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glory

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Everything posted by glory

  1. Yeah I think Manfred has mostly done really well, especially post 2020. A lot of his legacy is going to come down to this year's CBA negotiations and what type of media deal he can secure heading into 2029 (which may finally end blackouts), but as far as what he's done for the game the last few years, it's been almost entirely positive. Where the game is now vs 10 years ago is pretty drastic (in a good way).
  2. Clark was apparently being investigated for something (didn’t care enough to read up on it) so I’m guessing it’s related to that. Curious to see what kind of impact it has as far as CBA talks.
  3. Straw was a very solid 4th/5th OF in 2025, but would it surprise anyone if he falls off in 2026? All the projections have his wRC+ in the 70's, and I think that's probably fair. He shouldn't be anything more than a defensive replacement/pinch runner who occasionally starts depending on the matchup. Hopefully that's how he's used and not in a platoon with anyone. Based on the current roster, I think you have Sanchez/DS as one platoon and then Gimenez/infielder (Jimenez at the moment) as the other one. Barger deserves some rope to see if he can be decent against LHP, whereas there's enough data with Sanchez and Gimenez to have a good idea what they are against lefties.
  4. Yeah I don't think they view DS as a 2B anymore. Seems like he's purely a platoon LF in their eyes. The team doesn't have any middle infield depth on the 40 man except for Clement, Gimenez, and Jimenez (who may be on the outside looking in depending on what the team decides to do with Lukes). It's a strange roster construction at the moment, but wouldn't surprise me if Lukes is on the way out. Atkins has traded Horwitz, Wagner, and Roden in the last 12 months, so the "white dudes who make contact" phase might be over. Lukes could be the next casualty.
  5. I think we will definitely see a Sanchez/DS platoon in LF, but curious to see what they plan to do with Gimenez. He should probably be platooned as well, but can't do that if the only remaining non catching bench options are Lukes and Straw. I could see Lukes being traded and a utility IF that can hit LHP being signed (assuming they have money left and/or they don't want to give the spot to Jimenez).
  6. So the Kikuchi trade is now Sanchez, Valenzuela, and Bloss. I actually think it looks better now than it did at the time.
  7. I’ve always thought Sanchez was a tweak away from being a really good offensive player. Bat speed for days and hits the ball hard. I like it as a bit of a project for Popkins. Also comes with 2027 control which is a plus, so if the only thing it cost was Loperfido, then seems like a solid deal to me.
  8. Yeah assuming he misses all/most of 2026, he will head into 2027 at age 32 after having two injury shortened seasons in a row. He literally has one skill, and shoulder injuries combined with aging may impact that moving forward. Tony being cooked seems like a pretty fair expectation, IMO. Obviously would be great if he proves me wrong on that.
  9. Yeah, Lukes had an 89 wRC+ in the 2nd half of 2025 (84 against RHP) and a 90 wRC+ in the post season where he was primarily batting 2nd. He is a 31 going on 32 year old journeyman. I just don't see him being an above average offensive player moving forward, and even an average one is probably the high end of what I think he can be. As a 4th OF, that's fine. As a starting LF against RHP, that has the potential to be a sizable weakness. The Jays preferred playing IKF over DS in the playoffs, so I don't think DS will get the run that he probably should given the alternatives, though I guess we will see what they do. Even DS's 2025 numbers were skewed by 2 HR's against position players and being used in what the team considered to be favorable matchups. We just have to hope the combination of Lukes/DS can be used in a way where both guys are put in favorable matchups that maximize their performance, whatever that may be.
  10. Atkins definitely relieved from a defensive standpoint. I said before, I couldn’t picture the Jays of all teams trotting Santander out in the OF everyday and being happy about it. At least in 2027 the DH spot will be available so they can put him there and not have to worry about his defense hurting them. At that point they just have to worry about how a 32 year old who would have essentially missed two seasons due to injury is going to bounce back when he only does one thing well. Atkins is usually pretty good with free agent signings but Taters was a big whiff. At least it’s due to injury and not his skills eroding but it may end up being both depending on how he bounces back in 2027 (I’m already writing him off for 2026).
  11. The only FA's available are probably just as much 1 WAR types as Lukes is (if not less so), and not sure there is a trade to be made at this point for anything significant. Jimenez projects reasonably well for a backup IF (~90-95 wRC+) and the Jays literally have nothing in the minors as far as middle infield depth other than Kasevich who is coming off an injury riddled 34 wRC+ in AAA last season. They kinda need to hold as much infield depth as they can at this point. They have a bunch of OF's in AAA with options remaining or who are not on the 40 man yet (Clase, Schreck, Pinango, Loperfido) and have the most lottery of lottery tickets in Eloy, so seems like they have enough depth there to stick as many things on the wall as possible come spring time and hope something sticks. The infield on the other hand doesn't look good at all from a depth standpoint. With that said if they can find/trade for a better option, then absolutely go for it.
  12. This probably means Leo Jimenez makes the team (barring a trade), as Lukes slides into the starting LF role and opens up a bench spot. Probably end up seeing Lukes/DS in LF and Gimenez/Jimenez in the infield as far as platoons. If nothing else this will improve the defense. The offense remains to be seen. Santander was the most one trick pony you will find, and his shoulder was preventing that one trick from existing, so he was essentially worthless. The lineup is definitely lacking something now. Not sure this is the right time to add someone since I doubt anyone significant is available.
  13. Man, Tony's 2026 is probably a wash too at this point. A 5-6 month timeline puts him back around July/Aug, and there's no guarantee he will even be good when he does come back. Lukes is fine as a 4th OF, but they really need to add a OF now.
  14. IKF signing somewhere else is one of the best Jays moves of the off-season.
  15. They wouldn’t trade Gausman and Yesavage, and obviously not Cease and Ponce, so that leaves Berrios and Bieber. Even if Biebs is a question mark health-wise, I would think the Jays were pretty happy that he opted in as the cost was practically nothing given his upside. Berrios is really the only option, realistically. The contract is awful and he ain’t opting out of 2/48 after this season, so you just have to hope there’s a bad contract swap somewhere. But that’s only a bridge to cross if they signed another SP (Framber). As is, the Jays need as much SP depth as possible and if Berrios is your #6, then that’s not terrible. Another option if they signed Framber would be moving Lauer (I guess) to save $5M, as Berrios could be the (disgruntled) long man/7th starter, but they’d have to determine if having an unhappy Berrios around would be worth it. Either way, Atkins moves in silence usually. The fact that Heyman specifically mentioned the Jays leads me to think it’s a nothing burger.
  16. The Jays value defense and contact more than most teams, so I don’t think they would have been in on Suarez either way. The only hacker on the team is Varsho and he plays elite CF defense, and the only poor defensive player is Santander and he puts the ball in play (typically) a lot more. I think it’s fair to say that if Atkins could have one back, he’d definitely pass on Santander last winter. They clearly expected Springer to play the OF a lot more than he did, but now that he’s firmly a DH, it makes Tony’s fit on this roster a lot more clunky. With that said, the contract isn’t terrible due to the deferrals. Just have to hope he has a couple of 30-40 HR seasons left in him.
  17. Figured the A's owner would start spending money as soon as the team was a lock to head to Vegas. They've made some pretty good deals to extend their existing talent.
  18. I'm in the US and it's a mix for me. If I'm on my phone, then I probably see ads (don't really pay attention either way), but if I'm on my laptop then I have an ad blocker so it won't be visible.
  19. Yu Darvish wrestling with wanting to retire but not wanting to give up the AJ Preller lifetime contract that usually comes with AJ Preller extensions/contracts.
  20. How much does the MLBPA hate Jose Ramirez? Dude has probably left like $200-300M on the table to stay in Cleveland.
  21. The issue with Varsho, especially if he's a Boras guy, is going to be how much do you want to commit to him starting at age 30/31? A five year deal takes him to age 36. I just don't know how smart of an investment that would be unless his bat has taken a sustainable leap forward on the power side and he can be an above average hitter as he ages even if his defense dips. Not sure I'd want to take that risk at a Boras level contract, though I guess a lot will depend on how he does in 2026. Finding a CF who can field and hit is hard.
  22. It would depend on what it would take to get Nootbaar obviously, but I think there would be real upside there. He's already had a couple of 3 WAR seasons in his career, and last season despite battling injuries he was well above average to very good in Avg EV, hard hit %, bat speed, chase, whiff, etc. Realistically, there isn't a position where the Jays could significantly improve unless they trade for Marte or something like that. I guess maybe if they sign Framber and dump Berrios, but on the position player side, the only meaningful upgrades I could see would be a 2B against RHP (Clement isn't good against them historically) or a move like this where if you believe you're buying low on a ~120 wRC+ bat with some injury risk to replace a more average-ish 4th OF. Plus, I believe Noot is popular in Japan due to the last WBC, so it would give the Jays another player that can help to kiss more Japanese backside as they try to grow their brand there.
  23. Trading for Nootbaar and putting him in Lukes' role would be a pretty good move, IMO. At the very least it would add a bit of upside to the roster, which Lukes doesn't have.
  24. Whit was part of the boring ass 2023 team that wanted to become "more serious" and would routinely act like Vlad committed a crime every time he dumped water on them. His perspective is likely based on that mindset, so it's not one I'd particularly care about.
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