jaysblue

What does BTS think?

lol Actually I was on my deck yesterday evening around 7:30-8 PM and it cooled down considerably outside.

Anyone going down to the game tonight?

If I recall, there were some prominent posters on here who supported the Dickey deal and thought that he was going to be a great No. 1 -2 pitcher here based on projections.

I never had a problem with Reyes as the Jays shortstop. At the time of his acquisition, he was probably the best shortstop the Jays had this past decade in terms of offensive potential and talent wise. Outside of Scutaro's masterful 2009 performance (4.2 WAR) and the good year Yunel Escobar had before he crashed, it finally looked like the Jays solved the position over the next 4-5 years with Reyes as their shortstop and leadoff hitter. I've always been a fan of Reyes, as he was one of the most exciting players to watch in his glory days with the Mets. Obviously, the Jays weren't getting that Reyes unfortunately and I think with all the optimism that offseason, many fans were expecting the Mets version of Jose Reyes. Injuries each season with the Jays took their toll, impacting his running game and fielding as well + him getting older impacted his performance - he's basically been the same player as he was with the Marlins in 2012, which I think people with rational expectations signed up for and I'm sure many casuals would have been happy with as well if he played more. However, due to his contract structure, what the Jays traded to land Reyes in that package (remember Josh Johnson did poorly and I'm sure that also left a sour taste in many peoples views on the overall trade as they probably expected Reyes and MB to exceed expectations to make it a worthwhile trade) and the fact that Reyes missed chunks of time on the DL never playing 150 + games in a single season, all had something to do with the fans misconception that Reyes was a disappointment. Plus, all the timely errors he made were heavily magnified by the media which even put a further cloud on his tenure with the Jays. Overall, Tulo is a far better shortstop, no questions asked. The Jays just landed arguably the best shortstop in baseball and we should all be f***ing excited! End of conversation.

Its been really only this season that his K rate is higher than his career norm. Previous seasons he didn't K that much for the type of power hitter he is, which is quite remarkable.

V-Mart got 4/68, so considering Bautista can at least play a position and will age better, I'd say 4/75 or 4/80 is fair. I don't know about 5 years though, since that would take him past 40.

How so? I'm sure he's more shocked than anything since he's been in Colorado for his entire career and this has been the first time he's been traded. Secondly, he probably never expected to be dealt to Toronto out of all places. I'm sure Tulo will fit in well here and love the city. Toronto is one of the nicest cities in North America. Like AA mentioned, JD was the same when he heard he was traded.

I think they realize Tulo is a better SS than Reyes, though they aren't going to go out in the media and be like all excited that they traded one of the great buddies in Reyes for Tulo. Reyes was well liked in that clubhouse and I'm sure there are many players like Bautista and EE that are disappointed to see him go, though its a business. I'm sure from a baseball decision standpoint, they understand that they are a better club today than they were yesterday.

Agreed, I'd rather have Bautista in his late 30's over EE.

Good comparison. I still think Bautista gets a 3-4 year deal after 2016, and then after that contract goes year-to-year like what Boston has done with Ortiz.

Beltran's deal is comparable (3 years, $45 million). I obviously expect Bautista to get more and world be willing to pay more AAV to keep Bautista around for 3 more years.

I think Bautista max gets a 3-4 year deal. It would be crazy to see him get 5 years somewhere though anything is possible.

Yeah just having this discussion with someone. I think Bautista makes more sense based on what he has meant to the organization since 2010 and since Bautista likely will age better and he can at least play RF whereas EE is limited to 1B and DH. As well, Bautista might not cost as much as EE in terms of years since Bautista will be 36 at the start of 2017 where EE will be 34.

With EE and Bautista both becoming free agents after 2016, what type of contract do you see them both getting on the free agent market? Since the Jays have just traded for Tulo, one of the long term benefits is that if both Bautista and EE are not retained, then at least the Jays still have a solid offensive core of Donaldson, Tulo and Martin, along with Travis. As well, who do you think the Jays have a better shot of bringing back (EE or Bautista) and who would you prefer if you could only choose one? Do you think one could possibly get an extension this offseason?

I'd target a guy like Seth Smith to platoon in LF with someone. The Jays need some left handed bats to balance the lineup.

Better Zobrist going to KC over the Yankees at least. Wonder what the Royals gave up...

I wonder if they move CarGo soon...

Since this lineup is heavily right handed, you hope this means Smoak is in the lineup more going forward.

Tulo likely will DH 1-2 times per week, day after night game.

Interesting that the Cards were in on Tulo. I wonder what they were offering?

Fastest wildcard game in history?

Dickey in Coors Field lol

No team was signing HanRam to play SS though.

Same, I don't think he'll have to move off the position for a couple of years at least.