jaysblue

JS is listening to you.

As for Cease, probably best to have him make 2 starts next week anyways - at home vs. the Rays and on the road at Fenway vs. the Red Sox.

Love it! Yeah they need to get Valenzuela in the lineup as much as possible whether as C or DH. Can't keep him riding on the bench and only making 1 or 2 starts per week. He at least should get 5 starts per week to keep his bat active.

They're tanking on purpose for a top pick next July.

Still have to watch! Will get it on 4K when it comes out.

Agree with everything you said. At some point, reality has to set in. This is about to be their 11th straight losing season, Ohtani is gone, and the organization still hasn’t shown any real ability to build a serious winner around him. If he wants one last real shot at meaningful baseball while he can still impact games, this might be the point where he finally realizes staying loyal to the Angels is just wasting the rest of his career.

One of the best horror/thrillers I've seen in a long time. Same here, jumped out of my seat.

Grant loves the part of Schlittler trolling Boston and its fans haha.

I watched Obsession last night. Creeped me out. What a thriller!

I think the Jays need to squeeze as much offense as possible out of every position, especially with how the current core of the lineup is constructed. You can’t rely on Vladdy to consistently be an elite bat in the Judge/Soto tier. He’s absolutely capable of having a huge offensive season, but you can’t pencil that in as a guarantee every year. Same with Kirk - he can be a very valuable bat when he’s right, but he hasn’t consistently shown he’s a year-to-year 115 wRC+ type. There are stretches where the bat turns into a pumpkin and he’s closer to a 90ish wRC+ hitter. When you combine that with running Gimenez out there every day, and even someone like Clement despite the hot start, the Jays are still leaning on too many low-power bats. The lineup lacks real thump. That’s why Trout is interesting. If he’s healthy, he can still be a legitimate difference-maker offensively. He lengthens the lineup, gives them a true middle-of-the-order presence, and could take pressure off guys like Vladdy and Okamoto. A middle of the order built around Trout, Vlad, and Oka would be a lot more dangerous than what they’re currently running. Even if Trout costs you a bit defensively in CF, I think the offensive upgrade is worth it. If healthy, he can still be a 4–5 WAR player. Bring back Straw as the 4th outfielder/late-game defensive option, and I think the Jays would be fine. I want nothing to do with Grisham. As for Jazz, I’m a big fan of the bat and athleticism, but the defense worries me. He makes a lot of boneheaded decisions whether he’s at 2B, 3B, or in the outfield, and the injury history is also a real concern. If you could get Jazz on a short-term deal - something like one year with a high AAV - I’d be open to it. But I wouldn’t want to be the team giving him a big multi-year contract.

Geez two days without Blue Jays baseball or baseball in general really does suck. Mets/Phillies tonight only lol.

Try to get Mike Trout in the offseason. He needs out of Anaheim and with the Jays he would actually have a chance at a ring.

Can Kevin Pillar still play CF?

Likely trade route is the best option to find a CF. Steven Kwan, O'Neil Cruz, Garrett Mitchell, Colton Cowser, Lawrence Butler could possibly be available. Obviously some of those guys aren't defensive wizards like Varsho was.

Gotta admit JS looks really cool here:

Probably not. Given the season he’s had so far, and with his defense slipping a bit, I don’t see a team handing him a big 4- or 5-year deal this offseason unless he has a huge second half. I’d be open to bringing him back on a one-year deal to buy the Jays more time to find a long-term solution in CF. But I wouldn’t want to pay him around $22M if he accepts the QO. If they could bring him back closer to the $15M range, I think that would be much more reasonable. At that price, he still gives you value with his defense, athleticism, and occasional power, without locking yourself into a risky long-term commitment.

I agree it made sense from a timing/need perspective at the time. The Jays were trying to win, they had catcher depth, and Varsho filled a real need in CF/LF with elite defense and some power. My point is more about how the trade looks now compared to how confidently some people framed it a couple years ago. Maybe “landslide” is too strong, but there were definitely fans acting like the Jays clearly won the deal once Varsho settled in and Moreno wasn’t immediately an offensive monster. Varsho has been a good player here. No argument. But he also hasn’t quite become the 4–5 WAR, 30-HR impact bat many hoped for. And now, if he’s potentially gone after this season, that changes the long-term value discussion quite a bit. Moreno, meanwhile, is still under control through 2029 and is having a career year at a premium position. Kirk being good doesn’t completely erase that, because Moreno himself was still a major asset. You kind of wish the Jays could have got more for him at the end of the day, but understandable. So yeah, I agree it wasn’t a disaster and it helped both teams. But I don’t think it worked out “about as good as the Jays could have expected” either. To me, it feels more like a fair baseball trade/wash than some clear Jays win.

You probably did but I can't keep track since you flip flop all the time on everything.

So there’s a real chance Varsho could be gone after this season. It honestly feels like we acquired him yesterday in that trade with Arizona. So far, Varsho has accumulated 8.4 WAR over his four seasons here. He’s been a solid player and has brought real value with his defense, baserunning, and stretches of power, but he never quite became the 4–5 WAR, 30-HR bat that a lot of people hoped he could be when the Jays acquired him. Meanwhile, Gabriel Moreno is having a career year with the D-backs, posting 2.5 WAR in 69 games with a .301/.385/.436 slash line and a 129 wRC+, while still being under control through 2029. Since the trade, Moreno has totaled 10 WAR. I like Varsho, and I don’t think he’s been a bad player here by any means. But yeah, it’s hard to look at this now and say the Jays clearly ran away with the deal the way some people were claiming a couple years ago. At this point, it feels more like a wash than anything. Varsho has helped the Jays, Moreno has become a very valuable catcher in Arizona, and both teams got useful players. But if Varsho leaves after this season, that trade is going to look a lot more complicated in hindsight.

He was throwing a no-hitter geez, should have kept him in for the full 9 😂