glory

Yeah they’ve started the season in Japan with similar start times in the past. Sucks for US/CAD fans but with the time difference there’s really no logical way to make it work other than taking the L in the North American numbers in order to try to build a bigger MLB following globally. Baseball being popular in Korea doesn’t mean MLB is popular there so picking a part of the world that already likes baseball and try to convert fans that way is probably easier.

Yeah a DFA would make the most sense. Getting out that ~$3m investment, though unlikely given the market, would be significant as it would just add more potential dollars for the trade deadline, and at this point if they needed a SS from AAA they might prefer going with Jimenez since he's out of options after this season and they kinda need to make a decision on him. With Clement's emergence, Espinal isn't really needed anymore.

It's both the cost and the player that people have an issue with, in combination with what his role appears to be. Everything is factored in. He has a career 81 wRC+ (82, 86, and 82 the last 3 seasons respectively) and will be playing 3B everyday from the looks of it. The highest wRC+ projection for him in 2024 is from Steamer at 88, and he's never actually reached that number in any non-Covid season. Unless they can unlock some sort of hidden offensive ability in him where he can be closer to league average offensively, then he's going to be a massive black hole in the lineup. I don't think he was worth $7.5m on a 1 year deal, much less $7.5m per year for two, and that was before seeing what the market eventually turned into. The Jays don't need a 85 wRC+ 3B, even if he ends up with a 2 WAR because he gets 650 PA. I don't think anyone has suggested that this was an albatross contract or anything. If he's the same dude he's always been, then he'll be fine as long as he's more of a utility player who doesn't play everyday. Unfortunately that is not the expectation for him. Look I hope I'm wrong because it would be great and hysterical if he makes the AS team in 2024 and we can watch Yankees fans complain about it (they hate IKF). Or maybe Donnie Baseball can get him closer to league average offensively which combined with his defense would make him a more reasonable starting 3B. I just think that if you're going to strike early before a market materializes, then this is not the player you do it for, and neither is Kiermaier when you already have Varsho.

The IKF deal looked bad before we knew what the market would end up becoming, so hindsight is not going to be kind to it.

I was in the "extend Jansen" camp, but can understand the FO's reluctance given his injury history. Even if some of it is just bad luck, missing that much time in your 20's and having to extend a catcher into his 30's with that type of injury history is a big risk. I figured there was/is a number that makes sense for Jansen and also minimizes risk on the Jays end, but clearly they could not agree to it, whatever it is. Hopefully Jansen comes back strong and has a good season even if it's his normal limited PA's.

Looks like Jansen is going to miss the start of the season after getting hit by a pitch the other day: “fractured pisiform bone in his right wrist”.

The fact that they finished over .500 last season is incredible with the lineups they were throwing out there. They'll probably still find a way to be competitive regardless knowing them.

Cashman's last few years of futility is catching up to him big time. Just the last two years of trades alone (Donaldson, Gallo, Montas, Montgomery/Bader) have been horrendous, and then factor in signing LeMahieu to a long ass contract, Hicks (who was released with years left on his deal), taking ten years of Stanton's contract (still has 4 years left and he was sub replacement level last season), signing Rodon to a 6 year deal rather than giving him a pillow contract the year before, etc. It's just a horribly constructed roster with a bloated payroll. This was really their year with Soto an impending FA (he'll either leave or get $500m+ further depleting their financial flexibility....Hal is not George). They can't afford to lose Cole or Judge, much less both, for any extended period of time.

Yeah, optioning Espinal and keeping Clement seems like the most logical way to go, and since DS is the only one of the bench options who they seem to be playing in the OF, I feel like demoting him isn't happening. Maybe they keep Espinal as well and let Vogelbach go while Votto gets reps in AAA, but there's really no need for Clement and Espinal on the same roster.

JD Davis wasn’t claimed so he was released.

I don’t understand why they think Judge playing CF is a good idea to begin with. They have Grisham who is a 2 WAR player just with defense alone so that seems like a no brainer to put him in CF and work around Stanton’s existence (maybe platoon him with Verdugo).

Agreed. It says more about the Jays 3B options than it does about Clement. Hopefully IKF has a 90-100 wRC+ season in him or two.

Clement might actually be the best 3B option currently on the team at this rate so I hope they have no intention of keeping him off the 26 man roster.

Given how cheap teams have been this winter, and how badly free agents have been screwed by it, I'm not sure Davis at $7m is going to be claimed, but who knows. He would certainly help the Jays who need offense and he comes with positional versatility which they seem to love as well.

With the way Biggio was used at the end of last season, I think we have to get used to him being the starting 2B against RHP (when everyone is healthy).

My thoughts exactly. If Votto was signed to be the everyday DH then I’d have an issue with it, but to replace Vogelbach on the end of the bench? Even if Vogelbach at this point is better against RHP, the difference between the two in that role is so marginal that from a fan/entertainment/optics standpoint this is a no brainer decision.

Vogelbach only makes sense if they plan to use Turner in the field a few times a week, which I doubt. A fat DH-only platoon bat on the bench who exists to pinch hit for IKF seems like a waste otherwise. Ideally they sign Grossman and punt Espinal into the sun. Bench of Biggio/Schneider, Kirk/Jansen, Clement, and Grossman would be solid.

The Jays don't have a 4th OF, and Schneider can play LF, which none of Clement/Espinal/Vogelbach/Escobar will likely be asked to do, so I don't think DS will be demoted. Even if he's not the starting 2B, he'll likely still be the primary LF against LHP + whatever starts he gets against RHP. It's going to come down to Espinal vs Clement most likely. Keeping both makes no sense. The issue is that players better than Espinal are signing for $1m in free agency, so he might be a negative asset at his salary at this point. I doubt there's a trade there unless they take back an equal (or close) salary.

I remember a few years ago Shapiro saying that he hates player options. Atkins did give one to Berrios so I guess maybe he's softened a bit on that stance, but otherwise I'd be surprised if the Jays gave a contract to a player with the structure that Bellinger and Chapman got.

From May 1-onwards: Home: 81 wRC+, 222 PA, .156 ISO Road: 87 wRC+, 245 PA, .136 ISO Yeah, not sure if Chappy has the right mindset if he's blaming the RC for his bad numbers. Maybe it's injury, maybe it's decline, maybe it's a little of both. A bounce back wouldn't shock me if it was health related. Doesn't appear that the park was the reason behind it though.

The Jays collectively were a lot worse offensively at home. Team wRC+ of 103 at home (17th in MLB) and 111 on the road (5th in MLB). Kinda curious now how the 2023 team would have done without the stadium renovations, but Chapman specifically (along with Springer) were pulling the ball a lot less than they did the previous year, so that likely contributed to their drop in power/production. As far as IKF, if the Jays can squeeze a 2+ WAR out of him without having give him like 650 PA to get it, then that would be a decent outcome. I don't share the same optimism that others seem to with him, but would love to be wrong about that.

If the Jays got word from Chapman that he had no interest in returning, then yes, pivoting early made sense, and we should go easier on Atkins for that. Pivoting to IKF for 2/15 is what most of the complaints are based on, though.

Yeah I think this is the part that is most depressing. It's not that Atkins misjudged the market (he did), but he prioritized 1 WAR talent enough to overpay for it in free agency when the market had not fully developed yet. KK and IKF would have still been unsigned in Jan/Feb, and even if they weren't, who cares? Just find the best 1 WAR talent you can find with what's left, or use internal options that might project to be that caliber (or better) anyway. Atkins to his credit has not always acted like this, especially recently, where he's been willing to (over)pay for higher caliber players (Ryu, Springer, Semien, Gausman, Bassitt, etc) or make prudent buy low pick ups (Ray, Belt, KK last year, etc). The upside from the players he's signed this off season is kinda minimal at best aside from Green, who if he bounces back to pre injury form is a really good RP. If Atkins literally did nothing this winter and just picked up the scraps available in Feb/March, it would be better than what he did just by virtue of being cheaper and not much different from a value standpoint. Just plug Horowitz or Vogelbach at DH, sign Grossman to hit against LHP, sign Urshela for peanuts, use Roden or Barger or DS in the OF, German as SP depth, etc.

I don’t like the IKF signing but I actually think it’s more justifiable than the KK signing. At least IKF is a great defensive player at a position where the Jays have no one competent anywhere in the org (based on how they moved Orelvis and Barger elsewhere), and he could easily shift to a utility role with no ego issues if a better option becomes available. Not to mention the market for 3B was ass. KK is a different story. Would have been fine if the Jays didn’t have a CF but just a poor use of assets there.