Brownie19

That would have been nice - but I don't think that's the reason to keep him. We got 3 prospects for him and can simply use the $11M we were going to pay him next year to sign someone else in the offseason. Dasan Hill might be the best prospect we acquired at the deadline.

Indeed, but I suspect he opted to join a playoff team...

I have to think we'll use the money Hoffman was owed next year to bolster the bullpen. We could really use a stud lefty who can get lefties and righties out. Until then, we'll get a look at some other guys to see if we have anything. As Olerud correctly points out, this season is over unless there's some miracle that happens once every 15-20 times. I appreciate fans want to hold onto hope.

That was my understanding. But just based on what people have said here. I haven't looked into it.

Heart and soul type player. Career minor leaguer. Overcomes vertigo? Hard not to root for this guy at all.

Gutsy win boys. Love to see it.

Holy sh*t. What a wild finish! Unreal.

It's wild. It's an all hands on deck night. So far so good!

Have yourself a day Josh Smith!

Biggio made large changes to his approach. He came up as a no power, contact/OBP guy, but after his first year or 2, he made swing changes and started to sell out for more power. It worked in the minors and early in his MLB career. MLB deciding to phase out the juiced balls really hurt him, as he never had the raw power a lot of HRs became long flyouts. He wasn't able to overcome that unfortunately. Defense wasn't good enough to warrant anymore chances. Too bad. Liked him as a player. High baseball IQ player.

So this is what happens when you move Hoffman. Yikes. Exacerbated by Varland being unavailable.

Let's go! Excited to see what he can do.

Betts is following the path of Arenado. There are lots of examples of guys who's bat disappears as they approach their mid-30's. Evan Longoria was similar. Lots of middle infielder have as well. I have to think the move to SS at age 32 has been difficult on Betts. I mean kudos to him for being able to do it - it's a remarkable feat to move to SS at age 32, having never played it in your career. He deserves a ton of credit for doing it and helping the team. However, it might shave 10+ WAR off his career numbers. The guy is one of the very best baseball players of our era. Mad respect for him. He's going to Cooperstown one day.

What happened? My phone just says "Okamoto scores" - which is super weird to not provide any detail of how. Obviously something weird?

This type of rabbit hole is your dream conversation/debate Olerud. You must be loving this.

I've argued this for years and remain convinced that fans should stop listening to interviews - or at least start taking them all with a gain of salt. Gausman is required to give this type of interview. What did anyone expect him to say in his first public interview with this new team? Of course he's going to say something nice about his experience so far and give some heart warming story about how his family is adjusting. That's PR Training 101. Obviously he's not going to say a bunch of negative things. He's also super unlikely to give some neutral answer that it's still too early to tell and while the teammates have welcomed him, he's still getting the vibe of the clubhouse and figuring out where he fits in on the team (which is probably the truth). Choosing to judge or rip him for the exact words he used an interview where he's trying to sugar coat everything off the cuff is dumb. Just because he says its different here and the guys are playing for each other, doesn't mean he didn't feel the same way about his time in Toronto. And I bet there is something different in the air in Chicago right now v. in Toronto. Chicago's buying and loading up to go on a playoff run, while the Jays have sh*t the bed all year. No sh*t there's more excitement in Chicago.

Jay Harry has gone from 5 HRs and a 0.089 ISO to 13 HRs and a .243 ISO this year too.

I'm pretty sure it's because they think they can help them change their profile and unlock new skills. I think they believe they can teach (and/or train?) increased bat speed and thus increased power. They think it's easier to take a better "hitter" (bat to ball skill guy) and teach him to hit for more power, than it is to take someone with big power and teach them to hit. Now that said - that "Should the Blue Jays Re-Evaluate Their Offensive Identity?" article that was just posted seems to suggest those bat speed increases we saw last year haven't carried over to 2026 (not sure where you find info on this). I find that quite odd and would be curious to know why. It certainly seemed that the teams offense greatly benefited by the increased bat speed as the season progressed last year - it made us an offensive juggernaut. Isn't that the logical explanation?

I'm sorry to hear that spats. Your reports from Dunedin were always valued and appreciated. I think it's safe to say we all looked forward to them. Be well and don't hesitate to let us know what you see in those Buffalo games!

I think we may be overcomplicating this. It seems obvious the Jays target guys with good bat to ball skills - and typically ones that have a good approach/eye at the plate. It certainly seems like they believe they can take that player and improve their bat speed and thus power, which can transform their value. There was an article late last year that showed stark improvements in bat speed by several Blue Jay players and they credited Popkins for helping these players increase their bat speed as the season progressed. The current version of Bateman does raise all the concerns sliderguy points out. There are all kinds of guys who have success in the minors backed by a passive approach, a good eye and finding holes with groundballs (v. relatively poor defense). It's true that approach rarely plays at the ML level, as pitchers just attack them, with little fear of being burnt due to lack of power (while backed by much better defenders). I fully expect the Jays know the floor for Bateman is some 85 wRC+ backup OFer/pinch runner. What they hope to do is help him increase bat speed and overall power, to the point pitchers have to respect it, allowing his eye and ability to take a walk to play at the ML level. Fingers crossed it happens. CFers are SO hard to find, that I certainly don't disagree with this approach. Finding a CFer who's already a complete hitter, with power and good defense is near impossible. Teams don't trade guys like that unless they're the Mets (PCA).

Remember that age is playing a factor with Bo's defense. If he played 3rd when he was 25, there's a possibility the defense might have been significantly better. If he played SS this year, there's a possibility he'd be much worse defensively than he's been at 3rd. Not that any of this matters. I don't know the exact numbers on this, but I'd render a guess that over 50% of high school shortstops eventually move to another position - it's probably higher than that to be honest. Claiming people think Parker won't reach the majors as a SS is a pretty safe bet. Even if he were some 5'11, 175 lbs kid - the chances of him sticking at SS are relatively low. The fact he's 6'2 200 lbs, who isn't know as a defensive wiz, simply increases the probability of moving off SS. Could he be an outlier? Sure - anyone could be an outlier. The Jays will leave him at SS as long as possible, given how valuable that position is - but nobody should expect to see Parker playing SS at the ML level.

That's great news. Good to hear from you spats. Hope all is well.

That's it - I hate Gausman 😁

Sorry - my bad. I hope Ozuna doesn't go on another DUI joy ride. Wasn't Ozuna suspended by MLB for the DV charge? But fair, I ought to know my sh*t better before I rip the guy.

I hope he isn't taking his frustrations out on his wife again. I suspect his career is over.