glory

Kiermaier might be washed.

Bichette has been trash this season so far.

My guess is Kirk is Bassitt's "personal catcher". Kirk caught 28 of his games last year. Of course, Kirk has also started 14 of the team's 16 games already, and he's been absolute ass at the plate, so starting Jansen with Bassitt this one time probably wouldn't have done any harm, but the Jays benching one of the few players on the team who pulls the ball and hits it in the air is something we should be getting used to by now.

Tonight's lineup is same old, same old (Springer-Vlad-Bo-Turner-Biggio-Kirk-Varsho-IKF-KK). It's bad enough they never start DS, now they make us wait for Jansen too.

Votto's dead cat bounce was 2021. I mean I'd rather have him in the Vogelbach role than Vogelbach, but expecting anything significant from Joey at this point is wishful thinking. I'm more curious what they do with Horowitz. It's not like this FO has been prioritizing power over the last couple of years, and his offensive skill set is basically the prototype for what the 2023-present Jays seem to value (contact, low strike outs). I feel like he'd be above Votto on the depth chart at this point, but who knows. Maybe he's trade bait, although with Vlad being a legitimate question mark when it comes to tender/non tender this winter, they might hold on to him for that reason.

Damn, Jimi looks lethal this season.

Varsho's wRC+ up to 90 now.

Davis Schneider continues to save the Jays.

Yeah I want no part of Bichette on a long term, $200-300m contract. His offensive profile with the low walk totals is not going to age well. I actually would have considered trading him prior to 2024 but I realize the Jays operate differently (optics, attendance, etc) so a quick pivot like that was likely never even a consideration. So if the team is still good, then keep him through 2025 and then let him walk as a FA. If the team looks middling by the deadline this season or by the end of the season, then look into trading him. Vlad is more difficult to read because he's legitimately a non tender candidate but his 2025 season prior to hitting free agency could be very tantalizing. Contract years can do that to players sometimes. Either way, he's looked closer to Miguel Sano than Miguel Cabrera, and I'm not banking on that. If he develops later into his career, it likely won't be with the Jays as if they couldn't get the most out of him now, I'm not sure what is going to change. I've said before, if Atkins was better at drafting, then moving on from this core would have been easy. Both Vlad and Bo are flawed enough to where moving on from one or both would be completely reasonable, and wouldn't prevent the team from contending. They kinda have to develop some talent though for that to become a reality.

RF Springer 1B Vlad SS Bichette DH Turner CA Jansen 2B Biggio LF Schneider 3B IKF/Clement CF Varsho/Kiermaier Doesn’t look that bad. Put Barger at 3B over IKF in that scenario and it would give the team legitimate power threats in the bottom of the order rather than slap dick singles hitters from 6 through 9. I don’t see the team doing this unless forced to, though. A poor start can change a lot of things though.

Strider had UCL surgery and is out for the year. Big blow to the Braves.

Yeah this is beginning to resemble 2023 from an entertainment standpoint and that’s not a good thing. I mean if they can win 90 games again in the most frustrating and boring way possible then I’ll take it, but man it’s just a bland ass team. Has the look and feel of a mid 2000’s JP Ricciardi squad.

Since the trade, Varsho has an 81 wRC+ and 2.0 WAR in 623 PA (167 G). Something is not right with him. It looks like he has options remaining so if it's possible to send him down then it's getting to the point where they should consider it. Fixing his bat is pretty important for the organization given he's controllable through 2026.

Honestly, if they were structuring the playing time around who makes the most, then I think that would be more reasonable than thinking IKF, KK, and Varsho (the Jays version) give them a better chance to win than DS. My only guess is that the Jays as an org aren't as high on DS as the projections are for whatever reason, which is fine, but if your alternatives are what they are, then you kinda have to give DS more burn. He's not being blocked by Semien and Teoscar. This is the 2024 Jays. There shouldn't be any barrier to playing time.

When DS starts, they are 5-0 with a +16 run differential. I mean, it's a ridiculous sample size and means nothing, but regardless, it doesn't take a brain surgeon to know that DS should be starting everyday. Unfortunately, the Jays are paying $10.5m to KK, $15m over two years for IKF, and traded Moreno for Varsho, so DS is going to have to ride the pine until the team gets desperate (or injuries happen).

Bottom 5 of Biggio, Kirk, Varsho, IKF, and KK again. Ugh.

Atkins from 2020-23 was a better GM than 2010-15 AA, but current AA is better than Atkins. If AA stayed in Toronto and didn't have that time in LA, then it's hard to say what type of GM he would have been from 2016 onwards as the Jays transitioned out of the small window that he created and into the next one. Atkins from 2017-19 was kinda ass as a GM if you look at the totality of his moves during that span, but something clicked in 2020 and he became a lot better. It's an interesting "what if" though. As far as what the Jays do over the next few years, it really depends on what type of internal development they get over the next two seasons (2024-25). Davis Schneider practically fell into their laps and they aren't playing him as much as they should so not sure what to think about how (or if) they'll be open to giving prominent roles to young players during a competitive window. If Barger is suddenly the 3B/RF, Orelvis at 2B, DS in LF/2B, Roden in LF/RF, and so on, then you could picture a scenario where the team can still be competitive if they use the saved money on expensive FAs again. That's what made them successful during the 2021-23 window. They'll have to recreate that but maybe with quantity over quality (meaning a bunch of 2-3 WAR young players rather than hoping for 5+ WAR performance out of Bo/Vlad and never getting it, at least from Vlad).

The good news is the team is still playing him at 3B in the minors, so if they haven't given up on him in that spot, then he could be a viable 3B option sometime during the season if the team finally realizes that giving 600 PA to IKF probably isn't the best idea. A LHB with pop at 3B would be nice. Just have to hope the defense there is at least average, though he can play 3B occasionally, some OF, etc.

Yeah, dump White and put Francis in the long relief role. He’s actually good enough to where if you need an arm in a leverage spot due to lack of other options (ex. 10th inning against the Mariners on Wednesday), then he might actually be a useable option there. Otherwise he can soak up 2-3 innings out of the pen when necessary. Mayza to the IL is going to be done at some point, his velo is down and he’s looked like s*** since ST. Better to do it now than wait for him to blow another game.

I doubt it. Boras just had a very flawed group of FAs at the same time that the regional sports network issues changed the financial landscape for many of the teams. That will change this coming winter with Soto, Bregman, Alonso, etc.

Looking at the minor league numbers so far, I think Barger is the most interesting name to me so far. Apparently has big exit velocity numbers and in 2023 made some sort of adjustment to reduce the strike outs and increase the contact. If he can combine the latter with some of the power he displayed in 2022, then he becomes an interesting guy, especially if he can cover 3B. Jays need a 3B and a LF so seems like it fits his profile as well, even though he seems to be playing more RF.

Agreed. I’m still holding out faint hope that they work out an extension but Jansen will always come with the caveat that he will miss a chunk of games every year. I think Kirk at this point is a backup at best so if not Jansen then they’ll need another catcher to emerge soon. Or improve the offense significantly elsewhere so that having a fat ground ball singles hitter playing 5 days a week isn’t hurting the team as much.

Ah, that’s what I get for reading/replying too fast.

If Horowitz could play a passable LF and they still decided to sign Kiermaier, then that makes that decision even more egregious. More likely Horowitz is a 1B/DH only which makes his path on this team a lot more difficult unless they trade Vlad between now and the start of 2025. I don’t think Horowitz is going to last as a 1B/DH with limited power. Maybe his other strengths are so good that it can compensate but that seems like a long shot. Wouldn’t mind him getting a shot though. Would have been fine if he could cover the OF. Maybe they should do it anyway and just deal with the bad defense. Varsho has been like a sub 80 wRC+ player since the trade and KK is closing in on his mid 30s so a decline there wouldn’t be shocking. They don’t even play Schneider everyday but Horowitz has the offensive skill set they seem to like so they’d probably be more patient with him.

Jansen starting instead of Kirk is going to be incredible (for however long it lasts).