jaysblue

Yeah he took a hometown discount for sure. Like I said, Jays probably would have had to go $18-20M.

Didn't I say one year + an option ya dingleberry lol. $14M AAV is nice. I would have went to $18-20M if he's returning May and his medicals checked out.

Bargain bin shopping can be fun. Reminds me of the days when JPR was the GM here in his early years haha. I do believe the Jays will still be spending money, but won't be for the Tier 1 or 2 guys unfortunately since their prices have inflated. They might have to bargain hunt for other spots on the roster. My bargain bin shopping list: First two guys aren't really bargain FA signings, but if the Jays were to spend money, would sign these guys based on needs, cost and upside they offer. - OF Tyler O'Neill (3 years/$42M): need to add thump to this lineup and when healthy O'Neill offers that. He's also still just 29 and offers some decent upside, which the Jays need to take a gamble on. Doubt he returns to being a 5 WAR player like he was in 2021, but out of all the outfielders/DH's not named Soto, he offers that kind of upside. All we need O'Neill is to be a 3-4 WAR guy and hit 30+ HR's. I've warmed up about signing him to a 3 year deal since Vladdy and Bo are both impending FA's after 2025, so at least the Jays would have a bat with some thump in 2026 at a decent cost. Jeff Hoffman (4 years/$48M): need to add a high leverage reliever and Hoffman has been really darn good the past two seasons (1.5 and 2 WAR seasons). Would automatically make him the closer and at $12M AAV wouldn't be a bad price at all. He might cost more, so Jays might have to add an extra year maybe or up his salary by 1-2M. If Severino is getting paid $22M to barely crack 2 WAR, would rather sign Hoffman at around $12M AAV who can provide the same WAR possibly. A.J. Minter (1 year/$8M): another high leverage arm who is a lefty, Minter would be a nice fit. Maybe at most he gets a second year tacked on. Has closing experience as well in case Hoffman can't handle the role from the start. Previous years had seasons of 1.3, 2 and 1.4 WAR. Might be a cheap way to add some WAR given the inflated prices of starters so far. - Yoán Moncada (1 year/$5M): still only 29 and has some prior seasons where he was really solid. Worth rolling the dice on if he comes cheap and might get lucky he has a rejuvenated season. If he doesn't pan out, always have Clement who can start at 3B for an extended period if need be. - SP Griffin Canning (1 year/$4M): I think the starting rotation is really down on their list right now, especially after seeing what arms like Severino and Boyd got as FA's. Rotation is actually fine as is if everyone is healthy, but depth is an issue. Atkins has always loved to target durable arms who can stay healthy and Canning fits that bill. He's still only 28 and posted a 1.8 WAR season in 2023. Maybe Pete Walker unlocks some more potential with him. Sign Canning to be the No. 5 starter and use Y-Rod in the bullpen to start the season and see if he can carve out a high leverage role. Kinda like filling two holes with one move. If Canning struggles, can always move Y-Rod into the rotation. So far all those moves would cost the Jays around $43M with some extra bucks left over to sign a backup C and maybe another reliever on the cheap. If Jays want to spoil themselves, sign Carson Kelly or bring back Dany Jansen on a one-year deal. Or just sign Reese McGuire for $1-2M. If the Jays wanted to go cheaper on adding an outfielder, Conforto (2 years/$18-20M) instead of O'Neill. Horwitz I'm assuming will DH still with Wagner at 2B. Lineup: C Kirk/Kelly 1B Guerrero 2B Wagner 3B Moncada SS Bichette LF O'Neill CF Varsho RF Springer DH Horwitz BN Clement BN Loperfido BN Schneider/Jimenez/Barger Rotation: 1) Gausman 2) Berrios 3) Bassitt 4) Francis 5) Canning Bullpen: RHP Hoffman LHP Minter RHP Swanson RHP Y-Rodriguez RHP Green RHP Burr LHP Little Another FA reliever As the Term would say, WC3 will be easy to make!

Glad to see I'm no longer Brownie's No. 1 target haha.

When you think about it, last offseason was the time to be shopping the FA market. So many great FA deals and all short term. Snell: 2 years/$62M Lugo: 3 years/$45M Wacha: 2 years/$32M Stroman: 2 years/$37M Manaea: 2 years/$28M Flaherty: 1 year/$14M Teo: 1 year/$23M Pederson: 1 year/$12.5M Santana: 1 year/$5.2M

Would have thought with the abundance of FA arms available, adding a mid-rotation starter wouldn't have been that expensive. Though when Matt Boyd is getting $14.5M AAV and Luis Severino is getting $22M AAV, just yikes! Might as well roll with Francis and Y-Rod in the #4-5 spots and use that money elsewhere like upgrading the BP and adding two power bats to the lineups which are the biggest needs. If they want to add another starter, might have to be via trade. Trading for Matz and his $11M AAV for next season doesn't look that bad now actually. As for FA arms, might have to look at someone like Griffin Canning or Spencer Turnbull if they sign around $5M on a one-year deal. Canning is durable, put up a 1.8 WAR season in 2023 and is still under 30. Turnbull looked impressive in Philly last season when he was on the mound.

Would definitely be a huge blow. Boston has a lot of other great supporting bats in their lineup and all they would need to do is add another arm or two. Never count Boston out. They always have the money and resources to make big splashes and retool quickly. They won 81 games last season, and could easily become a 90+ win team the following year or two.

Will see how much Teo signs with the Dodgers for. Maybe he accepts a discount to sign back there. Regardless, with Teo off the board, benefits Santander and he'll use Teo's deal as a benchmark. If Teo get close to $100M, Santander asks for more. Jays might have to pivot to Plan B or C and start looking at guys like Tyler O'Neill or Joc Pederson. That's the reality if guys like Santander are going to get $100M or so. Would rather spend extra money signing someone like Bregman or Adames before handing Santander $100M.

Hopefully he doesn't sign with the same team that Ha-Seong Kim signs with.

He's never winning a Championship.

Yeah also sucks to have star players sit out one game of a back-to-back. Imagine you're a die hard NBA fan and bought tickets to see that certain player, and they're a healthy scratch. NBA should do a better job at scheduling where teams aren't playing back-to-back games. I don't get it, but seems like there already have been a ton of back-to-back games for the Raps and other NBA teams. Like even the Celtics played in Cleveland on Sunday and then hosted Miami last night back in Boston. Like seriously.

Manfred needs to just chill. He can't be making changes to the game every year, especially radical ones like a golden bat. Their next change should be to try and lengthen the Postseason like making the DS a best of 7 series rather than a best of 5. If anything the MLB needs to take a couple of tips from the NBA playbook when it comes down to the offseason. Make the MLB offseason more entertaining. The pace really moves too slow. If this was the NBA, all the stars would be locked up by now haha.

Yeah probably is, but the market for catchers is starting to become thin. Probably will be really slim pickings come end of January. Would be a cheap way at adding an extra 1-2 WAR. If you can sign Carson Kelly now for like $5M or so, wouldn't hesitate. Would rather spend the extra couple of million now rather than trying to sign a scrub for $1-2M at the end of January.

Backup C is likely last on their list, though like said before on here it could be a great and cheap way at adding extra WAR. If an opportunity comes up where they can add someone now for a couple of million, should probably do it considering the catching market right now is thinning out. Carson Kelly would be a perfect fit though he likely gets something similar or a bit less than Higashioka. Grandal could likely be had on a one year deal worth a couple of million. The rest of the options suck. Jansen at $5 or $6M on a one year deal wouldn't be too bad. Familiar with the pitchers within the organization and does have a comfort level here. Hedges re-signed with Cleveland at $4M and Jacob Stalling went back to Colorado for $2.5M.

Yeah those two signings make the Kikuchi deal look even better. Will be interesting to see what guys like Eovaldi, Severino, Manaea, and Pivetta get now.

Montas at $17M AAV is a lot especially after the season he was coming off of. In 2021, he did post 4 WAR with Oakland but that was when he was 28. Boyd only made 8 starts during the regular season and 3 starts in the Postseason, though pitched very well. Still surprised to see him get 2 years/$29M. Was expecting him to sign a one year deal. If back end rotation starters are getting around $15-17M AAV like Montas and Boyd, eww. Makes Steven Matz look like a bargain now especially if the Cards eat $4-5M of his contract haha.

What depth arm do you suggest they sign? The guys I listed earlier are likely going to cost $7 to $8M anyways and aren't really any better than Matz. As well, at least Matz could have use in the bullpen if he doesn't pan out in the rotation, whereas someone like Quantrill wouldn't. Given the Jays BP needs, I think using Yariel out of the BP to start the season would actually be a smart move. I think he can be a valuable multiple inning reliever and even move into some high leverage. He could be one of the missing BP pieces this team needs. I'm all for getting a solid No. 2/3 starter, but even someone like Eovaldi or Severino or Pivetta are likely going to cost close to $20M AAV over 2-3 years. So that's why Matz isn't a bad gamble if he costs nothing to acquire and the Cards eat $4-5M off his salary. Again it's just discussion. I was responding to Grant who mentioned Matz as a trade candidate and also agreed it wasn't a bad idea if the Jays want to save some money in adding a rotation piece and using that money elsewhere like adding a power bat to the lineup or in the pen. Also, there is the possibility the Jays could acquire Nolan Arenado and Ryan Helsley in a deal with the Cards who are looking to shed some contracts. Could fill 3 holes on the roster all in one trade, without having to trade any real assets other than taking on Arenado's contract.

I swear it feels like my entire team just hit the IL last week like WTF? haha Missing the great power of Dick on my squad. My team without him doesn't have the same length and energy. Not playing hard enough.

Cards probably won't eat much of Arenado's deal if they include Helsley in any package, but could be a trade that crosses off two or three things on the Jays shopping list without having to trade any real assets. Just likely would have to take on the contracts of Arenado and/or Matz.

Yeah I would prefer if the Jays aimed higher as well adding a solid No 2/3 guy. I guess it depends how much money they have to spend. If they decide to go heavy in spending on the lineup/bullpen and decide to allot less money towards the rotation, they'll have to get creative in trades or sign one of the lesser FA's starters available. If the Cards can eat $4-5M and the acquisition cost for Matz is pennies, would be worth the gamble. Worst case, if Matz struggles, move him to the pen where I think he could still have success and move Yariel to the rotation. Maybe Matz can carve out a similar path like Matt Strahm, once moved to the pen.

Yeah he had success here in Toronto back in 2021 and I think if he's healthy he can be a solid mid-rotation arm who gives you around 150 innings with a WAR somewhere between 2 and 3. Even at $11M AAV, he's not bad if it costs nothing to acquire him since similar arms like even a Matt Boyd likely gets a bit more AAV with 2-3 years attached and other mid-rotation arms such as Eovaldi, Severino, Pivetta, etc likely will get around $18-20M AAV with 3 of 4 years attached. If the Cards could send some money over with Matz like you said to get him down to $7 or $8M, would be ideal. Don't think you'll find an arm like Matz via free agency at that price unless you sign a Ross Stripling, Spencer Turnbull, Cal Quantrill, or Alex Wood etc.

Who would you cheer for if that was the case? haha

Bills and Ravens are the serious contenders in the AFC. Chiefs haven't looked as impressive despite their 11-1 record, but they always seem to get damn lucky in these close games and you know the NFL will be pushing for them to go far. They still could be dangerous but this is the year for either Buffalo or Baltimore to go to the Super Bowl. Buffalo vs. Detroit is the Super Bowl we deserve!

They did sign Frank Thomas who was coming off a 39 HR season in Oakland, and he was pretty solid in 2007 offensively. But yeah the pitching signings were awful. Only plus is we were able to see McGowan and Marcum emerge as reliable starters in 2007, but then injuries hit them during the 2008 season damn.

Damn I like Tommy Edman, but that's a lot for a super utility guy and someone who is coming off a season playing only 37 games and who is going to be turning 30 next season. Not sure he ever gets back to being a 5 WAR player like in 2022, but I see him more of a 2-3 WAR guy now. Offensively, doesn't have many tools other than some SB upside. He's not like a Ben Zobrist.