glory
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Everything posted by glory
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Yeah, Vlad needed that embarrassment and failure to change his ways. He wasn't going to develop that work ethic out of the blue. It had to come out of failure and self reflection. So in a way, showing up to post pandemic camp embarrassingly out of shape and having a disappointing 2nd season might have been a blessing if it motivated him to change. It's one thing to say he was embarrassed, it's another to put in the work, and he's clearly doing the latter, which is a great sign. We'll see what he looks like on Opening Day. He's never going to look like Mike Trout, but he doesn't have to. Just be in solid baseball shape where mobility and conditioning is not an issue, and he should be fine.
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A light bulb had to go off in Vlad's head about his conditioning for him to take it seriously (short and long term), and I think the Spring Training 2.0 where he came in looking like Sandoval and had to move off 3B because of it might have been that moment. Hopefully this is a long term change for him. He could prolong his career and his prime by taking his weight/conditioning seriously. Good to see so far.
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Man this is a boring off season.
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There are less than a handful of teams that are looking to spend real money this winter. For once, unrealistic optimism might be warranted. Doesn't mean they'll succeed in signing anyone big, but the great equalizer in free agency is money, and if the Jays are looking to spend it without much competition, then they have as good a chance as any. The Mets are the team that everyone should be expecting at least 2 big names to go to, though.
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Basically saying what Rosenthal said in the Athletic article. Also mentions Jays interest in Kim, but cited Morosi as the source, so doesn't mean anything (yet).
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The Astros are apparently looking to trade Correa. The Jays haven’t had that level of douche since JD was traded so I doubt they’ll be interested but that’s another rental SS on the trade block.
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Look at the FA market. There's not much there, and Tanaka is only 2 years older than Bauer. Some others are interesting but coming off significant injury/down years. Even the best SP trade targets appear to be 34 year old Darvish (coming off a career year) and 33 year old Lynn. Assuming Tanaka stays healthy, and that's always going to be an "if" even though he's avoided it so far, then he's a reasonable target, if not unspectacular. He wouldn't be my first choice in a normal situation, mainly because of his elbow, but the market isn't exactly littered with better options.
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Looking at the FA starters, I'm actually warming up to the idea of Tanaka. His elbow still scares me, but 1) success in the AL East over many years, 2) no drop in velocity, and 3) shouldn't be more than a 3 year deal at a 2-3 WAR type of AAV (~$15M). Whether he'd want to sign in Toronto/Buffalo/Dunedin is another story.
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General 2020 Blue Jays Discussion Thread
glory replied to Bobthe4th's topic in Toronto Blue Jays Talk
AA walking away from the Jays was probably the smartest thing he ever did. He knew he had one foot out the door in 2015, so he went all in, and then left on the highest of high notes after ending a 20 year drought knowing that he didn't have to deal with the consequences afterwards. Then he takes over a job in Atlanta where someone else did all the grunt work and he just has to sign one or two free agents on one year deals every year because the rest of the roster/farm is set for him for the foreseeable future. If he stayed in Toronto and had to suffer the stench of 2017-19, then his stock drops. Boss move(s). I think AA leaving and Atkins taking over worked out desirably for everyone involved. Atkins, while I have been critical of some of his moves in isolation, has overall done a very fine job in rebuilding the farm system and putting the team in position to be a long term contender very soon. I don't think AA coming off 2015 would have been as patient had he stayed. -
They'll have a max slot available next off season, plus all their draft picks. Even if Giannis signs elsewhere, they'll have options. If they strike out on everyone, then I don't see them tanking either way unless Masai leaves.
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I actually like that Masai is preserving cap space for next summer rather than trying to foolishly improve this season's team at the expense of future cap space. Let's face it, other than a trade for Harden, which isn't happening, the Raptors don't have the upper end talent to compete for a championship. The only way to win in the NBA is to have a top 5 player on your roster. If Giannis has even a 5-10% chance of happening, then you have to take that chance unless another star falls on your lap before then. The only way to attract a star in free agency is to have a great team already so that the star feels he can be the missing piece. If the Raptors win 50 games again, even if they lose in the 2nd round, it would still be a desirable outcome for Giannis. More desirable than going to Miami instead? Probably not, but hey, gotta at least try.
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Jays have 5 catchers on the 40 man roster now. There's still some replaceable parts that they can remove when they need a spot opened up (Shaw, Wags, Fisher), but there will definitely be a trade or two involving the catching depth.
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Jays almost had a deal for Joe Musgrove at the deadline but it fell apart at the last minute so they went with Ray and Stripling instead. Wouldn't mind the Jays and Cherington revisiting that this winter, though it will cost real prospects.
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Cohen dumping on Morosi for blatantly making up news/rumors for clicks (which he has done forever) is amazing.
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If the Jays can't sign LeMathieu, then I think I'd rather have Bryant (assuming he comes as cheap as people seem to think) than any of the alternatives. I'd rather not move Bichette off short unless it was for a superstar (Lindor), so I don't particularly care for the SS market this winter (Semien, Didi, Simmons, etc). Moving Biggio to 3B and getting a 2B probably doesn't improve the IF defense as a whole all that much. Bryant in a lot of the ways is the perfect answer. It's not like plugging Shaw in there for a year. Bryant could put up a 4-5 WAR and it wouldn't be all that surprising. He can play 3B for a year, with real superstar upside if he bounces back, and the team can give him the QO and reassess 3B after the season. Really just depends on what it would take to get him.
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Hiraldo being two years away from Rule 5 eligibility gives the Jays less incentive to trade him, not more. They have time with him, and a lot can happen in two years, including trading him for someone else with 2-3 years of control instead of 1. A more realistic trade candidate due to Rule 5 eligibility might be Moreno since Kirk already beat him to the 40 man and Jansen still has 4 years of control. I wouldn't move him for Bryant, but he's probably a candidate to get moved.
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Cano has 2/48 left on his contract after this season. Since he's losing all of the $24m in 2021, I can't see him retiring and missing out on the $48m he has left. He's clearly lost his HOF chances, though. If he didn't lose it after the first suspension, then he has definitely lost it now.
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If Bryant is a legit non tender candidate for the Cubs (I don't think he is), then trading for him makes a lot of sense. I'm sure the Cubs can get some value in a trade for him, so a non tender doesn't make much sense, but hard to say with the Covid environment whether a ~$20m rental 3B is going to be in high demand. If the Jays are seriously after Lindor, then I wonder if they'd have interest in Baez. Not a fan of Baez's BB/K rate, but he's clearly a legit SS and likely more extendable than Lindor is.
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The play-in tournament during a normal season is a ridiculous idea. There is no incentive to getting the 8th seed in the NBA. It's not a crapshoot. It's basically a guaranteed sweep or best case maybe a gentleman's sweep, especially in a non bubble environment where homecourt advantage exists again. It made sense to do it this season due to the pandemic, but can't believe they are continuing it.
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Curious what Yu by himself would cost if he's made available. He's been a beast the last season and a half (5.4 WAR, 2.54 FIP, 12.04 K/9, and 1.20 BB/9 in his last 25 starts dating back to last season). It might be wishful thinking as he does have 3 years left on his deal, and if the Cubs rebuild/retool, they might look to move the impending FA's rather than him (or simply try for one more year in a s***** division), but if they are open to moving him, then he'd be my top target. Depends what direction they plan to go in.
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If the Cubs are possibly retooling/rebuilding, what about Darvish at 3/59? Had a great second half in 2019, and then followed it up with an even better 2020 by beating up on the same scrubs that Bauer beat up on. It would be his age 34-36 seasons, so who knows how long he holds up, but he looks a lot better than the non-Bauer FA options.