glory

Next article will reference the Jays interest in Scherzer.

Evan Gattis being shopped heavily according to Sherman and Rosenthal. Controllable DH/CA/1B who can hit.

Yep. Five years. No excuses, AA.

The Jays are in on VMart according to Heyman. I love this time of year. The Jays are in on everyone while really being in on no one. @JonHeymanCBS: blue jays, mariners among teams joining tigers in hot v-mart derby.

In a strange twist, Bautista will say he is happy with the team as is and does not want any changes, but then AA will go out and sign a player. Reverse psychology!

I think Headley will go to whichever team loses out on Pablo, so either the Giants or Red Sox. I hope he goes to the Giants, because I don't think Pablo's body holds up as he ages, so I wouldn't mind Boston overpaying for Sandoval. I'm on the "give Martin whatever he wants" bandwagon. Of course, I also realize the Jays won't do a damn thing that's noteworthy, so reality has a way of crushing such things.

Yep. Use the money saved up for Melky on Headley. Much better investment.

Speaking of the Halos, would Freese be worth moving Lawrie to 2B? Other than one bad year in 2013, Freese has put up WAR's of 2.5, 3.9, and 2.1 from 2011-14. I could see them doing Happ for Freese. Or maybe throw in a prospect on top of that.

Man, just stick Chris Young in left for one year and hope his defense makes up for his bat. It would be cheaper and wouldn't cost an asset.

I think the highest I would go is three years, but one or two is the safest. Unfortunately he won't do one or two years, so we have to hope for three. I think Melky is not coming regardless. Too many teams need offense. The only hope for the Jays is if teams are scared off from losing a draft pick.

Dirks does not have a platoon split issue (career 104 wRC+ against RHP and 99 wRC+ against LHP). Even in the minors the only time he had a very big platoon split was 2010, otherwise he's been fairly split neutral. So assuming his back isn't FUBAR, they might be able to get away with playing him everyday, although he'd be average at best with the bat (again, assuming his back/hamstrings are not shot). I think if Pompey starts in CF, and they insist on platooning Dirks, then Pillar should be the 4th OF, not Mayberry. Pillar brings more defensive value and can play an above average CF. If you're tight on money, then spending $2M on Mayberry is not worth it. The Jays should shy away from platoons. I know it can be a way to maximize value, but too many platoons are not good, and it greatly reduces the effectiveness of the bench. If they do Gose/Pillar, then play Dirks everyday and live with the consequences. If Pompey wins the CF job, then do Dirks/Pillar. Just don't go overboard.

Gose is definitely an ideal fourth OF. If he could hit a little better he'd be a poor man's Jarrod Dyson, but his offense really drags his value down. I'd still be OK with a Gose/Pillar platoon to begin 2015, until Pompey is ready.

The Jays should not trade Dickey or Buehrle. How are they going to replace those innings? They can't and won't. Just hold on to them and fix the actual problems with the team. My guess is Happ will be traded and Sanchez will be pencilled in for the #5 spot, which is why Estrada was probably attractive to AA since he can be used as insurance in case Sanchez struggles/gets hurt/needs more time in AAA. If you're going to have at least 2, if not 3, young starters in the rotation, guys like Dickey and Buehrle are that much more valuable. I'd actually prefer adding one more 200 IP league average type guy instead of using Sanchez (think, Jeremy Guthrie type) to put in the #5 spot, but not too many of those floating around. If AA has any last gasp miracle in him, he can turn Happ into a quality 2B. I don't know how he could possibly pull that off, but there has to be some malcontent 2B with talent somewhere that another team wants to dump, or a team with an extra 2B they could move. The Cubs are too smart to do Valbuena for Happ but something along those lines is sorely needed. I could live with the Bautista/Pompey/Gose/Pillar/Dirks OF in that case.

If Gose is out of options, then play him at CF and have Pompey in the minors. I think Gose has the potential to be a useful player due to his defense and base running. Platoon him with Pillar at CF until a need arises. That's when you bring Pompey up.

I think Alex would view 2B above the OF in terms of need.

The Jays need to trade Happ for the next Brian Dozier. There has to be some undervalued minor league player out there that hasn't gotten a chance yet despite performing in the minors.

Dombrowski let him go for health reasons so I'm not optimistic about him returning to that level, especially since his main issues I believe were with his back and hamstrings, which are two things turf is not going to help. Regardless, it's probably worth it to try. He won't be expensive and is controllable for a few years. He doesn't have to be platooned and was a plus defensive player in LF prior to 2014, but yes, we can't assume he will regain that defensive form.

Dirks missed all of 2014 with injuries. I wouldn't count on him until he proves he is healthy. At least we know when he is healthy, he can be a 1.5-2.0 WAR player, so for that alone he's worth keeping around at ~$1.5M and three years of control. The real key is what they do for 2B. Add someone like Valbuena, and I'm more comfortable going cheap in the outfield. However, if it's more of the same (Goins, Kawasaki, Izturis, etc) then we are in trouble.

Yeah I don't see Mayberry coming back now that Lind is traded. Pillar is far more useful making the team, especially if Gose starts in CF.

Do you really want AA trading with Epstein/Hoyer? Valbuena would be a great fit but knowing the Cubs they will get Sanchez and Pompey in return.

What would it take to get Valbuena from the Cubs? He seems like a good fit, but not sure how the Jays and Cubs line up in terms of need. On that second thought, I don't want AA trading with those guys. Nevermind.

Non-tendering Estrada to avoid paying Lind's buyout would be hysterical. I actually agree with trading Lind, and am not particularly fond of Estrada, but that would be such a Rogers/AA thing to do.

I wouldn't be surprised if that were true. A platoon DH with injury concerns and an $8M salary probably isn't going to have a huge market.

Who do you replace Buehrle with, though? When you are slashing payroll and trying to win at the same time (which I'm assuming is AA's goal...hard to tell with the moves he is making), then it is best to trade replaceable expensive players rather than expensive players that will be near impossible to replace without spending more money. The only exception to that would be Reyes since his contract is so bad that trading him will help short and long-term, but Buehrle is harmless with a one year commitment. I hope AA has enough common sense not to trade him, unless he has a back-up plan that can throw 200 IP (in other words, not Estrada).

Why do people think Buehrle will get traded? As good as he was in 2014, he makes nearly $20M in 2015. That won't be easy to move. It would be more logical to trade Happ and then slide Estrada into the 5th starter role. At least then you are keeping the better starter (Buehrle), hopefully saving some money, and not losing much (going from Happ to Estrada). Going from Buehrle to Estrada is a 3 win drop. I think even AA would know how foolish that is.