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I don't recall reading anything that suggests Roden can't handle a corner outfield spot. believe it was stated that he possesses fringy speed but has a strong arm at least. MLB Pipeline slapped a 50 rating on the glove and arm so hopefully he's at least playable out there. Perhaps Spanky can share the BA scouting report for a different point of view.

That's a good possibility as he would have had a football field worth of territory to cover.

I'd like to see the team try Springer in left field to see how he can adjust. I believe that would likely be a more effective solution to keep Santander in right field in the short term with Springer in left field as Santander produced awful numbers in left field when he's played there.

Ah I was looking at it from a Blue Jays perspective instead of considering the opposing view.

Soto or nothing? I think Santander was likely the second best outfield option on the market, although you could make a case for Teoscar or Profar depending on whether he's able to recreate his 2024 success.

Yeah it obviously sucks to have a team starved for power sign one of the better power options in free agency.

Are you capable of making a single post without a massive exaggeration thrown in for good measure? I get the feeling I'm on this ignoramus'es ignore list but that just leaves me free to take pot shots as wanted at his expense with no chance to retort so it feels like a guaranteed win each time.

How is that even possible? Do you have some sort of available context to explain this statement?

Santander was right there with Teoscar as a plan B type of target in free agency with Soto being the plan A guy. This is a very good addition to a team desperately in need of power in the middle of the lineup.

I think the biggest risk with Kim is how the shoulder bounces back from offseason surgery. If his arm strength is greatly affected he may be forced to move to second base which would stand to reduce his defensive value quite a bit.

Projections have Kim at about a single win above Clement. Both of the projections see these guys losing the bulk of their defensive value though and a lot of the overall difference is based on overall playing time.

Kim hit 9 home runs on the road vs 8 at home in 2023 so Petco wasn't really a factor. Petco was actually the second most favorable park for him by expected home runs as well so he really wasn't hurt by playing there.

I'm not remotely buying that Vlad was 50 pounds lighter in 2019 let alone 100 pounds lighter when he debuted. Vlad posted the highest ever average sprint speed of his career last season so I think he was in peak physical condition (as far as he is concerned at this point of his career). I think it's eminently possible he could post Rafael Devers seasons level of bad defense at third base, but I don't know if the team will ever be willing to give him enough innings to find out one way or the other.

I don't see any conceivable way Vlad would be 2007 Ryan Braun level of bad at third base, at least in the short term. Even as a raw rookie in 2019 he still managed a -3 DRS mark. In his small sample of innings last season he was an even 0 by DRS and a plus 1 defender by OAA. I think the club made a mistake in not deploying him with more frequency at third base last season in a lost season as that was a perfect opportunity to get a better read on the level of defense he could provide in a larger sample.

Who cares about the team's win loss record when evaluating a single player's performance? Vlad was fantastic last season and was the primary reason that the club was actually just a tad below average offensively last season despite most of the key bats floundering. The team would have been far worse without him as he provided a 5.5 win season.

Seems that way which I think limits the appeal quite a bit.

Cito came out ahead years ago after being relentlessly slagged by Wilner years ago, but Wilner was basically a Blue Jays employee at the time so it's not a true apples to apples comparison.

I'd be thrilled with Polar Pete on a deal with an opt out after 3 years similar to Santander.

I don't think Ernie Clement is capable of multiple 3.5+ win seasons personally.

That would be infinitely preferable to another mid 70's win season.

Teoscar didn't play all of 2024 in left field, he provided 436 innings in right field as well. Go look at Santanders numbers in left field and compare to Teoscar. Santander has produced a combined -8 DRS/-6 OAA in the last three seasons combined in only 336 innings. Over an entire season of play that would amount to something like -20 DRS/-18 OAA. His 2023 numbers where he played quite a bit of left field are actually far worse on a rate basis than what Teoscar provided last season in left field. Teoscar 2024 LF -8 DRS/-9 OAA 871 IP (-9 DRS/1000 IP, - 10 OAA/1000 IP) Santander 2023 LF -8 DRS/-5 OAA 299 IP (-26 DRS/1000 IP, -16 OAA/1000 IP) Santander doesn't exactly come out smelling like roses in this comparison. This gets back to my main point that these guys are basically equivalent defenders in the outfield. They are both below average defenders as a whole. Each of them has typically been a tad below average most years in right field, and each has been absolutely awful in left field. I don't think either of them are likely comfortable in left field and as such their respective team's would largely be shooting themselves in the foot by deploying them in this fashion.

Yeah that would actually feel entirely reasonable given where contracts for elite hitters have gone in recent seasons.

I think Santander and Teoscar are approximately equal quality defenders. Teoscar makes boneheaded mistakes but he's not nearly as bad as he's made out to be. Go back over the last 4 seasons in right field and Teoscar is +1 DRS/-8 OAA, vs Santander who is -7 OAA/-4 DRS.

Vlad had a bad first 4 weeks to start the season. His first half still saw him produce a 135 wRC+, and from April 28-end of season he was MLB's second best hitter behind Aaron Judge with an MVP level 181 wRC+.