jays4life19

Looks like the Royals are going to do a full out rebuild; https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2017/12/royals-likely-headed-for-rebuild.html Danny Duffy is somewhat interesting at 4 years and 60 million but not sure i would be willing to give up what the Royals would likely ask for.

BP wrote their analysis on the Woodman trade today and its behind a paywall so i'll have to paste the whole article. Toronto Blue Jays acquired IF-R Aledmys Diaz from St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for OF-L J.B. Woodman. [12/1] Usually the patented “Cardinals Devil Magic” makes a player much better over a longer term than Diaz, who was something of a disappointment almost immediately after coming over from Cuba. Sure, there were flashes of power and a hit tool, but nothing in his minor-league profile made him look like anything other than a bust and an organizational depth infielder who could eventually become a long-term fixture with the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds. Instead, a chance opening covering for Ruben Tejada in 2016 turned into a feel-good, All-Star story and for a hot minute the Cardinals thought they had an elite shortstop of the future. All’s well that ends well, unless you’re sick and tired of St. Louis turning unheralded players into legitimate stars. But this breakout was short-lived, as you can tell by the fact that he was just traded for what appears to be a light-hitting, low-minors outfielder with a name like a lumberjack. That 2016 power and production spike certainly looks much more like a fluke than a forecast. Last season, he started off as the Cardinals’ starting shortstop through the first three months, but a .260/.293/.396 line earned him a demotion with Greg Garcia and Paul Dejong waiting in the wings. He’d hit seven homers, which is perfectly acceptable so long as he adds value by reaching base and playing defense … neither of which he did well at all. It takes a rare approach to fail to garner a .300 on-base percentage while hitting .260, so therein you have the definition of “empty batting average.” Not only did his True Average drop nearly .100 points, Diaz’s defense–which has always been considered questionable at shortstop–was just as bad, if not worse than his previous season. Our FRAA metric rated him 10 runs to the detriment of his team, and the eye test certainly didn’t do him any favors either. After he was shipped off to Memphis, Dejong came up and had a breakout not dissimilar to Diaz’s own during the previous season, so there was no hope of the plucky Cuban coming back up and fighting for his old job. He became superfluous. Of course, superfluous in St. Louis isn’t exactly superfluous a few hundred miles north. The Blue Jays have to deal with two injury risks up the middle in Troy Tulowitzki and Devon Travis, and any non-Ryan Goins depth would be greatly appreciated. Betting on Diaz as a reserve middle infielder isn’t a bad idea at such a low cost, because if he somehow finds a bit more of his 2016 stroke, he could be a suitable bat-first backup and might be a little more defensively apt at a different infield spot. I personally don’t have a lot of hope for an All-Star renaissance, or even a return to relevance, but this deal probably benefits all parties involved. The Cardinals slough off a mild, but unnecessary contract, the Blue Jays take a flyer on a potential reserve, and Diaz gets a clearer path to playing time. On a note unrelated to Diaz’s on-field performance, please check out this Twitter thread from John Rabe, who reminds us of baseball’s power to provide light and joy as a respite from the most challenging of circumstances. —Bryan Grosnick *** St. Louis Cardinals acquired OF-L J.B. Woodman from Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for IF-R Aledmys Diaz. [12/1] Woodman struggled this season in the Single-A Midwest League and often looked overmatched while hitting .240/.320/.378 in 96 games at age 22. The former second-round draft pick out of the University of Mississippi showed a poor approach at the plate, getting overaggressive, expanding the zone frequently, and striking out a ton on the way to a 157/40 K/BB ratio. He flashed decent speed and athleticism on the defensive side of the ball while playing all three outfield spots, but his reads were inconsistent and as a whole he looked raw in center field, with a full-time shift to a corner a distinct possibility. —Emmett Rosenbaum

https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/shohei-ohtani-has-narrowed-his-list/

Nationals are out

The Os probably didn't even make an offer.

I wonder why they even posted him. I was watching clips and he's pretty s*** and old.

Don't worry there's always Kazuhisa Makita. A submarine 80 MPH junkball pitcher. We can still have some Japanese in our lives.

Keenan Allen is nuts. Probably a top 3 WR now.

Watch and learn folks! I forgot about that one haha

Meanwhile... The Marlins, MLB’s other Florida-based organization, are unlikely to make an effort for Ohtani, Tim Healey of the South Florida Sun Sentinel writes. The cost-cutting Marlins are wary of the financial commitment it would take to reel in Ohtani, who won’t require much from a salary standpoint but will cost a $20MM posting fee. While that looks like a relatively minor amount for a possible franchise face like Ohtani, the Marlins simply aren’t in position to fork it over in their current financial state, Healey explains. Just wut.

Then comes Todd Jr in the Baby carriage.

K-I-S-S-I-N-G cf

2017 Awards Best Overall Poster: P2F: Active on both the main board, fantasy threads and is just an all around swell dude. Funniest Poster: Wok. I remember something he said made me spit water on my keyboard at work. But I forget what is was so maybe it wasn't that funny. Nicest Poster: Gsnarls Best Foreign Poster: Bobthe4th. I think Term said he's half Canadian so he doesn't count anymore Dumbest Poster: JFL19 Most out of touch poster: ConnorP Best Female Poster: Wamco. I assume Wamco has a huge vagina but if not Vdub Best New Poster/Rookie Of The Year: Ray Comeback poster of the year: BurlingtonBandit Most Annoying Poster: Cleveland Steamer Best Troll: I dunno Best Mod: Hurl. Love you buddy. Best infrequent poster: JoeCarter. Post more! Thread of the year: DFS. Duh Best new board meme: I dunno Biggest disappointment (decent poster that slipped): King. Post more! Worst Overall Poster: Cleveland Steamer Worst Troll: I dunno. Ehh Cleveland Steamer. New Cats: Best BJMB fantasy poster: P2F/BTS. It's a tie. Best thread destroyer: WHY DID I MAKE SUCH HARD NEW CATS TO CHOOSE. Most improved poster: LTBY Poster you would most want to meet in person: Todd Most dramatic/triggered poster: Gruber. Remember that time he started a thread to fight GD because I sure do. Best Board contest: Homeru....oh wait that sucked Most SABR poster: NJH Most dinosaur poster: ReedJohnson Fan

Scouting report in 2015 on his D "Defensively, Diaz is more solid than flashy with average arm strength and range to play shortstop adequately, but few scouts consider him a long-term everyday option there in the big leagues. He's athletic enough to move around the diamond, and that seems like the most likely outcome for Diaz, who was added back to the 40-man after a solid showing in the Arizona Fall League. He'd have to hit his way onto the big league roster in 2016. Otherwise, he will head to Triple-A Memphis." The D metrics aren't great but their not horrible or anything. Looks okay to me.

Yup. Even if he hits to his projections and can provide average D than the Jays win this deal big. It's also sexy because he has the potential to be much better. Perfect depth guy to roll the dice on.

We got raped. JK.

Hitting dingers in KC is a bitch. But I agree, I would have thought more still.

Ray is actually a great choice for best new poster. I was having a really hard coming up with a name.

Bump

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/21556666/shohei-ohtani-sends-mlb-teams-memo-asking-how-plan-use-him This is a pretty good idea by his agent.

Fun auction. Let's do it again Confirmed

Lmao I like my chances.

I will start the bidding. Welington Castillo + 3rd MILB

Really? I don't think many people here thought we were going to resign him. Infact, I don't recall many people even wanting to resign him given the contract we knew he was going to get.

Yeah, I probably missed a few I just scanned it over quickly and the Thole addition was a joke.