glory

Devers: "I'm not playing first base. Ever." Red Sox: "Ok, then we are trading you to Toronto". Devers: "Which first base gloves do you recommend?"

3 straight singles + 0 runs in the inning, followed by Vlad not knowing how to catch an accurate throw from the third baseman. I kinda like these west coast games, as I can go to sleep and not have to watch them.

They basically needed the pitching to collectively repeat 2023 while Vlad and Bo performed like stars at the same time. The former was never going to happen, and the latter has only happened once (2021). I guess it was possible (85+ wins), but not very probable unless a lot of things broke right. The run differential is a very accurate assessment of this team's talent level right now. It's not a good team by any metric. As far as Rogers being morons, they bid against themselves and gave a 1B $500M. That's on top of essentially giving Ross Atkins a blank check to spend into the upper tier of the entire sport. This is an ownership group that didn't want to add a dime to the 2014 payroll at the trade deadline when the Jays were actually in a playoff spot, but gave Atkins the green light to save the Guardians $110M over 5 years by absorbing Gimenez and Straw's contracts. I think questioning their baseball intelligence is fair, although as an ownership group in general they are good (high payroll).

It’s going to suck when one or more of the final playoff spots will be going to Central teams with 86 wins again who got there exclusively by beating up the White Sox. Meanwhile the 91 win Jays team in 2021 sat at home because they were the 4th best team in their own division. The AL is so wide open but this team won’t be taking advantage (again).

George Springer dead cat bounce being the only good thing about this season is sad. Happy for him but Springer bouncing back should have been a huge development for the roster, and it’s basically going to be wasted. Best case maybe this makes him tradable at the deadline if he keeps it up.

Yeah floating around .500 with a lame duck front office is not the ideal scenario. Either way, this team isn't rebuilding/tearing down any time soon with the Vlad extension (combined with other moves that hit 2026-30 payroll). It's the definition of no man's land. I have no idea what a logical trade deadline even looks like if the team is selling because ownership is going to want a team with a chance to contend in 2026, and I don't want Atkins (or Shapiro if Rogers lets him go) handling it either way. Tough spot.

The 2022 team had six hitters (min 200 PA) with a wRC+ of 129 or higher. Even Espinal was a league average hitter that year. Better times. Then John Schneider didn't know how to manage in Game 2 of the WC round, the front office lost their collective minds, and here we are 3 painful/boring years later.

It's not even a fun entertainment product. It's frustrating as hell to watch this team even when they win games. A bad team with a top 5 payroll in baseball that also happens to be incredibly boring to watch. Not the best combo.

I'm not saying they should give him away, I'm saying they likely wouldn't get a team to take his contract even if they were giving him away. If he was a ~100 wRC+ SS with great defense, then maybe, or if he reverted back to something close to his 2022 mode then sure, but not now. No team values 2B defense that much (except Shatkins) even if it did come with close to league average offense. I don't even disagree that I think Gimenez might be a league average bat, he's been very unlucky so far. That doesn't mean he's someone whose contract the Jays should have absorbed at nearly $100M, especially since he's had two consecutive seasons with sub 100 wRC+'s. This is a contract you absorb if you think it's buying low on someone who's closer to 2022 form than 2023 (we'll ignore 2024). If he suddenly becomes an above average bat, then obviously the contract looks way better. Like I said, the Jays have zero prospects I'd trust to be good MLB'ers at 2B/SS other than Nimmala who is 19 in A+, so ultimately it's likely not that big of a deal. Just play him at SS until Nimmala is ready, slide him back to 2B after that, and hope the defense/base running holds up for 4 more years. But I think many people had to wipe vomit from their mouths when the trade was first announced, and there was a reason for that. It is what it is.

If you think Gimenez is an asset at 4/86.5 (after this season) then we can agree to disagree. I don’t think you’d be able to give that contract away. The only team that would pay big money for defense alone is the one Gimenez is currently on. Again, he’s not a bad player, but ~$20M AAV for a player like him is not a good use of resources, especially for a team in the Jays situation.

Gimenez is a 2B though (for now), and since 2023 has a 83 wRC+ in his last 1385 PA. Nearly $100M for a glove first 2B is not a good investment. If he is a league average-ish hitter and a great defensive SS, then that would make the contract more appealing, so let's hope that's the plan next season and hopefully he can still handle SS defensively. Obviously the bat being around 90-100 wRC+ would help as well.

Gimenez is a good player who is grossly overpaid. If he was the same player except a SS, then I think it would be more palatable, so hopefully that's the plan next season (until our savior Nimmala is ready, at least). I was intrigued by the Gleyber Torres pillow contract rumor in the off season. Wish the Jays would have pulled the trigger on that instead. I don't think anyone is touching the Gimenez contract as it gets into the $20M AAV range, even if he ends up being closer to a league average bat. With that said, other than Arjun, the Jays literally have no one that looks like a potentially good big league starter at 2B/SS any time soon, so Gimenez will have value to the team in that regard.

Giving the Guardians a free out so that Myles Straw could hit with runners in scoring position was sadly indicative of where this franchise is. The Jays are closer to the Rockies as an org than they are to the elite teams.

Frustrating offense and they are going to waste Little in this game when they’ve already used him for like over half of the team’s games so far.

The Guardians offense minus Ramirez is basically the April 2025 Blue Jays offense. It sucks. They should have just tried Tate/Walker to get 3 outs in the 7th, and then went with Fluharty and Green in the 8th and 9th. Maybe that ends up failing too, but Garcia for the 3rd time in 4 days given his health issues last season was an unnecessary risk to take this early in the season. The offense is ultimately the reason for the loss, you can't expect the pitching to be perfect every time, and when John Schneider has to be near perfect from a managerial standpoint in order to win, then you've already set yourself up for disaster. This guy has been making s***** bullpen decisions for as long as he's been here. The offense has to at least take that out of his hands every now and then, but since 2023 they haven't been able to.

If they don't trust Tate and Walker in a 7th inning situation, then not sure what they are doing in the pen at all. You can't run the same guys every night and expect them to be sharp.

Yeah this one is on Schneider. Using Garcia 3 out of 4 days was not smart.

Have to assume Hoffman is not available, and I think Jimi has thrown 2 out of the last 3. Would be nice to not have to use either of them.

From Clement, Straw, and Heineman, absolutely.

I'm glad they seem to have finally come to their senses and put Gimenez at 9. If he's hitting below Heineman then that means they no longer have delusions about how good of an offensive player he is. If you're lucky then he's around a 90-100 wRC+ player, and you accept that at the bottom of the lineup (have no choice due to the contract).

The biggest issue with the team right now is the rotation, but we will see about the offense. Removing Wagner and soon Roden, and replacing them with Barger (+ great statcast data) and Varsho should help. Lukes isn't a bad 4th OF option from the looks of it. Kirk is starting to hit the ball with more authority as well. Maybe things do start to improve from an offensive standpoint. Enough of an improvement? Remains to be seen. The rotation is still the biggest hurdle. Three geezers + Way Back Francis + pray. Not sure how they will get by with that over the long haul without massive amounts of luck.

The thing about the AL is that there are no great teams, but also only 2 real bottom feeders (White Sox, Angels). So unless the Jays are facing one of those 2 teams, I don’t think there is a cupcake series for them. Having this run differential even with their schedule is not a good sign. The Cubs have had an objectively tougher schedule and lead the league (tied) in RD. If it wasn’t for Jeff Hoffman this team is likely closer to their RD in win/loss. Varsho coming back helps, and they really need a surprise breakout or 2 (or 5).

Two straight wins on the backs of home runs. More of this please.

Having a chance to sweep the Red Sox on the road and resting Vlad in the final game (unrelated to injury as he pinch hit later in the game) was an act of a non-serious organization. Resting Springer is less egregious since he's old so he could be banged up or need more rest in general.