glory

Yeah his road numbers have consistently been s*** if I recall. Hard pass.

Yes, I’m gonna beat that drum until it happens. Those two replacing Jarrod Dyson as my annual front office request. Witnessing 800 plate appearances by Goins and Barney can make someone repetitive (and crazy).

The Yankees are apparently pursuing a trade for Profar. Cashman on top of things. That's exactly the type of risk the Jays should take, but Cashman will acquire him for jack s*** and he'll probably turn into something good.

Yeah I meant stay there for this coming season. No way they miss out on Machado who I think makes way too much sense for them. I haven’t looked at their payroll situation but they are really young with only one bad contract (Ellsbury). They might be able stay in the tax range and still sign a top free agent a year from now.

The Yankees want to get under the luxury tax (and stay there), plus they value prospects just as much as the Jays do. No way they touch Stanton's contract, nevermind give up prospects on top of that. I definitely see them making a splash in free agency '18 though. I could see a Machado-Didi-Torres infield for them, left to right.

Not surprised he vetoed Boston. The racist stigma is pretty strong about that city, in more sports than just baseball.

What I never understood about Darvish was, wasn’t it a blind bid? How did it leak that the Jays won? I remember being excited about getting Darvish but don’t remember who started the nonsense.

Goins will find his way onto the roster somehow because we don't deserve nice things, but sounds like they want a super utility player who can be a starting calibre player in a bench role. That either means someone like Nunez, or a trade for someone like Profar. Or could be a subtle way of introducing Gurriel as a 2018 option (though not sure if he's ready for that).

I am also pretty surprised that Atkins was so honest. Usually he speaks in corporate speak, but he is not even trying to downplay his interest here.

The best fit for JD is probably the Cardinals. They seem really determined to make a trade, and have excess where the Jays need immediate help (outfield). Unless the Braves want to sell tickets with the mirage of competing, I don't see ATL doing it. Someone like Stanton would make more sense for them, especially since Alex likes to pay players big money when they are no longer elite players.

http://torontosun.com/sports/baseball/toronto-blue-jays/cant-imagine-a-better-fit-blue-jays-gm-trying-to-acquire-shohei-otani/amp Atkins slobbering all over Otani in that article. As mentioned, if/when he signs elsewhere it won’t be due to lack of trying. This man fits the Jays perfectly and the front office knows it.

Is Teoscar a passable defensive CF? Trading Pillar and putting Hernandez at CF is an interesting idea if they can get a 2B/SS or SP for him (KP).

Signing Bautista was understandable because it looked like they weren't going to get a draft pick for him with no team willing to sign him, they had a hole in the outfield, and they got him on essentially a one year deal. I don't see how saying the core was old and s***** while also saying the Bautista signing made sense are conflicting opinions. Both statements are correct. Shatkins has run the team for two seasons now. In that time, they haven't had a single pitching prospect reach AAA until Borucki in August, and the closest thing they have to a position player ready to start in the bigs in 2018 was acquired at the trade deadline three months ago. If you don't have young players or prospects to supplement an aging core, then guess what? The core will decline, and the players around them won't be good enough to compensate for it. That's exactly what you saw in 2017. The only option was to double down and trade more prospects for vets if you wanted to string this flawed roster along for another season, but thankfully this regime is a lot smarter than that. I don't see the genius in what AA did. Yes, some moves were great (JD in particular), but the totality of it was lackluster, and left the team in a very difficult spot beyond the one year window they had in 2016. The way Shatkins has operated since they were hired is exactly how they should have done it. Don't agree with every move they've made, but they haven't waffled on their goals.

Yeah I don't think there's any way a team plays him in the outfield. Starting will take a toll on his arm, do you really want him making throws in the outfield on his non-pitching days?

The fan base isn't quite as insufferable as it was two years ago when Shapiro first took over, but still pretty bad. That's the price that comes with having a big fan base.

Maybe he has learned something from his two years in LA about actually developing his young players rather than trading them for someone else's mistakes, but who really knows. I'd love it if they traded for Stanton. Would fit AA's MO. Not gonna lie though, if AA turns into a GM that actually values player development and keeps his prospects, that will hurt. He could have done that in Toronto but went derp instead.

Leaves Toronto as a hero to the mouth breathers, has someone else deal with the post 2015 decline that was unavoidable due to the old roster/butchered farm system, and then signs on with a team that is young with a s*** ton of prospects. Say what you want about AA, but dude is smart. He will probably keep all his prospects now just to f*** with us.

They couldn’t rebuild after 2015 and 2016 for obvious reasons, and ownership probably doesn’t want to rebuild after rejuvenating the fanbase and increasing ratings/attendance/revenue. What they have done is rebuild while trying to field a competent team. Bringing Estrada back for one year instead of trading him for pennies on the dollar was actually a smart decision, he could have more value next summer or he could help the team get a wild card spot. Smith was traded at peak value, and Liriano actually netted a potential big leaguer which is more than they should have gotten for him. The front office hasn’t been perfect but they’ve blended rebuilding and trying to compete pretty well. They can change direction and rebuild pretty easily if they wanted to. Trading Donaldson would signify a direction change and while that would make sense it’s probably an ownership call.

The front office inherited a miniscule window to compete (basically one season) and luckily realized it rather than doubling down. Otani is a different animal entirely because he’s young and a long term piece that fits regardless of team direction. If they miss out on him it won’t be due to lack of trying.

Yeah that’s why I don’t mind the juiced ball. Home runs and high scoring games are exciting. I’d rather baseball be relevant and popular again, especially to kids deciding which sport to play in high school and college. The Bautista bat flip might be iconic in many ways because it may have started the backlash toward traditional old school thinking and embracing more celebration and “swag”. That’s what young people will gravitate to, and we saw a lot of that in this post season.

Money clearly isn't an issue for him since he could have waited a bit to come over and gotten paid, but wants to come now. I don't know what the Jays could offer from a situation standpoint that every other team can't, so it will really come down to his preference. Maybe selling Otani on the high performance department and things like that will help. Who knows. I guess there is a 1/30 chance, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

Baseball just had some of its best ratings and fan interest in the while the last two years with games lasting around 4 hours. The pace has never been the issue. The game is what it is. You have to market the stars better. If Mike Trout walked into a crowded building, how many people would recognize him? Compare that with LeBron James or Tom Brady. That's the issue with the game, but Manfred doesn't have a damn clue. As far as Otani, do anything within your power to make it happen, but it's a huge long shot. Just as long as he doesn't become a Yankee. That would be depressing.

If they keep JD, then chances are they are intentionally aiming for the 2nd wild card, so the bar isn't going to be high regardless. My guess is 2018 will be a cross between rebuilding like the front office wants to do and keeping asses in seats like ownership wants.

Looking at the free agent list, it does look like the type of season to go with 1-2 year stop gaps rather than sign someone to a long-term deal (three years). Most likely we will see a trade or two as well. Maybe trade for a back up infielder and sign a vet outfielder to a short term deal (Granderson, Dyson, someone like that). You could probably get some decent production out of Granderson/Dyson vs RHP platooning with Pearce, and then Pearce splitting time with Morales at DH. Unless they can trade for a young outfielder, which would be preferable, but unless it's similar to the Teoscar deal where they are giving up little/nothing of value, it probably won't happen. I don't see them trading JD until mid season if they are out of it, though.

Promise Otani a rotation spot and the DH role. Release Morales if you have to. By any means necessary, make it happen.