glory

The Yankees, who could turn practically anyone into a good hitter, acquired Drury thinking they could fix him but then traded him within months. I truly want to believe he is a tweak away from being good, but I think it's far more likely he sucks. I think he's here for at least one more season though. He is s***, but versatile s***. Teoscar put up a 1.8 WAR from June onwards and he was playing CF almost exclusively during that time. I think the Jays roll with the same OF's next season, except with Fisher at DH (the OF's and Vlad will rotate through DH). Of course if they decide to add a OF from outside the org, then who the hell knows.

If Shapiro's contract is not extended he'll find another job in 10 seconds. I don't think he's going to go full AA in 2020 to get an extension. Atkins is less likely to get another high profile job, but he works for Shapiro, so I wouldn't expect any 2013-15 type of reactionary moves. They wouldn't start a rebuild in 2019 and then completely go the other direction less than 12 months later. If Shapiro is not extended by the start of the season, then he's probably gone either way. I don't see why he'd have to prove himself to a bunch of suits who don't know anything about baseball, and if Rogers really wanted him long term they wouldn't let him dangle on the last year of his deal. Maybe they will want to save money on the next team prez. I hope not. Rogers got very lucky getting Shapiro in the first place. I shudder to think who they'd get to replace him. If Shatkins' job depends on the 2020 win/loss record then just replace them now and get it over with.

Wow what a 9th inning so far.

I’m torn. I actually like the Braves as a team but AA winning a title (despite having nothing to do with the team’s core) would make Jays social media completely insufferable, and it’s bad enough as it is.

There seems to be talk of the Mets trading Syndergaard in the winter. I don't think the Jays are ready to trade top prospects, but trading with Brody is too appealing not to at least kick the tires on.

Wow, I didn't even think about the possibility of a Rays/Twins ALCS. I just always assumed the Yankees would win, and still feel that way, but it's baseball and anything can happen. Reruns of Growing Pains would get higher ratings than Rays/Twins.

If the Rays beat the Astros, I'm done with baseball until the off season. I know people like to root for the "little guys" who succeed on small payrolls, but the Yankees/Astros has to be the ALCS. It's good of a matchup to not get.

I'm glad Khris Davis got his money, but damn he fell off hard this season.

Ugh. Come on Oakland.

Rooting for the A's, but I think the damn Rays are taking this one.

If the Jays are going to sign a qualified FA, then go for Wheeler (assuming Cole is out of the picture), not Odorizzi. My point is I don't think the Jays are going to sign a qualified FA either way.

I hope not. I think he'd be a good fit on the Jays. Has been successful in the AL East as well. If he gets the QO, then no way the Jays are losing a pick to sign him. If no QO is attached to either player, I say go with Odorizzi and Porcello. Two guys who have pitched in the AL East to success and are still young(ish). Porcello coming off a down year so he might get less, and Odorizzi coming off a really good year but track record is more along the lines of a 2.5 war pitcher. Looks like his velocity went up this year. I think Kyle Gibson is way more likely though.

I think they are less likely to sign a qualified FA with a higher pick. Their available draft money will be high with a #5 pick. I think more likely this means we shop in the 2016 Happ and Estrada aisle of the market. Kyle Gibson types. I’d be pleasantly surprised if they go after someone like Wheeler but can’t see them signing a qualified FA just yet.

The Nats seem to do that with all their big money contracts. I'm actually glad Harper turned it down and went with the Phillies.

The Astros took back one of the worst SPs in baseball, a replacement level RP, and actual money in order to turn Fisher into Stevenson. You tell me whether Fisher had other suitors. Seems pretty cut and dry. Usually the team that absorbs s*** is getting something to compensate for absorbing s***. Fisher was in the PCL for the past two years and this year hit worse than Tellez and about equal to what McKinney did in the International League this year at younger ages. I actually think Fisher has some intriguing skills (BB%, speed, exit velocity), but damn, you guys are nuts if you think he's an asset, or was an asset at the time he was acquired. Certifiable nuts. If the Jays traded Alford tomorrow they'd get little to nothing in return. If the Jays traded Fisher tomorrow they'd get little to nothing in return. That's reality folks. Both likely suck. It's ok to admit it. It's remarkable that I've actually wanted Montoyo to give Fisher more playing time and people are saying I'm complaining about a trade that both teams are not going to get much out of it in all likelihood. I'll move on because my head hurts.

?????? If the Astros kept Fisher past the trade deadline, he was out of options and on a team that didn't want/need him. He was going to be DFA. You and Brownie are seriously making a stink about me thinking the Jays could have given up less than Stevenson for Fisher had they waited a few months? You guys need hobbies man. It's not that serious. Teoscar was in the same freakin spot two years ago and was traded for two months of the corpse of Francisco Liriano. What the hell are you guys talking about? I didn't say anything about Fisher's upside with the bat (which I've actually defended here), just his trade value at the time he was acquired and/or had they waited a few months. He's not an asset right now, with the Astros or the Jays. That's reality. I'm sorry you can't accept it.

I liked this post because I'm legit baffled at what point you could have possibly disagreed with, much less felt the need to write "holy f***" in response to it. Spanky liking it put it over the top. Great post. 1. Rebuilding teams will claim Alford/Fisher because those teams usually suck and it's getting a former top prospect for nothing. 2. Fisher was likely to be DFA by the Astros if they kept him past the deadline. 3. Stevenson isn't much of a prospect but still a piece the Jays moved for a guy they might have gotten for free (or much less) in the winter. I'm guessing my backhanded praise of Stevenson is what you are angry about, lord knows you'd swing from his nuts if he was a Jay, but if you consider that hyping him up, I don't know what else to say. If you think points #1 and 2 are wrong, then I can't help you. If you think Fisher was going to be traded by the Astros in the winter for something even resembling a prospect, then again, I can't help you. What do you think Alford would fetch in a trade right now?

Rebuilding/tanking teams would claim both 100% most likely. It's a free prospect with 5+ years of control left with previous prospect hype. Ironically, the Jays might have been able to get Fisher without giving up Stevenson had they waited until the winter. I know Stevenson may not be much, but still potential asset moved for a piece that was probably going to be DFA'd by the Astros.

Between Alford and Fisher, I think both would get claimed (there are way too many tanking teams), but if I had to choose one who would get claimed, it would be Alford. He can actually play D and was a top prospect two years ago. A bad team would claim him and park him in CF all season. Fisher is more debatable since he looks like a DH/LF who (so far) can't hit.

Lol, Teoscar had a better season than the guy they just extended for $50 million. The OF is a mess aside from Gurriel. I still think they'll stick with what they have in 2020 and make changes in 2021, but maybe Charlie knows something already.

Buchholz taught him a new curveball grip and he’s been using it in September apparently. Small sample size but hopefully it leads to better performance in 2020. As is a 2 war in 150 innings is a pretty decent outcome for him.

I suspect Shatkins will go with Gurriel/Hernandez/Grichuk in the OF with Fisher at DH and Alford as the 4th OF next season. I think the team clearly needs another OF but don't think we will see one next season. They'll give the current group one more chance next year.

Not saying the Rays aren't a playoff team, just that they'd be death for MLB in terms of interest/ratings. I remember watching the Brewers games last year, and that crowd was electric. They are a small market team but those fans love the Brewers. They had an elite MVP player in Yelich. That's what I'm talking about. If you tell me I have to watch Austin Meadows as the top star, a s***** stadium with fans who don't really care about the team (they'd go to St. Pete if they were real fans), and something that is going to likely hurt MLB's national TV ratings, then yeah, I'm not going to root for it. The Jays are different. They are not America's darling team, but anyone who watched the 2015-16 playoffs commented on how hostile, rowdy, and passionate the live crowds were. You can sell that type of atmosphere on TV. Also, I fundamentally just hate the Rays. Can't root for them. Maybe them owning the Jays for as long as I can remember is part of the reason, but it's just ingrained in me now.

The Rays don't have any elite players (unless you consider Meadows one), they play in a s*** hole stadium, they have no fans, and if they advance to the ALDS it would get lower ratings than reruns of 80s sitcoms. Plus, excessive pitching changes/openers, excessive shifting, etc, is boring as hell to watch. I'm not rooting for teams because they have ivy league front offices. Give me big markets, exciting players, etc. The Jays got a ton of media coverage in the US when Bautista hit the home run because we were loaded with star players. Tampa just has nothing to get excited about. If the Jays are not in the playoffs, then I'm rooting for baseball to succeed. Give me the Astros/Yankees in the ALCS and Dodgers/whoever in the NL side. NYY/LAD in the WS would be great for baseball. Only exception might be that I wouldn't mind if Billy Beane won a title, so if the A's happen to get by, then that's cool too.

I can’t think of anything less desirable for MLB this post season than Tampa making it. MLB is a regional sport now but Tampa doesn’t even give a s*** about that team. I hope Oakland kills them (or the Jays sweep them this weekend and CLE gets in).