glory

Weeks is not a good defensive 2B. We have one infielder who can compensate for bad defense (Reyes), but Weeks can't unless he knows how to time travel and get his bat back to where it was from 2007-2011. Weeks as a utility player off the bench who can hit lefties will have value (if he plays some 3B, OF, 1B, etc), but not sure the Jays need that when they already have Valencia on the roster.

How many multiple inning stints is Estrada going to have as a long man? He'll throw 2 maybe 3 innings in a blow out but likely without any regularity. Expecting him to fill in when an injury occurs is going to take a few starts to build up his pitch count. The way the Jays handled Stroman last year is how they should handle Norris.

Estrada won't be stretched out enough to make emergency starts in a swing man role. At least with Estrada starting and Norris in AAA, both would be stretched out in case of need.

Then Norris becomes the fifth starter, but you don't assume that going in. Estrada should be the guy until someone beats him for it, and plus it's not like Norris will get hurt by another month in AAA. Although, if Norris makes the rotation, Sanchez is closer/setup man, and Estrada's in the pen, then who is the sixth starter? Hendriks? That's not good.

Estrada should be the fifth starter. Norris in AAA until a need arises. Simple.

Lopez, Delabar, and Rasmussen would be my guesses. That's only if Cecil is closer. If Sanchez is closer, then replace Rasmussen with a righty. If the Jays are sincere about Sanchez being a starter long-term, then they should use him to set up Cecil since he can log more innings that way.

AA is signing talent with food stamps at this point so of course he's not signing them. Honestly, if they view Sanchez as a reliever, then they don't need to sign anyone. One of their waiver claims will pan out (Matt West!!!!).

I think the organization has given up on Jenkins as a starter. He's likely a reliever for good now, at least as long as he's with the Jays. My guess is.... Rotation: Dickey, Stroman, Hutchison, Buehrle, Estrada AAA Depth: Norris, Hendriks, Francis, Oramas, Albers So that's probably how the depth stacks up. Not terrible, but could use another pitcher closer to Norris' level.

I'm guessing they will try to sneak Hendriks down to Buffalo towards the end of ST. Might be a risk to get claimed but if it's late enough in ST, he should slip. I hope they don't view Redmond as a short reliever

If Estrada is the #5 starter and Sanchez is in the pen, like I expect, then the team's SP depth is Norris, Hendriks, Francis, Oramas, and Redmond (as the swing man/long reliever). Am I missing anyone?

Who are they (Fangraphs) assuming to be the team's SP depth in that article? Norris and ?

If Blair is the only one reporting it, then the sources that told him about it are likely the voices in his head. Toronto media doesn't scoop anyone. They just Retweet Rosenthal and others.

AA gained a lot of faith by acquiring Martin, Donaldson, Saunders, and Travis, but the fact that he still has a $5M back-up catcher when he can't even afford to sign relievers to minor league deals is ridiculous. Trade Navarro for a 29-year old non-prospect in A-ball. Who cares. Spend the $5M elsewhere, like the pen or rotation.

Yes, send Navarro to the Tigers. Make it happen.

Why is Sanchez ranked ahead of Norris?

Joel Sherman saying that the Jays haven't spoken to Shields in two weeks. Heyman once again spewing garbage that agents pay him to report.

Cecil and Loup should be very good, and they seem determined to have Sanchez there, so if he's anything like that season he should be decent over a full season. Then if Estrada makes the rotation like I expect him to, then Redmond is the long man again. Which leaves three spots for high leverage innings between some combination of Delabar, Lopez, Drabek, Rasmussen, Jenkins, Guilmet, West, Perez, Infante, da Silva, etc. It's not going to be a great pen, but I don't think it will be a weakness. The rotation if someone gets hurt is going to be in much bigger trouble.

Yeah, if I had to guess, I'd say he'll go to San Diego unless the Jays either go much higher on the AAV or add an extra year. I doubt the Jays will do either of those things. I'd do 4/75 for Shields, but I'd be reluctant to go much higher. That's just me talking though. Personally, I don't care how much Rogers spends. Just win over the next two years, and then worry about the consequences later. It's not like Shields on a four year deal will put the Jays in Phillies territory.

Shields, Dickey, Stroman, Buehrle, Hutchison with Norris and Estada as depth? That's an ideal situation. Trade Navarro for salary relief and give Shields something like 10/20/20/20. He will be hard to trade but not impossible. Trade him after year two when you have to re-sign Bautista and Edwin, but take advantage of the opportunity to win over the next two years at least.

If it was Kenny reporting it, then I might believe it, but Heyman is a s*** peddler. Only leaks things for agents. Shields would be the best of both world's: win now and keep all prospects. Basically what they should have done in 2013. I'll believe it when I see it. Regardless, do a Miami Marlins deal here. First year salary is $5-10M, then trade him to San Diego a year later during his heavily backloaded years.

There is an off day after the first game. Starting Dickey in game 1 wouldnt take full advantage of that Dickey Effect. I'd go with Stroman or Hutchison, with the other starting the 3rd game.

Yep. My ideal scenario is Sanchez and Norris both starting in AAA with Estrada as the #5 starter and Redmond as the long man, but they seem to want Sanchez in the Majors no matter what.

I agree but it seems pretty unlikely that Sanchez starts the year in the rotation when they didn't sign a single reliever to an MLB deal. I actually hope for the sake of the SP depth that Sanchez starts but I don't think he will. I think they've lined everything up purposely so that Sanchez could close.

What's the point of stretching Sanchez out in ST if they're going to use him in the pen? We all know he's going to the pen, as much as they try to say they view him as a starter.

Hutchison threw 185 innings in his first full season back from Tommy John Surgery (most teams cap innings at 140-150 in those instances). Verducci seems to think Stroman and Norris are injury risks due to having an excessive increased workload from the year before, and while stuff like that needs to be taken on a case by case basis, it's still worth keeping an eye on. Maybe those guys keep pitching well, and I hope they do, but you can't bank on it. Adding a Shields type or hell just adding depth in general would have been nice for the event that you do have to deal with injuries. Last season was abnormally healthy for the Jays staff. With DIckey and Buehrle that can be expected, but the more youth you count on, the more risk is involved. That's why, despite my feelings on Sanchez (he's not a starter long-term, IMO), I think the Jays should put him and Norris in AAA, Estrada as the #5, and Redmond as the long man. That way you have both Norris and Sanchez stretched out in case of need, and then the team is 7-deep with some intriguing arms in Double-A that might get promoted quickly (Boyd, Cole, etc).