jaysblue

Gonna wear my Ricky Vaughn jersey for tonight!

Does he bounce back next season? Or is he toast?

Just missed by a couple of inches. Cy Young caliber season still!

They have been warming up to each other at least. Give it more time.

Rays vs. Brewers please. But also would love to see the Rays beat the Dodgers.

Boone is likely gone. 9 seasons and zero World Series.

I would spend $2000 to stay here one night.

Yeah tough without Judge. Lineup is so different. Still, even with Judge, Yankees are a team with a lot of flaws.

I bet Yankees tickets for Game 3 are going to be cheap on SeatGeek and StubHub after coming back home down 2-0 haha.

I’d be pretty surprised if the Jays non-tender Ernie. He’s become a fan favourite, and even with the struggles this season, he’s still the kind of player who grinds out every at-bat and gives you everything he has defensively. Even at around $7.5M, I think there’s value in keeping him as a super-utility guy who can play all over the infield and still get 300–400 ABs. If he gets back to being a 2–3 WAR player in that role, then he’s easily worth the money.

Pretty wild how quickly things can change. Ty France went from being a bench bat for Toronto last October to being one of the more important bats in San Diego’s lineup a year later.

Between free agency - Jazz, Bo potentially, Lowe, Arraez, Torres - and some of the trade candidates mentioned like Abrams, Neto and Marte, there should be plenty of middle-infield options available. The Jays really should be able to come away with one of them. I did read on Yahoo that one MLB executive predicted Arraez could get something like 5 years/$100M this winter, which I find hard to believe but who knows: https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/tigers-linked-signing-100-million-174735101.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAMZWGHPfaSnE-S_0JsXU5n905i0PdPNAb0G9husCvKbKBYPIQDZTSStxf40QkLGvX3uzlYne9cEjibrkISzbwyZ1rHr2XRZxf-Hlt8NatPYgAN2ivMHNaXatgfedo5neIpQ8EuG6IOebb4mrt2IeeABeLYvcBPp7lpSc0f14RJko

Missing Barger obviously hurt, since he probably would’ve been good for around 25 HRs. As for Santander, I don’t think the Jays can count on him for anything at this point. On the depth chart, he should be viewed as a bench bat. If he’s healthy and injuries happen, sure, he’ll find his way into the lineup. But you can’t hold down LF or DH for him and go into next season expecting him to be the guy who gives you 30–40 HRs. Springer was another big factor. He got off to a slow start and his power basically got cut in half, going from 32 HRs in 2025 to 15 in 2026. That’s a huge drop. Varsho was also disappointing, especially when you were probably hoping for a 20–25 HR season from him. Heading into next season, I also don’t think the Jays can afford to have both Gimenez and Clement getting everyday ABs in the same lineup. Atkins seemed to hint that Clement could use more load management, so hopefully that means they’re looking at a 2B upgrade and moving Clement into more of a super-utility role.

Fair enough. I wasn’t trying to argue that Atlanta has some dominant playoff rotation or that all of those injured pitchers were top-of-the-rotation arms. My point was simply that they lost a lot of legitimate rotation depth and still managed to win 94 games and take the division, which I honestly didn’t expect them to do. I also agree that their playoff rotation behind Sale is pretty underwhelming. Where I pushed back was on the idea that losing guys like Strider, Schwellenbach, Smith-Shawver, Waldrep, Lopez etc. wasn’t a significant issue just because they weren’t all aces. Losing that many starting options matters over a 162-game season. As for the Jays, I still think there’s a difference between saying they need another elite starter to compete and saying it would be ideal to add one. I’ve never said they can’t win with Yesavage or Soriano. I just think there are legitimate questions about relying on them as your No. 2/3 starters in October, especially given Soriano’s results with Toronto and Yesavage still being young. If Yesavage takes another step, that concern could disappear pretty quickly. And yeah, I only brought up Atlanta’s lineup because the discussion shifted there. For a 94-win team, the overall numbers don’t exactly jump off the page. They were much better in the first half and started 23–10, then cooled off later in the season. Even some of their bigger bats struggled for extended stretches. Olson, for example, went through a pretty long home run drought. I remember it well because I own him in fantasy haha. It also shows how important it is to have legitimate home run power throughout the lineup. Even when an offense is inconsistent overall, having multiple guys who can change a game with one swing can make up for a lot of those shortcomings. Atlanta was a pretty good example of that this season. Their team wRC+ may have been fairly mediocre, but they still had enough power throughout the lineup to overcome some of that inconsistency and win games with one swing. So I think we’re probably closer on this than it seemed. My main point was just that their injuries were significant and that I still see value in the Jays adding another high-end arm if the opportunity is there. For the Jays, adding some more thump to the lineup should be the first priority.

Sure, 100% Vlad could absolutely be that type of player. As for Okamoto, he’s never hit 35–40 HRs in a season technically. Once he shows he can consistently produce that kind of power and become a better well-rounded bat, then I think you can start putting him in the same conversation as Olson. Bateman is also no Michael Harris lol. Harris has been in the majors since he was 21 and has already put together some very solid seasons. He also has legitimate 25+ HR power, whereas I’m not convinced Bateman ever even reaches double digits consistently. That’s a pretty big difference offensively. Kirk and Baldwin are probably closer to a wash with the bat. Baldwin might have the slight edge in terms of raw power, but Kirk is far superior defensively, so overall I’d still take Kirk. Atlanta’s lineup is still better than Toronto’s, even with some of their bats having mediocre 2026 seasons. They simply have more raw power throughout the lineup, which can make a difference in closer games. Even Albies, who has been about as bad offensively as Clement, still gives you 20+ HR power. In some ways, both teams are similar in that a lot depends on getting an elite, healthy season from Acuna or Vladdy. Either one can completely change the look of an offense. But overall, Atlanta still has more power and more proven offensive upside throughout the lineup.

Gausman, despite some of his struggles, was still worth 3.2 fWAR this season after putting up 4.1 fWAR in 2025. To me, he’s absolutely worth bringing back on a one-year deal in the $18–20M range. Obviously it would be nice if he gave the Jays a bit of a hometown discount, but even if he doesn’t, I’d still be completely fine with that kind of deal. He raises the floor of the rotation, and his durability has real value over a 162-game season. And who knows, maybe there’s still some magic left in the bottle. Even if he’s no longer the consistently elite arm he was in 2022 and 2023, he might still be capable of putting together a 5–10 start stretch where he looks like that guy again. On a one-year commitment, I’d gladly take that chance.

Each of those Braves bats would look like a star in this Toronto lineup. Acuna is an elite offensive player when he’s healthy and right - legitimately could be one of the best hitters in baseball. Olson has monster power and is basically a lock for 35–40 HRs every year. Michael Harris II is still only 25, and going back to the second half of last season, he’s really started to look like he could develop into an offensive stud as well. Then you have Drake Baldwin, who has already emerged as one of the better young catchers in the game. Not sure about Riley. He looks like he could be a disaster. Albies is meh, but at least he has some pop for a second baseman. So yeah, I’m not sure why we’re suddenly acting like Atlanta’s lineup is full of mediocre bats. Put those guys in Toronto’s lineup this season and we’d be talking about them completely differently.

The guy burned me in the LOD this season. Next season will be the real test. He had some nice stretches in August this season I believe, but yeah not looking good.

Where did I say they were all top-of-the-rotation guys? My point was simply that Atlanta dealt with a ton of injuries to its pitching staff and still found a way to win the division. At the beginning of the season, I actually wrote them off largely because of those injuries, so clearly I was wrong about that. A lot of the pitchers I mentioned were still important pieces of their rotation. You can debate how good each individual pitcher is, but don’t make it sound like they all sucked and those injuries were insignificant. It’s no different than the Jays losing guys like Ponce, Bieber, Berrios, Yesavage and others throughout the season. They don’t all have to be aces for losing that much rotation depth to matter. And if we’re talking about actual top-of-the-rotation upside, Strider absolutely looked like one of the better arms in baseball a few years ago. Injuries have clearly taken a toll and he hasn’t been the same pitcher since, but that doesn’t change what he was before getting hurt. I also have no idea why you’re bringing up the Braves’ offense. I never mentioned their offense. Same thing with this hypothetical about simulating their season 10 times and them being below average in eight of them. I never made that argument either, so I’m not sure what you’re responding to there. Seriously, this is why these discussions with you can get annoying. I’m just trying to have a baseball conversation, and instead you’re arguing against points I never made and making it personal because I’ve been an AA/Braves fan in the past. Respond to what I actually wrote instead of turning it into something else.

Team Canada needs him!

In payroll?

They had to use Wheeler in the final game of the regular season on Sunday. So if he was going to be available at all for Game 3, it would’ve been on short rest and likely only for a couple of innings out of the bullpen at most, which is exactly how they ended up using him in that win-or-go-home game.

As Jays fans, we're not in a position to comment.

I don’t think the Braves’ pitching after Sale is anything special, and yeah, that would concern me moving forward against a team like the Dodgers. Considering all the injuries they dealt with in the rotation - Strider, Schwellenbach, Smith-Shawver, Waldrep and Lopez - I honestly didn’t even think they’d win the division or make the postseason. We’ll see what happens, but especially in a 3-game Wild Card series or even a 5-game series, anything can happen. As for Soriano and Yesavage, I think you’re making it sound like I don’t trust them at all or think they’re awful, which I never said. I also never said the Jays can’t win in the playoffs with them. There are legitimate questions about whether either of them can be a true No. 2 starter right now, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with pointing that out. Soriano, for example, had a 5.30 ERA in his 10 starts with the Jays. I’ve also said that if Yesavage puts everything together and lowers the BB/9, he absolutely could become that 1A/No. 2 type behind Cease. Ideally, though, I’d still love to see them add another elite arm to pair with Cease. If they don’t, I’ve already said that a rotation built around Cease, Soriano, Yesavage and a couple of solid offseason additions would still be more than good enough to get through a 162-game season.

Roberts wouldn't be a bad option as a RHB in a platoon with Lukes or Barger. He might just have to settle for that role this offseason if he wants a MLB deal. However, how many platoons can we have? Running with two platoons in the outfield I'm not that keen on, especially if this team keeps Straw haha. Don't want Straw as a platoon partner with anyone. Obviously, if the Jays sign Suzuki, he solves LF and you only need one RHB to pair with Barger. If the Jays decide to keep Lukes, they definitely need a RHB. As for Barger, ideally a platoon partner would be nice, but don't want to overcrowd the roster with platoon bats in the outfield. Bateman I think is fine, but yes I think if the Jays are targeting a RHB platoon bat, you want to make sure they could also play CF.