Ray

Rays interested in Jose Bautista.

The part that stood out the most to me personally is when Atkins said: And then also: I wonder if we can use the new High Performance Department as a selling point. That seems to be where we have an edge over everyone else in the league. At the very least, it seems like they not only scouted Otani's talent, but also his needs. If we don't get him, it certainly won't be for lack of trying.

According to RosterResource, our start of 2018 payroll is gonna be about $149,103,571. This is assuming the arbitration estimates are correct and before any additions to the roster via trade and/or free agency. Link: https://www.rosterresource.com/mlb-toronto-blue-jays-info/ That Tulo contract is looking like an anchor.

Fair point. Stromans peripherals were almost exactly the same but no denying the results were different. Stroman had a 78.1% LOB this season compared to 68.6% LOB in 2016. Always a gamble with pitch to contact guys. I concede that Chatwood walks a lot of batters, but I still think there's good upside there. Maybe my initial 4-5 years was too high on him, but I'd give him the Happ deal for sure.

Decision time on a lot of prospects this offseason: Rowdy Tellez Danny Jansen Conner Greene Max Pentecost Reese McGuire Thomas Pannone Jordan Romano Angel Perdomo Francisco Rios Andrew Case Tim Lopes Jonathan Davis Conor Fisk Who would you keep? Who would you expose? Who would you use as trade bait? Not sure I see either Jansen or McGuire starting as the backup C, but I think both would be picked in the Rule 5 so you have to put them on there. And then there's Pentecost as well, although I'm not so sure he gets picked given his injuries and lack of development. I'd keep Pannone for SP depth. Romao is a tossup. Tellez and Greene are very interesting cases. Wonder if either or both are used as trade bait to net us some infield depth or a utility player.

Yeah, but Stros BB/9 this year was almost 3 and he had a better season this year than last when he posted a lower BB/9. Always a gamble with these groundball types because sometimes they get out of it with DP's and sometimes they don't. I agree Chatwoods BB/9 isn't that great. Walking 4 per game is a problem, but still for a bottom of the rotation guy, he'd be fine. 4 or 5 years is too long, but I think there's gonna be a big demand for him this offseason and was just saying that I'd be comfortable going that long given his age and also how cheap he'll be in terms of AAV. If we can give him the same deal Happ got, that would be fantastic, but I have a gut feeling he'll get more. 4/40 would realistically be the most I'd go.

A 4.19 FIP and 4.37 xFIP still implies that he'll give you a quality start on average. Not to mention FIP and xFIP are never terribly kind to pitch to contact and groundball guys. Marcus Stroman pitched to a near 4 FIP himself this season. Stroman also has a career BB/9 of nearly 3 and career K/9 of 7.3. Not that much better than Chatwood. Both of them have very similar batted ball profiles when it comes to soft%, med%, and hard%. Plus the Rockies have always had garbage framers and callers behind the plate. Having Russ behind the plate for Chatwood calling the game and framing his pitches may give him a little bit of a boost. Not every pitcher in the rotation has to be an ace. He'll probably be the 4th or 5th guy in the rotation and he's not gonna be getting ace money while probably giving you 2.0 WAR on average with 4.0 WAR upside. Not sure what else you expect from a bottom of the rotation guy.

I'm thinking he's probably gonna be a fairly hot commodity in the offseason considering the lack of qualifying offer and the potential upside with his groundball rate and splits. He fits very well on a lot of teams and it may take 4-5 years to get him. Ideally I'd give him the same deal that Happ got, but he's also younger than Happ so I'd be fine with giving him an extra year or two to nab him. $50-$60 million over 5 years is probably the max I'd go for him which would mean you're getting him for his age 28-32 seasons which are a pitchers prime years. At worst even if he's more like his Rockies tenure than his away splits, $10-$11 million per year for a guy who has a career 4.31 ERA isn't the worst thing in the world. That's about what you pay for to get a league average starter on the open market nowadays if not less. Ian Kennedy got $70 million over 5 years from KC a couple years back and I'd argue Chatwood is better and has higher upside than Kennedy. Unfortunately Sogard signed an extension with the Brewers not too long ago, but he would've been a real nice fit.

It's funny how all the players the FO preferred over Bautista for the OF before they signed him actually ended up having decent years. Bruce, Gardner, JD Martinez. I don't mind Bruce, but I'd rather get someone cheaper like a Dyson or a Jay if you're going with a lefty that can platoon with Pearce. Atleast they can play defense and in the case of Dyson steal some bases even if he isn't that young.

Tyler Chatwood would look really nice in our rotation. He's one of the pitchers who's truly been f***ed in Coors when you look at his Home vs. Away splits. No QO and shouldn't be terribly expensive either. I'd be very comfortable giving him 4-5 years. Only 27 years old.

[TABLE] [TR] [TD=class: chat_time, bgcolor: #CECECE]12:24[/TD] [TD=class: chat_desc]Oliver: I had the impression that Lourdes Gurriel was on a trajectory to be a fourth outfielder but he's shown power, albeit with no walks, in the AFL, and he's playing in the left side of the infield. Has he shown you enough to boost his stock this fall, either offensively or defensively? [/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] [TABLE] [TR] [TD=class: chat_time, bgcolor: #CECECE]12:24[/TD] [TD=class: chat_desc]Eric A Longenhagen: Still a 45 for me. Utility guy. [/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE]

Altuve/Kluber/Molitor in the AL Stanton/Scherzer/Lovullo in the NL

I thought the draft pick loss only happened if the value of the contract was over a certain amount? $50 or something million?

Tanaka is staying with the Yankees. Not opting out. Very surprising. He could've definitely done better than $67 million over 3 years on the market. Also of note, if the MLBTR arb estimates are correct, the Yankees and the Blue Jays both stand at roughly $143 million in guaranteed commitments for next season before any free agent signings.

I wonder what it would take to get Josh Harrison from the Pirates. He's exactly the type of player that we're looking for. Plays infield and outfield and has some speed. Not terribly old. He'll start marking $10 million starting next season and the Pirates FO are notoriously cheap. If we're not gonna put Conner Greene on the 40-man, I'd rather use him as trade bait to get someone like a Harrison. Profar also is a perfect fit. Nunez and Cozart are good as well. Lots of options for good depth this offseason.

Lots of interesting names who are exposed this year: Top 30 prospects: Rowdy Tellez Danny Jansen Conner Greene Max Pentecost Reese McGuire Thomas Pannone Conner Greene Jordan Romano Angel Perdomo Francisco Rios Other: Andrew Case Tim Lopes Jonathan Davis Conor Fisk Tellez, Jansen, Pannone, Greene, Pentecost, and McGuire almost assuredly will be added. Maybe Perdomo as well.

What an absolute waste of Brandon Morrow. 1 out?

Eric Sogard resigns with the Brewers on a 1-year deal. He could've been a nice cheap add to bolster our infield depth. Coming off a real nice year.

Oh god I really hope Dusty Baker somehow ends up on the Yankees. Can't wait to see him bat Chase Headley 1st and Aaron Judge 6th.

I just have a feeling that Kershaw is gonna get lit up against that Astros offense.

TJ Zeuch has been doing very well in the Fall League

Yankees are channeling their inner Royals in this game. Death by 1000 cuts.

Werth batting second...meanwhile you have a guy who batted .322 in Daniel Murphy batting 5th and MVP candidate Anthony Rendon batting 6th. That's absolutely criminal. Dusty deserved to lose that game.

I wish we could rebuild like the Yankees.

That’s probably the game. If Indians manage to win, it might be one of the greatest comebacks.