glory

The Raptors definitely benefitted from Siakam's development in 2018-19, but Kawhi was a one year rental for a mostly veteran team who had been good for many years but could never get over the hump. It was either continue being a 2nd round team until contracts ran out or go for the home run trade when it became available. That trade fit the timeline for that particular group. If you add Durant, then yes you have him for 4 years (unless he demands a trade after 1), but he's also on the back end of his prime/career. So if Barnes doesn't really take off until year 3 or 4, then KD is kinda wasted here because you can't maximize his best remaining years. The only way for a KD trade to make sense is if they can keep Barnes and Siakam (to a lesser degree FVV as well but I'd be fine if he had to be moved). I'm also a little iffy on OG being able to take the next step. He's a very good two way 3+D player, but he can't create his own offense consistently and that's going to put a ceiling on him. The difference between him and Siakam is pretty significant, IMO. I'm more bullish on Achiuwa turning into something given his defense and improving ability to hit 3's. A center who can guard multiple positions and spread the floor on offense is a huge luxury. A lineup of FVV/Barnes/KD/Siakam/Achiuwa is a title contender. Probably the best team in the East one through five. IMO either find a way to get KD with OG/Trent as the main pieces (with picks, etc, attached) or keep the status quo.

I think the difference is that DeRozan was vastly overrated as a player, and wasn’t a great defensive player. Getting Kawhi and Green for essentially him and a backup center was a heist. In this case, Siakam is actually a very good two way player. He’s not easy to replace because of his defensive ability, and he’s already proven he can be the 3rd guy on a championship team (played closer to a 2nd guy in the Finals). Replacing Siakam with KD is a clear upgrade but I think they’d miss Siakam enough to where it would hurt them a bit. Durant with Siakam and Barnes still here is a title contender. Without Siakam it would still be a really good team but a lot would be riding on Scottie’s development.

The only way adding Durant makes sense is if the rest of the roster is good enough with him to win a championship. That won't be the case if Siakam goes the other way (I won't even talk about Barnes since there's likely no chance the Raptors trade him). My guess is KD would want to come to a team with Siakam, Barnes, and Fred on it. Not sure the Nets would take OG, Trent, and a bunch of picks, but I don't see the Raptors offering much more than that. KD has 4 years of control but those years mean nothing. He can demand a trade in 6 months and he'll be gone. That's just the way the NBA works. Getting KD is not the important part of this, it's getting KD and being good enough to compete for championships that is the key here.

The Jays want to give DH days to Springer, Vlad, Hernandez, and Gurriel every week. With Springer it’s understandable but they use the other guys as if they are in their 30’s. Again, broken record, but if this is the way they want to use DH then it’s bordering irresponsible to hoard all the catchers when it’s leading to 500 Tapia plate appearances. Just trade Moreno for Bryan Reynolds or something and fix this s***.

Yeah it looks that way. Pitching depth in the upper minors is ass, and the only position player that can help from the upper minors happens to play a position that the Jays are practically elite at without him. This season and next season is probably going to be on the back of whatever big league moves Atkins can make. It's not going to come from the system.

Why the hell would they use Castillo a day before a double header with Hatch pitching one of the games? Biggio better play more than Tapia going forward.

Chapman is so good defensively.

I’m legit surprised Romo wasn’t brought in yet.

Yeah they need a SP and about 2 high leverage (high velo) bullpen arms. They should also look to upgrade on Tapia as far as a LH OF (especially since the team/Buntoyo don’t like playing 2 catchers together often), but they can probably get by with the offense for the most part. It’s the pen that’s going to hurt them.

If the Jays are leading by 2-3 in the 8th inning tonight, Romo will be in. Charlie sees vetrins and gets giddy.

I wouldn’t mind it as much if it wasn’t a cheap attempt to get Tapia into the lineup. At this point the Jays deserve what they get. If they want to keep 3 catchers but only play 1 of them at a time because they want a -1.0 WAR player getting 500 PA’s this year instead, then take the negative value that comes with it.

Pretty much. They thought they could fix him and turn him into a much better SP. A team looking for a gamble on a 5th starter signs him to a one year deal. Jays liked him enough to go longer. So far it hasn’t worked. Walker has some work to do.

He’s already the set up man. Proven closer in this league. Brad Hand 2.0. Just in time to blow a game or two against the Red Sox.

I feel like there’s a good chance we see a Yankees/Astros ALCS. Obviously it’s baseball so anything can happen but those two teams seem on a different level than everyone else.

Really depends on what is available at 7. OG is a really good two way player but he's likely never going to be much more than what he already is. If they feel they can get a player with higher upside at 7, plus someone like Josh Hart and/or other pieces, then I could see the logic behind it. My guess is the Raptors don't do anything on draft day except make the picks they have. That's pretty much what they always do anyway, and i think they like the core group they have assembled (Siakam, Barnes, OG, Fred, Trent, Precious). I think only way they trade OG is if they get a clear upgrade in return.

The only knocks I have heard about Ruth are that he played in an era before integration and the level of competition he faced in general versus what Ohtani faces. I think both are pretty reasonable criticisms without diminishing his accomplishments. That context matters a lot given we are comparing two players nearly 100 years apart.

Jansen only has 2 years of control left after this season, so I think you can rule out any teams either currently rebuilding or planning to rebuild. He's likely more difficult to move for that reason. Any team in any situation would take Kirk or Moreno, but those two are (at least Kirk is) the least likely to be moved right now. Jansen to the Astros would be awful for the Jays since there's a chance of possibly seeing them in the playoffs (3rd WC team has to face the Astros if they advance to DS). Hard to find a good match because the Jays would be trading a big leaguer during a competitive window. Not sure they'd even want prospects for him unless they were ready to contribute right away. If the Jays were going to move Moreno it would have been for someone like Jose Ramirez. I don't think there is a difference making talent that is realistically available right now that they'd move Moreno for, unless Soto or Ohtani suddenly become available in a month.

I think there's a good chance Judge leaves as a FA, but yeah, the Yankees aren't trading him. If they win a World Series and Judge goes elsewhere for way more money, then I think they'll be fine with that, so they are going to go for it all this year. The star player who will be interesting to watch is Ohtani. He's a FA after the 2023 season. If the Angels fall out of by next month (a good possibility since it's the Angels), then they have a real decision to make. Trading him mid season will probably hurt attendance big time for the last 2 months, and they still have next season to take a chance at contending with him, so my guess is they'll keep him at least until trade deadline 2023, but he's a logical guy to move for them from a baseball standpoint (business standpoint might be different). That Rendon contract is hurting them badly.

I don’t think moving Moreno off catcher is necessary. There is a way for him and Kirk to coexist in the lineup and get a lot of plate appearances. It’s just a matter of whether the Jays are the org that can do it effectively. Based on what I’ve seen this year, probably not. They like to DH regulars way too much to maximize the DH spot for Kirk. Moreno to 3B probably should have been given more consideration in the winter (better for his knees, Jays already have 2 mlb catchers, etc) but now they have Chapman through next season and Moreno seems like a good defensive catcher, so probably won’t see a change now.

Yeah, Charlie is an awful manager but there’s no way he’s the one solely responsible for the rotating DH. That’s the way the org wants to run things, and unfortunately, they think it’s smart to operate like that while hoarding 3 good catchers. Tapia batting clean up or wherever the hell he’s batted this year is all Buntoyo, but days off and rest is likely above his head.

Montoyo finally playing 2 catchers again because it doesn't impact his ability to put Tapia into the lineup. I see right through you Charlie.

Robo umps better be a thing in 2023. At least if the technology messes up, it can be fixed. You can't fix human bias (or in this case, gross incompetence).

Atkins’ model of building a pen would make sense if he had the Yankees or Rays type of success rate with it, but he might need to start investing real money into it at some point, which admittedly comes with its own risks considering how volatile relievers are. To have this issue of lack of swing and miss and average velocity in the bullpen again after last season is not good. Meanwhile the Yankees can call up anyone to pitch in their pen and have them miss bats.

I still think the Jays make it when all is said and done, but yeah, the Rays and Red Sox could easily finish ahead of them and Cleveland is in a s*** stain division where they can beat up on bad teams all year. It’s not a given by any means.

This is a good question in regards to Tapia. I think if Charlie was going rogue and playing Tapia too much on his own, then the front office would have either traded him (like Panik last year) or at least told Charlie to calm the F down. Neither has happened. If anything, Tapia is playing more often (at least it seems that way). This might actually be a front office call (or analytics team), and that's terrifying.