Dick_Pole

So after 2 years of riding the bench, I guess the Raptors finally discovered that Malachi Flynn is useful? Amazing what a 6 game losing streak and a short bench will force you to discover.

I absolutely love the marketing material on this. We acquired this Gold Glove all-star hero for these two nameless douchebags. WINNING!!! I already know how those 300+ replies are going.

Arizona is banking on a big year from Gurriel, a QO and a pick (or July trade) in a year that is unlikely to be competitive for them. Toronto is banking on a bit more breathing room with the cap, and greater roster variability in a year they need every possible win. It makes a lot of sense to be including Gurriel in this deal for both sides. Except for the Jays casuals who haven't actually looked at a stat sheet in 36 months. What exactly do you love about Gurriel? He's a DH, and a DH is worthless below an OPS+ of 120.

Grant is trolling for a long argument. Gurriel's value is little. The trade values site quoted a couple times here already show the Blue Jays a fair amount ahead. Anyone saying the Jays got fleeced is running on emotion. Argument to be made that this is one of those trades where both sides win.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/v/varshda01.shtml VS. this player before the Jays acquired him (who had a 102 OPS+ while here yet is considered a star): https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/whitede03.shtml I'm gaining optimism not because I'm a blind homer, but because the front office has earned the benefit of the doubt when it comes to trades.

Epic win for me. Time to change up the marketing material.

I'm going to be a douche and say that the team that scores 162 runs in a year and gives up none goes 162-0. Conversely, a team that scores 1,000 runs in a year and gives up 838 runs does not go 162-0 in a year. Run prevention is actually MORE important than run scoring. Because lower numbers lead to less variability and greater chance of winning close games. Rather than wasting a bunch of runs on 28-5 games.

I wasn't a big fan of this trade until I skimmed through the comments of this thread. After analyzing the BJMB board members who hate this trade the most, I am now okay with it.

Aren't those guys just names now? Strikeout rate tanking on both on them. Like it or not, Kikuchi meshes well with this team and would probably perform better than either of them while here. Tons of walks, home runs and strikeouts. Takes this piss poor defense minus Chapman out of the equation. If he can control his walk rate he might be okay. I'm not prepared to sit through an 8 run 10 hit inning of singles and doubles that Johnny Cueto will most certainly give up if he pitches for the Jays.

The chances of Gurriel being on the team on opening day is extremely high. I mean, they can't trade him. Both for the fact that they desperately need outfielders and that he hasn't got a lot of value. Him making it over others might say more about the guys not pictured.

I'm with Sorrow on that. An attempt at a Chapman extension is a much better use of the club's time and resources compared to chasing Devers. Unless they know something about Chapman that makes an extension a bad move.

I'm fully on board with the no trade/trade Jansen narrative and keep the other two. Despite this year which has been like grinding teeth when it comes to the Jays finding outfield solutions, it is a hell of a lot easier to find a corner outfielder with some pop than it is to find a catcher with plus defense and plus hitting, which all three of those guys have. The Jays should not capitulate. It's been a very unusual year but most years there are about half a dozen guys who could put up Gurriel-like production and defense to be had on one year contracts.

Whatever the Vegas line is on Yankees season win total, I will be betting the under. The team is littered with old, injury-prone and overpaid/overhyped players. Yankees are basically the co-favourites with the Astros to win the World Series right now.

I'm not nearly as pessimistic on the Vlad and Bo extensions as others are around here. This free agent frenzy seems to go in ebbs and flows. The last round ended with guys like Pujols, Howard and Fielder absolutely s***ing the bed and teams were gun shy for years afterwards. To the point the players and agents were foaming at the mouth during the 2020 negotiations and last year's CBA. This offseason has very much the same feel to that. It'll probably reach its pinnacle next year with Ohtani. After that, all the teams that can afford to blow their loads have already done so and will likely be regretting it. The baseball offseason feels like how society has been for the last year or so with inflation. With the economy turning downwards and prices stabilizing, I'm not so sure MLB owners are going to see the revenue they want this year to justify these contracts. In the situation the Jays find themselves in right now, you DO NOT offer these two an extension this offseason. Maybe in the next two years you consider it when prices have levelled off a bit. But now I'm in the camp where you let these guys test free agency. I bet by the time they hit the market, the market will have dried up and they can be had at better prices to return. One thing I can say about this front office, they seem excellent at threading the needle when it comes to spending. Not sure if they are good at economics, or just lucky. But so far the worst mistakes they have made are Morales, Ryu, Roark and Grichuk. Which in the grand scheme of things is nothing. Meanwhile Springer and Gausman are looking excellent and even Berrios and Kikuchi aren't looking terrible and may even look great by November 2023 if they turn it around a bit. You're looking at an extra $100 million or more to sign these same four guys versus what the Jays paid for them.

I found this video mildly interesting. But I didn't find it worthy of posting on here until the nice surprise at the very end that I'm sure everyone here will appreciate

And it's not like those mid-80's teams weren't actively trying to improve the pen like this regime is. Remember Dennis Lamp and Bill Caudell? I don't, but your dad does. It's funny because the two best guys they picked up pretty much by accident. Henke as comp for Cliff Johnson leaving and Ward for some dude they picked off the scrap bin in Doyle Alexander, got his best years then sent him packing. It'll eventually happen to this team too.

The Jays of today are a lot like the Jays of the mid-80's or so I'm told. Good team with a lousy pen with a penchant for choking. They eventually parlayed that into two World Series and the best pen in the league. Imagine the fireworks on this board if it existed for the 1985 playoffs. Or 1987 when the 87 win Twins won. At least with the Seattle series, the reward was to get raped by the Astros. Jays had those years won in 85 and 87.

Mark McGwire, sans PEDs is Judge's fair comparable with respect to body type. Not friggin Bartolo Colon. Also, how many 275+ pound position players of any age has there been? I agree that Judge will fall off a cliff. But if this was supposed to be some kind of predictor as opposed to nothing more than a fun stat, I don't know what to say.

Re: Espinal. I don't know why people are fanboying over the 24th man on the roster so much. 1. He's completely replaceable given the depth this team has. 2. You don't trade him just for the heck of it. You trade him if a good deal is to be had. I would have thought this is to be assumed, but people are talking like the options are trade him for a C prospect or DFA him. I hope this clarifies the discussion around one of the top 5 most expendable players on the roster.

Guess the players won the CBA agreement after all. Unsigned players threatening to make their own camp because teams refused to pay for free agents seems like ancient history now. I think the Mets, Rangers and Padres are playing the long game for the next CBA negotiations. By the time that rolls around the owners will request nine years of control and get it lol.

Imagine seeing that contract term for Nimmo and this is the first thing that pops into your head. I didn't even want him for 5 years let alone 8. The only signing I would have liked to see the Jays do at the prices being thrown around was Verlander.

Yeah to slot Tiedemann in for 30 starts in 2023 is just...not happening. No matter how legit Deadpool's reasoning is RE: new CBA reality. I just hope they don't do something stupid like a six man rotation as a sort of offset to his workload. Assuming he's good, you want Tiedemann ready for the playoffs. So mid-season callup makes sense.

Considering the rumours around who the Jays were trying to sign, I'd prefer White and Kikuchi actually. WTF are the Jays thinking with Gibson? They don't need to spend money on depth. Gibson is the type of guy you sign in February when literally everyone else is off the board.

What a turd. Hope he WARs like -5 next year and has to sign with the Blue Jays for league min in 2024. Any team that was significantly interested in him should have just traded for him. I can only assume the Jays were not willing to go anywhere near that dollar figure (and probably the right decision to do so).