Hipfan

Never, ever, trade with Tampa. See Pirates (Archer), Twins (Garza), Astros (Zorbrist), Cubs (Archer), Mets (Kasmir), etc. There's no way we win a Snell trade.

2020/2021 is going to be a bit of a letdown for the Raps. Obviously they are trying to keep space for next summer, which is totally understandable, but going from Gasol/Ibaka to Baynes/Boucher is a huge drop in talent/productivity. Still have a decent core and will probably will bow out in the 2nd round next year, but it's a bit frustrating to waste this year in the hopes that we may land a superstar next year. If only Siakim could have actually made a shot in the bubble, things could have been so much different this year!

Siakim, Powell and a 1st rd pick for Harden.

Vladdy, Groshans, Manoah, Gurriel Jr., Moreno and Hiraldo for Lindor (assuming we sign an extension) and Ramirez. Who says no?

Perhaps, and to be clear, I'd love to have Bauer on the Jays. I just wonder if the FO see him as a fit personality wise. Dan Shulman raised some issues in an interview here: https://www.sportsnet.ca/mlb/video/shulman-thinks-blue-jays-real-long-shots-sign-bauer/

Well, tantrums on the field (chucking the ball into centre field), trolling on social media, stuff like that. I don't have any really issue with most of his behaviour, but from my perspective he seems like someone that may not fit into the front office's player mold. Although, as Grant77 pointed out, they did trade for him in Cleveland, so perhaps I'm way off base.

I'd go with Springer/Walker, as they would be cheaper and you wouldn't have the potential "character" issues that Bauer reportedly brings. Nothing against Bauer, and if ends up in Toronto I'd be super happy, but I know Jays management puts a high value on the clubhouse culture and I wonder how Bauer would fit in there. Seems like Stroman was dealt in part because of this (my own speculation), and Bauer seems to have a somewhat similar personality type to Stroman that the Jays seem to want to avoid.

I would love for the Jays to land Lindor, and then sign Springer and one of Walker or Odorizzi (maybe both?) to round out the rotation. Perhaps that's taking on a bit too much salary than they have budgeted (probably around $60 mil, plus a Lindor extension, if possible), but they would have a deep rotation, totally upgrade the defence and have a really tough lineup.

Yes, that's all true, but Delgado wasn't as highly rated as a prospect (although he was seen as a top prospect) as Vladdy. And yes, we don't want to cut bait, nor am I advocating trading him after such a small sample, just really frustrated with his inability to do anything but hit the ball on the ground. He seems to be reaching for a lot of pitches outside the zone as well, and he was supposed to have a great eye at the plate; again, Bo seems to have a better eye which is surprising. It just seems that all the things Vladdy was supposed to be good at, he is struggling with, and struggling pretty badly. I get excited watching Bo, Biggio, & Gurriel jr., because they make things happen. Every time Vlad comes up I'm expecting a ground out. Just seems bizarre... David Ortiz I think is an obvious comp for Vlad, due to his body size, ability to hit and lack of defence. The Twins cut him, and that was a huge blunder on their part. If Vlad can put it together and have a career that comes anywhere close to that, I think everyone would be happy.

Well I was being being facetious; obviously he has tonnes (pun intended!) of potential and I hope he figures things out, but it's incredibly frustrating to see him hit. All the forecasts said he would hit at the major league level no problem, and yet here we are. I know he is young, and there's time for him to develop, but watching guys like Bo, Soto and Acuna makes it harder to patient with Vlad.

Trade him before his value plummets, and build around Bo, Pearson, Biggio Martin and whatever you get for Vladdy!

Anyone else super tired of Vladdy grounding out every at bat? Bases loaded and he kills the rally with a DP. I thought this guy had an 80 hit tool! That was a pivotal moment in the game; he could have broke it open, but instead does what he always does. I don't care how hard he hits it if it's always a ground ball.

So the Jays are stockpiling all the kids of former players? Who's next?

Gerrit Cole?

Wonder how long it will take for that contract to be an albatross? I think Cole will be good for a long time, though, and you have to think the Yankees are WS favourites now. I really hate being in their division.

Using cameras to steal signs is explicitly illegal. If a player/coach on the field steals a sign, that's ok, but teams are not allowed to use technology to do so.

Really not a fan of Thornton. I remember reading somewhere recently that he said he is trying to pitch to contact more, but it wasn't because of Walker.

But why sign him for 5 years? The FA market does not value players like Grichuk. He is still controllable for 2 years after this one so why rush to sign him now? Doesn’t seem like a smart gamble. That’s my issue with the deal. It could easily become an overpay and there was no need to sign him now. Could have waited until next year at least to see if there was some improvement in his game, particularly his obp. The Jays are saying he is a building block/cornerstone type player with this deal but I don’t believe he has shown he is worth that kind of commitment yet.

What’s so funny? I’m no fan of Pillar but how is Grichuk so much better that everyone is praising this deal and also happy Pillar is gone? Enlighten me, because it can’t just be the hard hit rate.

Can't say I'm a fan of this deal; it seems like an overpay especially considering what the FA market has to offer for players of similar value. Not sure why they just didn't wait out his arb years. He's a decent player, but no better than Pillar (Grichuk highest bwar is 3.2, while Pilar has posted 4.9, 3.5 and 3.0 bwar), strikes out too much and can't take a walk. It's not a crippling deal but I hope Shatkins does more with the financial flexibility that they will have in the coming years. Deals like this don't inspire a lot of confidence, though.

He also signed Guerrero Jr., aka, "the best prospect ever"...so we have to give him credit there. He also did some interesting moves to acquire type B free agents, just to gain draft picks, which was a rather ingenious way to hoard draft picks, before MLB changed the rules. I think AA doesn't get enough credit around here, although trading Thor was terrible; even at the time of the trade I didn't like it. I think the jury needs to be out on Atkins. He hasn't had time to establish his legacy, although I do think he's on the right track. I really wish the Jays would pony up for Harper, though. This seems to be the perfect time to grab a FA like that (assuming he would come here, of course). It would be good for the Jays to use the financial muscle they have along with their drafting/scouting skills. Still, I'd give him at least 2 more years to see how the draft picks that he picked start turning out and how he trades/signs players who are not just considered filler, but core members of what he believes to be a contending team.

Jonah Kerri had an interested idea on Sportsnet about giving financial payouts to the first teams that promote their top prospects: https://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/fix-mlbs-service-time-dilemma/ It's an interesting read. I'd say cut the service times days in have, so in stead of 172 days in the league, make it something like 80. That way if a player is ready, you won't get that stupid "he needs 3 more weeks in AAA to refine his baserunning" garbage. If a player is going to help the team win, they will call him up immediately, rather than take the huge hit of not having him for half the season. Perhaps that's too simple?

Ya, because Gibbons is clearly the problem with the team this year.

Watching his starts is really painful when he isn't on (which is most of the time). Really hope they trade him because I'm so tired of watching him miss the plate by 2 feet every other pitch.

I really wouldn't use the Orioles as an example; they seem pretty inept at everything and if they tanked, they would probably be just as bad at rebuilding as they have been "competing". My point is that totally decimating your MLB roster for a chance at being good in 5 years weakens the league. There are ways to build your minor league system without destroying your MLB team. Look at the Twins; while they had some bad years, and no one thought they should even bother competing last year, they did and ended up in the playoffs. There is a balance to be struck, and I think all of these teams racing to the bottom will do more harm than good for the game overall.