Jonn

I think this move log jams Santander at-bats even more. And I don't think the Jays are done. They will have to make a move. Not saying it will be Santander but it could be Santander.

Yes Playoff Vlad was elite. Now can he do it over a full Season that could be fun.

Oops lol. He's locked in my brain.

It's not ideal but I would imagine they will try balance it out because they like giving Vlad DH at-bats. So he can play 1B when Vlad DH's. Which would mean Springer would either be rested or go into the OF which him playing 40-60 games in the OF shouldn't be out of the question and its only for one more year where DH would open up more to be revolving position. To get him into the Lineup everyday it would make sense if he plays LF. Unless they are going to use Springer there and DH Okamoto more. It will be interesting to see how they decide to do it.

Yes very much this. Someone needs to lock him in a room with Vlad and interpreter to unlock his secret sauce of never hitting ground balls.

1B but Vlad plays there. He can play LF which is where the bulk of his playing time probably will be despite playing most of his career at 3B. He's not a very good Third Basemen and he would unlikely play the position ever over Clement or Barger.

No. Okamoto won't even likely play the Infield.

Have to assume it was a bargain that the Jays couldn't pass up. And no this doesn't eliminate them from adding Tucker or Bo.

Tucker isn't going back to the Cubs but I can see all those other scenarios playing out. Most likely scenario for Tucker is he either gets his desired long term contract from a team like the Blue Jays or he signs a short term contract with a massive AAV and opt outs with the Dodgers.

You're right Steamer wasn't very bullish on him. I think he can put up Dylan Cease 2025 numbers in his rookie year. Ultimately projections aren't everything but considering how one dimensional Santander is I don't think his projection is unfair. I think most people here would be thrilled if he hit 26-30 Homeruns.

Even if they introduced a hard cap they would need to give team a realistic time frame to get under it without gutting their rosters. It's just not realistic. Nor will players be happy if resources for larger deals will be halted due to richer owners being restricted on spending. There is multiple ways they could go about introducing a floor that isn't like it is in a league like the NHL. The MLB already has both revenue sharing and competitive balance draft picks but both those systems are not effective enough to have any impact. The easiest thing they can do is set a floor in spending in which you can qualify for both of those things. Competitive balance shouldn't be just about penalizing the rich teams it should also penalize poor teams owners for not fielding competitive teams. So you set a floor to access those benefits. Increase the value they get from revenue sharing and draft pick compensation for meeting the new competitive criteria.

I would love to think he can out perform that but it really all comes down to his power because he doesn't bring anything else to the table. If gets off to a slow start again or struggles with injuries it will be hard to justify playing him over the guys who got it done last year in his absence. And if for example they sign Tucker and Okamoto I don't even know where he is going to play. That's a RF and 1B/LF. I doubt they want to play Okamoto at Third and if they do that moves Barger into the OF because he's going to play every day. So the Jays will have some decisions to make. I don't think having Santander will prevent them from making those moves.

I mean hes projected for 1 WAR by Steamer. Almost every single one of our players that can play the positions he plays is projected higher outside of Myles Straw. And they haven't even added any hitters this off-season.

I would super stoked to not see Santander in a Blue Jays uniform regardless of the scenario so sign me up for whatever gives us that result. I don't look at it as selling low. It's getting out before he wastes 300 at-bats and realize other options are better.

Those guys also have a long history of health and track record despite being DH's. The other big name hitters Bellinger, Tucker, Bo, and Bregman have seen a lot of fluctuation and or injury concerns. I think they all get paid well AAV but aren't going to get the term they want and that's why they haven't signed yet. I think the biggest loser this off-season will be Bregman. He might sign for less than he opted out of which means he could go into Spring without a deal.

They can't do a hard cap. The players will never accept it. They can absolutely do a floor because that's something both sides can get behind. Small market teams won't like it but the players and a lot of the owners will. Floor at minimum should be the goal. You can't have teams like the Pirates operating the way they do anymore.

Outside of Cease who is the second starter the Jays added who is better than Imai? Or are you considering Bieber being retained as an addition? You can't be taking about Ponce who is intriguing... but is not considered by anyone in the industry to better. And even with Imai getting much less than expected. Still got paid double what Ponce did. So I'm confused.

You know his contract is extremely well structured to maintain his flexibility right? The market is about to humble a lot of players and he still an unproven commodity from Japan which has been a boom or bust market for the most part. He comes over this Season and can have a monster year. Which if healthy I expect him strike out 200+ batters and go right back out on the free agent market and get a much bigger deal. MLB's hesitation to give bigger guaranteed deals doesn't mean that both Murakami and or Imai can't become great players in this league. It just means teams are trying to spend with more assurance of what they are getting with both a labor dispute on the table and potential major changes to the salary structure in MLB. I don't think we will see a Salary Cap. But a Salary Floor, a more detailed luxury tax, and revenue sharing system are all on the table. I feel like that contract is both great for Imai and the Astros. Imai gets a pretty strong starting salary comparable or slightly above what he would have got in Japan while maintaining all his flexibility. Astros got what could be the prize or one of the prizes on the free agent market without locking themselves for the years it usually takes to sign a premium arm. Me thinking he will be great is my opinion. I couldn't give a single f*** if you agree or disagree with that. Only time will tell.

f*** I wish I was still in on Canada I want in on this.

Well atleast he's not going to the Yankees which was my biggest fear. But Houston just added an absolute Superstar on the mound. I do think the Jays will regret not being more aggressive in his market. He will strike out everybody.

Merry Christmas everybody!

Bo signing with the Dodgers would be a terrible PR move. It would make him look weak. But if they offer a big short term deal because he can’t get his big deal it’s possible.

Red Sox seem to have no clear direction. They just make moves when it sounds good to them.

I don’t think Bo should get more than Adames considering Adames is a legit SS. And Bo will be playing Second Baseman.

Probably comparable value with more guaranteed years.