BigRed

Yeah, I forgot Estrada, whoops! So with this move they have a guaranteed rotation of Stroman, Estrada, Dickey, Chavez and Hutch, with Sanchez in the wing as a possible swingman or competition for Hutch for that last spot in spring training. At least now they have 6 guys who have MLB experience as a starter. I think this was about protecting themselves against the worst case scenario, and that is that they don't land anybody in free agency. If they are unable to sign anybody and if they don't make this trade they only really have 5 starters, so if somebody goes down they could be in trouble.

Thanks. I don't think you get much for Sanchez though, especially in a pure baseball trade. Prospects/futures sure, but nothing proven that's MLB ready. He's young and coming off an injury, moved from starter to BP... I think you'd have a tough time selling him to other teams for something that's going to provide immediate help to a contending team. He still also has a lot of upside, either in the BP or as a starter, so I think it's smart to keep him. They also may need to flip him back to a starter if they don't land anybody in the FA market. Right now they only have 4 starters (Stroman, Dickey, Chavez, Hutch). No more moves and Sanchez is back to the rotation by default, and Hutch is also a big question mark at this point. Liam was likely never going to be a starter, better to trade him for a guy who's proven himself as a back end rotation guy I think, considering the Jays needs.

I agree 100%. I would be all for having Navarro back, as long as it doesn't mean we cant, for example, make another move for SP. If the money is an issue then they may need to get creative with the position. He's probably one of the better if not top backup catchers in the league, and would be an average (or maybe below average) starter. If he can get a contract from a team wanting him as a starter then maybe we can't keep him. It would be a huge depth signing, because I want to puke at the thought of Thole being the starter if Martin gets hurt. Also, if the Jays are willing to pay him 4-6M a year as a backup and that's what teams are offering him as a starter, why not stay with a contender and limit your playing time, reducing the risk of injury and prolonging your career? At this point in his career I don't think he's inline for a big, multi-year contract, so taking 1-2 years for 10-12M is probably all he will see. The only real downside to resigning him (if possible) is that Martin catches Dickey for another year, and the money it would cost to keep him. However, I think I would prefer those downsides to the possibility of Thole catching if Martin gets hurt, or even just having Thole in the lineup every 5 games.

The only thing I don't like about the trade is the 1yr vs. 4yr control, but honestly, I'm confident the Jays can find a decent reliever to slot into Liam's role over the next year (maybe even by opening day), weather thru development, trade, free agency, rule 5, whatever. Relievers come and go probably more than any other players, and because Hendriks was often found in low leverage situations the impact of losing him will probably be somewhat minimized. It seemed no matter how well he did (or does in the future), Gibbons was never going to have him above Osuna / Cecil / Sanchez and even possibly Lowe / Hawkins type guys. Stats wise he was their top reliever in most regards, but he was probably #4 on Gibby's depth chart. If you're not going to use him, you might as well trade him for something the manager will need to use. I really liked Liam and hated that Gibbons never relied on him, so I hope he gets a chance in Oakland, even though they are terrible.

Name's Ian. I live in London, Ont. I stay.

Are people actually still preferring Hutch over Chavez at this point? Hutch basically played his way off the team by the end of the year. I wouldn't hold your breath for him to figure it out. Maybe he finally breaks out, maybe he doesn't. If anything this is hopefully a bit of a motivator for him since he could very well be competing for a spot in the rotation if the Jays make more moves. 4.7M is not bad for a #5 guy. Happ was making 6.7M. Reliable #4/5 can be tough to come by. Teams often fall into using a swingman, rushing AAA pitchers, etc in order to finish out their rotation. Considering Chavez will probably pitch 150+ innings, and Hendriks pitched 65, it makes sense to me. I'd rather the hole be in the bullpen than the rotation. The Jays also only have 3 reliable starters (Stroman, Dickey, Estrada) and one question mark (Hutch). They don't have much depth in AAA. If somebody goes down they are really exposed. Maybe they don't land one of the big name starters, but 1-2 more moves even like this would be nice. Also, Hendriks was so terribly misused in low leverage situations, I doubt you'll notice he's gone once the season starts. They can find somebody else for mop-up when the outcome of the game is likely 99% decided one way or the other, or 6th/7th inning duties.