jaysblue

Yeah he should have kept his mouth shut and stopped complaining. Definitely a fool.

Eric Lauer with the Dodgers: 7-1 record, 3.76 ERA, and 67 innings over 12 games (11 starts).

Yeah agreed. If you're going to use him out of the rotation, this is the time. Sure you can limit him to 4-5 innings per start if they're worried about his innings.

Yeah definitely a weird one.

No more qualifying offer haha.

Yeah pretty much they have to do this. Going just .500 or like 16-14 or 17-13 probably won't be enough.

Sorry my mistake. I think before the homestand where they had the 4-game series vs. Boston, they were 3.5 GB for the start of that homestand. Aug. 18th: start of Tampa/New York road trip: 0.5 GB. Now after going 3-3 which we all agreed we would take in a heartbeat on that road trip, they're 2.0 GB. So overall, they went a combined 8-5 against Boston, Yankees twice and Tampa, which we'll all take against those tough teams. So that 8-5 stretch, roughly moved them from 3.5 to 2 GB now. As for the road trip, staying .500 at 3-3, made them lose some ground before the start of it, but didn't bury them which is the most important. So shouldn't have mentioned the homestand when I was making that point before. So they gained 1.5 games pretty much during this 13-game stretch. Lost some ground after the road trip.

Yeah true and they're also without Carpenter.

Yeah, eventually you figure one of these teams (including the Jays) is going to get hot and separate themselves in the race for the 3WC, but we’ll see. Playing around .500 isn’t going to accomplish much. The Jays are now 2.0 GB, so they’re actually further back than they were even after what we considered a successful homestand and road trip. At this point, they probably need to go something like 7–3 or 8–2 over a 10-game stretch to really make that jump. Just look at what Cleveland has done recently. Detroit, meanwhile, looks like the wheels are coming off quickly and they’re now 4.5 GB. Crazy considering two weeks ago we were talking about how they were getting hot and looking dangerous. At this point in the season, one bad losing streak can bury you pretty fast.

The Mariners had two games last week where they gave up 22 runs and 19 runs 😂 Hopefully the Jays’ bats can take advantage and do some damage this weekend!

Potentially could’ve gone 5–1 on this road trip, but regardless, finishing 3–3 is still a very successful result. Like I said earlier last week, that was really all they needed to do - get through the trip without losing any ground in the standings.

$8M is a lot to pay for a fourth/fifth outfielder whose main value comes from his defense. The Jays were fortunate to squeeze 1.8 WAR out of Straw last season, just like they got unexpected value from some of the other veteran bench guys. You can’t really count on players like Straw or Heineman to provide that kind of production year after year. Sometimes they give you a surprisingly useful season, but more often than not that ends up being the outlier. That said, knowing how Atkins tends to operate, I could still see them picking up Straw’s option. They usually prefer to cover potential holes early rather than leave themselves exposed, and exercising the option would at least guarantee them a capable defensive CF in case they aren’t able to sign or trade for a better option later in the offseason.

2-1 Brewers. Fun watching Mis vs. Sale matchup this afternoon.

Great point. And with the position-player market not looking especially attractive, I’d rather see them put that money toward another high-end starter like Peralta or Ryan. If you can add another arm capable of giving you a 4–5 WAR season, that could have a much bigger impact than overpaying for a bat you’re not really sold on.

Yeah, Peralta or Ryan would be really nice to have behind Cease. Adding one of those guys would push Soriano and Yesavage down into the #3/#4 spots and make the rotation look a lot deeper and more dangerous in a Postseason series. Maybe someone like Peralta or Ryan also looks at what the Jays have been able to unlock with Cease and sees Toronto as an attractive landing spot. If the organization is developing that kind of reputation with pitchers, it certainly can’t hurt when trying to recruit another high-end starter.

Yeah, ideally I’d prefer to bring him back for something closer to $12M rather than the QO. But if he finishes the season strong and looks healthy, I’m also not opposed to giving him the QO.

I also think it makes sense to go into the season with more than just five or six legitimate rotation options. We saw this year that even having seven or eight starters on paper wasn’t enough once the injuries started piling up. Cease Soriano Yesavage TBA/Gausman/Bieber Ponce Arrighetti Miles - will he be used out of the pen? Tiedemann - probably used out of the pen? Berrios - likely not ready until later in 2027 anyway Bloss Francis They still need to add another starter, whether that’s Gausman, Bieber or someone else. I agree with Laika that the goal should be to aim higher, especially when you’re talking about someone you’d trust to start postseason games, but who is realistically out there? The Jays probably aren’t signing Skubal, Peralta, Ryan or King unless they’re prepared to open the wallet again. After that, maybe you’re looking at guys like Soroka, Gray, Boyd, May, Rogers or Bubic in the next tier. And if Miles and Tiedemann ultimately end up working primarily out of the bullpen, the starting depth gets thin pretty quickly. At that point, behind the main five you’re basically down to Arrighetti, Bloss and Francis. Given how many starters teams burn through over 162 games, I’d much rather go into 2027 with too much rotation depth than not enough.

No problem with this either if Gausman is open to coming back on a one-year deal. The question is whether another team would be willing to offer him two or even three years or if he plans on retirement. He’s still on pace to finish somewhere in the 3–4 WAR range this season, so there should be interest. If the Jays can keep the term short, though, I’d definitely be open to bringing him back over Bieber.

I don’t think he even tests free agency if he’s given the QO. I think he takes it regardless of how he finishes the season. At this point, I just don’t see any team giving him a multi-year deal given his age and durability concerns. Ideally, Atkins could bring Bieber back for a little less than the QO, something like $12–15M plus incentives on a one-year deal. But if he finishes the season strong, I’d have no problem giving him the QO and hoping he accepts it. If he’s healthy, he could still be a very solid mid-rotation arm for us, with the upside to be a bit more than that.

I think you could probably qualify him again, or just bring him back on a one-year deal for a little less. At this point, I think he’s probably past the stage where he’s going to command a big contract or multiple guaranteed years. He’s already 31 and there are legitimate injury/durability concerns. If he can stay healthy in 2027, make 25–30 starts and put up solid numbers, then he could potentially parlay that into a three-year deal next offseason.

Misiorowski vs. Sale later this afternoon at 4pm! Game better not be on Apple TV haha.

We already have Daz Cameron as a right-handed bat, but the Astros did designate Nelson Velazquez for assignment yesterday. He’s still only 27 and could be an interesting bat to take a look at as a potential platoon option in left field with Lukes. The defense isn’t anything special, but there is some legitimate power there. In 2023, Velazquez hit 17 home runs in just 162 ABs while posting a 133 wRC+. Could be worth a look as a low-cost depth option against left-handed pitching.

I catch that ball with 10 Michelob Ultras already in me!

The real test will be today. Got to put this game behind them and start fresh. Can't let last night's loss kill momentum.