glory

Yeah according to BBRef he's played 24 games in the OF since 2023, and he's clearly not starting at 1B. Logically it seems very likely the Jays plan to use him at 3B primarily as well as being Vlad's 1B backup. The one thing the Jays org does well is evaluate defense, so if they think he can play 3B well enough, then he probably can.

Probably more incentive to add Tucker. Keep him away from the Dodgers.

If the owners don't F things up and demand a salary cap, then the current CBA (even with some added penalties for CBT offenders) is perfect for this version of Rogers. The Jays could literally be the AL version of the Dodgers if the front office plays things right, and now they've entered the Japan/Korea pipeline to acquire talent.

Apparently he was granted an extra minor league option, so they might end up keeping him if they think he has any upside. Could mean the end of Jimenez who has no clear path to playing time next season.

Boras usually does 2-3 year deals with opt outs. 4/60 makes opt outs seem less likely but who knows.

Apparently, Okamoto is represented by Boras (according to "Not a Lock"), so I would guess this is a short term deal with opt outs.

Yeah I kinda get the same sense. If they add another bat, then I think dumping Santander while eating some cash is probably a likely scenario. Otherwise the roster will be a little too disjointed, and Santander stands out like a sore thumb on this roster given the type of players the Jays usually target (he's a one trick pony with little to no defensive value or versatility, and DH is occupied by a better player). They probably just cut their losses if it improves the roster.

If they see him as a LF, then I feel like Bo is a more realistic signing now than Tucker (assuming the Jays land one of them). Although Bo at 2B, Barger at 3B, Tony in RF, and Okamoto in LF doesn't scream great defense.

Interesting move. Know nothing about him other than the stats, but as I mentioned before, his offensive profile screams Blue Jays. Curious to see the terms and where they plan to play him. Also, another Boss Atkins signing that none of the engagement farming hacks on social media were talking about. That man works in silence.

Is MLB media collectively the worst of any major sport? I get that it's a non salary cap league and content still has to be created in the winter months when nothing is going on, but it's consistently the most engagement farming nonsense of any sport that I see. Kinda wish the draft was in December rather than July. At least there would be events in the winter to escape the absolute slog that MLB off-seasons usually are. I doubt we will ever see a salary cap (at least not in the next CBA) but clearly if a cap ever existed, then the BNS nonsense above and the Morosi's of the world would no longer exist, so there's an added benefit if that were to ever happen.

Okamoto has a much more "Blue Jays" offensive profile than Murakami. I could at least see the Jays having interest here, versus no chance they even considered Murakami with that much swing and miss.

Seems like if they miss on Bellinger then they’ll just go with what they have, or maybe make a small trade. Hal a few weeks ago basically said he would ideally like to spend less than he did last season so my guess is Cashman can only increase payroll for specific talent.

At least Japanese talent have chosen Chicago and Houston as their destinations so far rather than the Dodgers. It's likely because the league doesn't believe they are that good, but whatever.

Yeah and the Jays best prospects are also teenagers for the most part, so that combined with the D-Backs wanting MLB ready pitching makes the two teams a bad trade fit. Boston is a great trade fit, which is not good for the Jays. If there’s a scenario where the Jays miss out on all of Tucker, Bo, Bregman, and Bellinger, then I wonder what their pivot would be. Probably the non-Marte trade market. Hopefully we start to see some action soon. The lockout next winter will probably feel like a regular MLB off season if the activity the last 2 months is any indication.

The Jays don’t have the expendable prospect capital to get Marte, so it’s really down to the 4 top FAs (Tucker, Bo, Bregman, Bellinger). I’d be happy if the Jays landed Tucker but I’ve kinda lost interest there. Looking at the list of position players in MLB history who have signed contracts for $300M or more, almost all of them are either sure fire future HOF’ers or will/could end up being borderline cases by the end of their careers (aside from Tatis who is likely done due to PED suspension). Tucker is a very good player but is also a corner OF, so less justifiable than someone who signed as a SS (Turner) or 3B (Devers). I really don’t see a $300-400M contract ending up aging particularly well especially since they’d want to intentionally bump up the years to lower the AAV. I might be in the sign Bo camp at this point if Tucker’s ask is too high, assuming Bo’s price/term is more reasonable (6 or 7 years). I don’t think Bo will age well either but at least if he can handle 2B for a few years he should still be reasonably good value. If Tucker is going to end up short term, high AAV, then the Jays should be in on that, though.

Big market/payroll teams are not spending much this winter aside from the Jays who jumped the market on Cease. Not sure if this is strategic with the CBA ending next December and the owners wanting a salary cap, or whether the players are simply asking for more than they are worth. Maybe a little of both. Imai not getting much interest (allegedly) is surprising.

The only "Jays are linked to" rumor that I will ever believe is if it involves IKF. Everyone else is not noteworthy at all because 1) the Jays are linked to everyone, and 2) their moves usually come out of no where most of the time.

I think a 120-ish wRC+ (give or take) for Springer in 2026 is pretty reasonable, and wouldn't be a bad outcome for the Jays. There's no way he's coming close to 166 again. If Santander has a bounce back season then that should help mitigate some of Springer's decline.

Yeah if the Pirates get a league average offense then they should at least be competitive. Last season they had a team wRC+ of 82 and team ISO of .119. They were collectively IKF with a little more power as an offense. At least with Cruz, Reynolds, Lowe, O'Hearn, and Horwitz, there's some decent options there. They'll need platoon mates for Cruz and Horwitz, and they still need to add a 3B. Not sure they'll be a playoff team (although that bar isn't high as witnessed by the Reds making it last year) but that should be a much more competitive team than previous seasons. With 4 more years of Skenes under team control, they had to start taking this seriously.

Since 2022, Santander has a 129 wRC+ when he plays the field (133 prior to 2025) and 80 wRC+ as a DH (89 prior to 2025). This dude does not like to DH apparently. If Springer is still good in 2026 then might as well try to bring him back if performance/vibes are still strong. Sticking Tony at DH in 2027 might not be the best plan.

I think Tucker's market is so limited that a short term deal with the Dodgers is probably realistic for him. Holding out for more when there's only like 1-2 realistic suitors seems destined to fail. My guess is Tucker either signs a long term deal with the Jays or a short term high AAV deal with the Dodgers. No in between. I really don't see another realistic option for him with big market teams moving on to other things or sitting on their hands (Yankees).

That's my thought as well. Boras using the Jays to pump interest in his client, and the Jays using Bregman to force whoever they really want (Tucker) to hurry the F up.

We need to hope for the owners and players to do what they did 5 years ago and just agree to an altered version of the existing CBA. Rogers and the Jays (if management is good) could be a monster in this system with a consistent top 2-3 payroll every year. I really don't think a salary cap is happening regardless, nor do I think either side will be willing to lose games over it, but either way, this system works very well for the Jays + their front office.