shortstop

I would do that in a heartbeat & stick him in the #2 slot (#1 when Reyes hurt/day off) & stick him in left. An OF of Aoki, Pompey & JB with Gose, Pillar & say Mayberry available. Also sign Martin, trade Navarro & AA is left with shoring up 2nd somehow.

Happ or Estrada for Kendrick would save the Halos some $$$

I see Melk getting at least a 3 year deal & he likely prefers 4/5 though 4 is likely the max he'd get. With the DH spot open, Melk getting some time at DH will improve LF defence. I think the problem for AA is he doesn't want to commit too much beyond 2015 b/c he doesn't know what this team will bring in year 3 of "the plan". If 2015 sucks, he wants flexibility but if 2015 goes well, fixed contracts aren't an issue in that he can justify it with a good 2015 season. Personally, 3 years $36M-$39M - I'd sign him up, even 4 years $44M-48M. He worked his tail off last off season & my sense is he will continue to come into camps in great shape. That top 4 of the lineup with the Melk is deadly. All that said, I still prefer Aoki as the #2 man in lineup and the LF - much better defense & a guy who can wear down pitchers & get on base. Jays don't have enough of these guys in the lineup. Since this team has so many glaring needs, use the $$'s saved elsewhere.

not to mention the ugh outfield offence of Pompey, Pillar, Gose and say Dirks/Mayberry.

hear ya Sammy. I think the thinking is unless AA can pull off a miracle to "round out" the team, he'll likely be able to only do so if he uses the $XM at his disposal and trades some salary away, with Buehrle the most obvious candidate since Reyes likely won't be touched by anyone (leaving aside the issue of getting a new lead off man & new shortstop).

an outfield of Bautista, Pompey, and interchanging Gose/Pillar is imo borderline nuts for a full season. You'd get great defence but would be swearing at the TV more often than not when 2 out of that 4 came up to bat, maybe even 3 of 4. Bautista, Pompey and legit OF and using either Gose/Pillar as the 4th OF is the way to go - with Gose/Pillar ready to step in in case Pompey goes sideways.

with those categories, I'd reframe, based on how I think AA is viewing it, as: a) OF 2B c) bullpen d) bench e) C I don't think AA views catching an issue at all - it was good enough in 2014 and he's expecting a repeat, all for about $7M for that position.

I would put, on the level of priority, with much sadness if only one of these needs is filled: a) OF - gotta have at least 2 legitimate everyday guys out there 2B - ugh, cringe at the though of replacement level for the 3rd straight year c) bullpen I'm gonna repeat myself in the event this gets back to AA - trade Buehlre for a solid major league 2B, sign Aoki, sign Russell & get rid of Navarro.

Aoki! Miracle if the jays could get both Aoki & Russell. Jays should trade high $$ pitcher ie Buehrle, grab a 2nd baseman in the trade, eat some salary, and sign Aoki & Martin. But that's a pipe dream.

not sure what Martin will command but my goodness, if you have a chance to sign him, sign him. Trade Navarro and his what, $5M contract & live with Thole as your backup. Martin knows how to win & the jays need more of these guys.

Trading Lind needed to be done...and reality is Estrada was what the market offered. That's not a knock on AA but just the way it is. Give me Estrada & say the $2.5m savings on say another reliever, I'd rather have that then Lind. But will say the move makes much more sense once AA is able to fill out the lineup...

good to see AA consistent with his shift towards healthier players but question is - if he performs as he did in 2013 for $1.5M, this is a good move no? ok on the offensive side, solid defender... outfield of Dirk in left, Bautista in right & platoon of Gose/Pillar/Pompey and I'd take the savings on the Melk Man and use it elsewhere...

that seems to be where AA is going this off-season...may be a trade or two plus $$'s re-allocated for bigger needs. I for one am hoping Lind is traded, for better or worse, only b/c I believe the jays need to move on from Lind/Janssen.

what King said. ugh, that lineup without Melky is especially brutal.

it may be Seitzer had a # from the Braves, went to the Jays & said match it/exceed it & Jays said no... my sense is he's getting a pretty good raise from what he was paid this year... my sense also is that Seitzer sees himself sticking with the Braves for 2+ years whereas I personally sense (without any supporting evidence whatsoever) this speaks volumes as to how much longer he thinks Gibby has...

No manager could've had a chance imo with the injuries to the jays in 2013 and the rays in 2014. But does a manager make more of a difference than another? One could take the argument many ways which have been beaten over by many, but I will say this - imo, keeping things constant and all that you changed in 2014 was Maddon, Showalter, Matheny, etc. over Gibby - and this isn't a knock on Gibby but to what I consider the excellence of the others - I'd definitely rather have one of those guys instead of Gibby. Not to say the team would have won more in 2014 for sure b/c who knows (but generally, M/S/M would imo get more wins than Gibby keeping everything else constant), but imo, managers do make a difference on many things inside and outside the actual game including the culture and how the team plays ball. To take it one step further, I'm not sure what Gibby's philosophy is (other than let them be free and play) with this group and perhaps that's a function of the players put on the field by AA. But you take M/S/M and insert them as manager before the beginning of the 2013 season, the culture of this team would imo be drastically different - and for the better in my opinion.

I personally don't care how you measure it, but from an mlb organizations perspective, this is not success: From wiki: Longest current postseason drought 28† Kansas City Royals 1985 World Series 20 Toronto Blue Jays 1993 World Series 12 Seattle Mariners 2001 ALCS 10 Miami Marlins 2003 World Series 8 Houston Astros 2005 World Series 7 San Diego Padres 2006 NLDS 7 New York Mets 2006 NLCS 5 Chicago White Sox 2008 ALDS 5 Chicago Cubs 2008 NLDS 4 Colorado Rockies 2009 NLDS 4† Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 2009 ALCS 3 Minnesota Twins 2010 ALDS 2 Arizona Diamondbacks 2011 NLDS 2 Philadelphia Phillies 2011 NLDS 2 Milwaukee Brewers 2011 NLCS 1 Texas Rangers 2012 AL Wild Card 1† Baltimore Orioles 2012 ALDS 1† Washington Nationals 2012 NLDS 1 New York Yankees 2012 ALCS 1† San Francisco Giants 2012 World Series 0 Cincinnati Reds 2013 NL Wild Card 0 Cleveland Indians 2013 AL Wild Card 0 Atlanta Braves 2013 NLDS 0† Oakland Athletics 2013 ALDS 0† Pittsburgh Pirates 2013 NLDS 0 Tampa Bay Rays 2013 ALDS 0† Detroit Tigers 2013 ALCS 0† Los Angeles Dodgers 2013 NLCS 0† St. Louis Cardinals 2013 World Series 0 Boston Red Sox 2013 World Series

the Rays fell off a cliff early on when almost their entire starting rotation was injured.

what happened to Aoki in the discussion? my sense is the Melk Man is gonna get paid & it'll be too many years & too rich for the jays

Maddon's gonna get his deserved pay day. Won't be in Toronto with Gibby around & unlikely Jays would throw $'s at a manager right now even if Gibby wasn't

well, you offer him something since you gotta atleast try from a public perception standpoint...knowing full well Melky will test the waters to get the best package/team...and it works both ways since Melky's gotta show he's trying & amenable to coming back even if he really isn't...

Reyes ain't moving off short. He's Jose Reyes aka the man. Or in his mind atleast.

I have no issue with trading Bautista if the plan is to start afresh. but imo, the winds just aren't blowing that way yet - I think we'll get 1 more season of JB for one final kick at the can with this group - old faces + some new fresh faces as Gibby put it in a recent I/v. Since it's likely MC ain't coming back, I like the thought of a decent contact hitter/tough out at the #2 spot who could take over at the top of the order in the event Reyes is down. Perhaps the $$ savings could be used on a legitimate 2B with some avg & pop or the catcher position & spending $$'s on Russell Martin who imo would do wonders for the staff & confidence for this team. Reyes Aoki Bautista X - Lind/new DH/revolving door Edwin Martin Lawrie 2B - depending on who this is, could be moved up in the order 3rd OF too many right handed bats in that lineup perhaps. but possible to do more with this lineup with MC, Rasmus, Lind, (and maybe even Navarro) gone and guys like Aoki, Martin, a legit major league 2B with avg/pop, and a Lind replacement that doesn't milk up the DH spot & can actually play some other positions.

Gardenhire over Gibby, sure, but ain't gonna happen. The optics would look horrible.

Happ IMO has figured out how to be successful in the league - 4-5 starter but whatever. Question is if he has an ok to decent 2015, what will he cost on the open market? What can u get for him now vs at the trade deadline? Based on the presser today, AA is following the expected script - some changes, some $$ to spend & go for it again next year IMO.