glory

If there is a team out there that is willing to take that contract and give up something useful, then I think the Jays would be smart to do it. Just reallocate the money to (ideally) a better starter in free agency, even if it costs a bit more AAV, as that's the one area where there seems to be some quality + quantity in the FA market. There's no chance this front office does something like that, but it would be worth pursuing.

Thankfully John Schneider wasn't managing the Marlins as Ohtani would have gotten IBB at least 3 times. Seriously though, Ohtani is special. Appreciate what you are watching. I don't think we see a player like this again in our lifetimes. There will be two way players I'm sure, but nothing close to this level.

Just shut Gausman down at this point. No sense letting him pitch again. Bloss hasn’t been good in AAA but might as well give him a start or two in Gausman’s place.

Would prefer the Tigers make it over the Twins. Looks like Twins own the tiebreaker so Tigers have to finish 1 game better. Should be a fun race down the stretch. Kinda sucks that the bar for WC3 is low this season and the Jays are so far out of it.

Jimenez is going be a .400 OBP player with HBPs alone.

I think this is the part that annoys me more than anything about this season's pen. Granted I'm not keeping track of who is hurt or not in the minors but the last 2 months of 2024 were the perfect time to use any relief prospect they could roll out there (Danner, Pardinho, whoever). Maybe they would have failed too, but who cares? You're running out s*** bags anyway.

I think what makes that worse is what the Jays had to do to build that pen coming into the season. A $23m commitment to Chad Green (2023-25), $16m for Garcia, trading a middle of the order bat for Swanson, trading Tellez for Richards, trading Frasso for White, etc. It's not like they built this from the scrap heap, they actually invested a decent amount into it and it completely imploded after the same pen was solid the year before. Given how difficult it has been for this regime to acquire/develop relievers, I really don't know what they can do for 2025 to turn things around, even factoring how volatile relievers can be year to year (meaning the same RPs who stink now may actually be good next season, and vice versa). Have to hope they get lucky with some trades and FA pickups.

What shape Bo is in by February 2025 will be more important than the shape he is now. I'm assuming he couldn't exercise as aggressively with the injury and it's a lost season anyway. If he's still fat by the time ST rolls around, then there's a problem. Money is a great motivator, so I can't see Bo not being super motivated and in great shape for 2025. Of course, what the Jays do with him between now and then is the question. I don't think he'll be traded, but it's not a 0% chance, and they have 2ish WAR internal replacements (Jimenez/Clement).

Clase probably would have made more sense as a callup since he's already on the 40 man and I think next season is his last option year, but he's been pretty bad since the trade. Roden was never going to get the call due to him not being on the 40 man roster.

Start him at 3B next season with Horwitz at 1B. Much easier/cheaper to find a DH than a 3B. If Vlad sucks there then so be it. He sucks at 1B too.

Springer isn't a 600 PA player anymore, and certainly not a top of the order hitter anymore, so it's going to be interesting to see whether the Jays accept that reality moving forward or whether they still spoon feed him plate appearances at the top of the lineup regardless of performance. If it's the latter, then as I said earlier I think we have to expect a ~1.5 WAR and hope for something better than that rather than go into the season expecting a 2+ WAR. Unfortunately for now he is probably the best hitting OF on the team depending on what you think Varsho's bat really is based on his expected numbers (putrid .265 xwOBA), so even if they have fallen in love with Loperfido, they definitely need to add a LF who can hit this winter. Thankfully Kiermaier is retiring so there's no chance of him being Atkins' plan C again.

He had a 1.8 WAR in 683 PA in 2023, and 1.4 WAR in 567 PA so far this season. Not sure I'd have him at 2-2.5 next season, unless he has an offensive resurgence. Since the start of last season, he has a 101 wRC+ in 1250 plate appearances. I wouldn't go into 2025 expecting much better than that, though if he's still the starting RF then hopefully he has a bounce back in him.

Yeah I think he's a league average bat at best at this point. Probably looking at a 1-1.5 WAR player next season, give or take, and that's assuming his bat doesn't decline any further. Are there any players on other teams with equally s***** contracts that Springer could be traded for? That might be the move to make at this point.

Yeah, Heyman is right, but unless he provided further context, it seemed like a random thing to Tweet. Was it the decision to keep Francis in the game when he was throwing 89 mph instead of pulling him earlier despite the no hitter? Was it the defense? The bullpen? All of it? I didn't watch the game so not sure if anything specific happened to cause Heyman to say that. I mean in general, saying the Jays suck is kinda common sense at this point. I think 2024 has exposed how bad the player development is. Previous years they could mask it with smart free agent decisions, but they failed miserably on that end this year (KK, Turner, Green extension, Vogelbach, etc), and now that they have an opportunity to play the young talent, you see just how far away most of them are from being impact players. Horwitz has the best shot at it but he's a platoon 1B so that's going to limit the amount of value he could provide. We talk about this FO's inability to develop pitching, but it's much greater on the RP side. Like how do you not have a single interesting pen option when cycling through the waiver wire and having the ability to call up practically anyone in the farm system who looks semi decent and not doing it? Francis developing the way he has is probably a semi miracle at this point.

Yimi Garcia put on the 60 day IL with elbow issues.

I recall one of the criticisms Yankees fans had with Green was he sucked in high leverage situations. I never looked at the numbers but I believe it.

The Jays might be an org that lets a starter throw 130 to get a no hitter.

Yeah this should be his last inning regardless of result. He looks gassed.

IKF in his prior 3 seasons had wRC+ of 84, 84, and 79 respectively. No power and expected numbers stunk. Keep in mind they signed him not to be a utility IF, but to start at 3B full time. The outcome was good in hindsight, so if you want to call it a win for Atkins then that's fair, but the original signing was pretty bad. Thankfully they traded him before he could revert back to the player he's always been.

2024: .250/.346/.295 (.641 OPS), 130 PA (AAA) 2024: .193/.266/.246 (.511 OPS), 64 PA (MLB) 2023: .258/.350/.342 (.691 OPS), 143 PA 2022: .223/.308/.372 (.681 OPS), 107 PA Unless he makes some adjustments, looks like he's a platoon bat.

IKF was not a solid signing. It turned out very well, getting a 2 WAR and above average offense from him in half a season and then trading him for an interesting prospect at the deadline, but an 80 wRC+ utility IF getting $15m guaranteed with the intention of starting him at 3B on a team that already lacked offense was simply not good. Though I will give them credit for selling at the absolute perfect time. Atkins hasn't done that often with big league talent in his tenure.

If the Jays are going to lose, then what we are seeing is probably the best case scenario. The starters for the most part have been good, and the offense has gotten considerably better post trade deadline. If the Jays are losing because a bunch of s***** relievers who won't be around much longer are blowing games, or because a backup catcher who will never touch a big league field again after the Jays release him is single handedly losing a close game, then no issues with me at all. If the Jays were losing because the young players looked like s*** and the starters were awful, then it would be a different discussion.

Yeah it depends on what's the most realistic way to add wins. Seems like 3B will be a lot harder to fill externally, and they don't have a realistic internal option that you'd be comfortable banking on in 2025. If I had to guess I think they'll stick with Vlad at 1B and Horwitz at DH. Third base will be filled externally somehow. Only serious FA option would be Bregman and I don't think the Jays, even in a desperate state, would want to pay that price. If they were serious about Vlad at 3B then I think they would have tried it more than they have so far since they have nothing to play for.

I wouldn't mind Vladdy at 3B. Good chance he's not good there but the alternatives internally are Barger who aside from a great arm seems like a butcher there, Clement and his 2% BB rate, or Orelvis who based on some scouting reports is a butcher everywhere. The best FA available is Bregman who is going to want a massive contract into his late 30's. Vlad wants to play 3B and his playing for a "best player in baseball" type of contract. He'll be super motivated. The 2025 season is a hail mary attempt anyway. Might as well be a little creative. I don't think Horwitz at 2B is something the team wants to try. Since Wagner was acquired they've put Horwitz there very seldomly. I think he's more likely to be the DH/1B next season who covers 2B if necessary. I just don't see how they fill 3B otherwise. Clement should be used as a bench player (he's basically IKF from a value standpoint). Maybe there's a trade candidate out there but I don't see an obvious one.

If I'm not mistaken, while Bo's 2025 salary is $16.5m, his CBT hit is only a little over $11m. The Jays want to win in 2025, Bo has a 4 WAR ceiling, and he's coming off a down year. Combine all those factors, and it does make more sense to hold on to him at this point, unless another team is willing to give up value for him, and I say that as someone who wants the Jays to move on from him. He will be motivated to have a big 2025. The issue is whether his health and/or skill set is what caused his down 2024 season, or whether it was just one of those bad years.