nationals to have the best record in the MLB this season, though they did win the World Series so I should at least get a point for that one

We've seen over the last couple of seasons some teams who were in the "rebuild" phase move ahead of schedule. Nobody thought Atlanta was going to win their division in 2018. Nobody thought the Astros were going to win the AL Wildcard in 2015. Nobody thought the Cubs were going to make the postseason in 2015. Those teams had young stars who made an impact quickly once they arrived. Hopefully we could say the same about the Blue Jays when it comes to Vlad, Bo, and Biggio. If there are solid players/pitchers via free agency who can be had for cheap and make the team better as a whole, without blocking any young significant player, the Blue Jays should pursue those options. I don't want to see players like Socrates Brito, Alen Hanson etc. getting AB's or playing time whatsoever in the month of April, when far better upgrades are available during the offseason and likely for a reasonable price. Many people still think the Blue Jays window to contend is going to be in 4-5 years down the road. Doesn't have to be and likely won't. Depending on how well their top young positional players perform and if they make some key free agent signings or trades, its possible that window could be moved up maybe to 2-3 years like it was with the Braves and the Cubs.