Ray

The Rays love on this board is blindingly strong. They're a great front office, but not invincible and very capable of losing trades: Padres acquire: Jake Cronenworth, Tommy Pham Rays acquire: Xavier Edwards, Hunter Renfroe (DFA), Esteban Quiroz

This would suck more if this front office didn't demonstrate the ability to draft guys like Williams in the first place, but by the time Kendall Williams probably makes his debut, the hope is that we'll have 2 or 3 more prospects of his ilk restocked in the farm. And hopefully Stripling reverts back to a solid mid-rotation option for the next two years.

Rumours were swirling that the Mets are more heavily involved in trying to get James McCann, in which case Realmuto may just fall into our laps since the Mets were one of his biggest suitors. The Phillies really don’t seem keen on spending money this offseason. The Jays could likely land him with a competitive offer. I would try to package Jansen for German Marquez. Rockies seen desperate on shedding payroll, moving Arenado is going to be incredibly difficult given his opt out clause, and the Rockies place a high value on catching.

Sign Realmuto Trade Jansen+ for Darvish or Carrasco?

David Dahl got non-tendered.

Wondering if they will end up non-tendering Travis Shaw.

Adam Duvall non-tendered by the Braves. Their OF depth beyond Acuna kind of tails off. I know they have Pache and Waters waiting in the wings, but it's a bit much to expect them to produce in a season where they'll likely have World Series aspirations.

Yes

Anthopoulos no doubt is talented at major league roster construction, has a very good understanding of the CBA, and is relentless at getting deals done. I don't think building a robust player development system was ever his strength though. We'll see how this next crop of Braves prospects that were drafted under his watch do. I believe he cleaned house of the scouts & player development system that built the Braves system after he got there. The core of this Braves team is still built on what the previous regime did. Alex has done a tremendous job filling the gaps with those 1 year major league deals no doubt, but his only acquisitions for the 2020 Braves were Ozuna, D'Arnaud, & Adam Duvall.

Where did he say this?

I’m slightly surprised Gausman turned down that much guaranteed money in this economic climate, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he puts up another good year in AT&T Park and gets paid a lot more. That would’ve been a pretty good signing with upside. Nice to know we’re being very aggressive.

If we can get him for Riley Adams and Kevin Smith instead, even better. Try to unload potential Rule 5 guys for him if possible.

Here's the thing, I really don't think Bryant would cost that much in prospect capital either. I don't think we'd have to give up any of our Top 5 prospects to land him. He's projected to make $21M in arbitration. With the Cubs aggressively trying to cut payroll, it makes sense to trade him now, and not a lot of contenders have the need for a 3B. I would be all in on Bryant though. He's been quietly forgotten since his MVP season even though he's been a great hitter. Obviously, I would prefer trading for Lindor and extending him, but in the event that can't get done, it makes complete sense to get a guy like Bryan. Fill the 3B gap for a year while Groshans/Martin develop. Bryant can also play the occasional corner OF if needed. What would he realistically cost? I legitimately think you could get it done with a package of Riley Adams, Miguel Hiraldo, and another flier. Adams apparently was impressive in the alternate site and should be a MLB ready catcher next season (also Rule 5 eligible), Hiraldo is a Top 10 advanced, young bat with upside, and maybe you can throw in another flier pitcher in there. Would do that in a heartbeat.

Tommy John for Mike Clevinger. His second one.

How much would Kris Bryant potentially cost? I like the idea of getting him as a stopgap at 3B for a year while Martin/Groshans develop, and his power should play really well in the AL East. Should be significantly cheaper than Lindor I would think.

Could you post the Jays Top 10 chat transcript?

By your own logic, we then would’ve given up a good haul of prospects to the Rockies for somebody who is overpaid relative to the current market, with the added risk (however small) that if he does have a career year, he’ll opt out after one season. My issue with Arenado is more that he’s coming off a pretty unspectacular season and his expected statistics according to Statcast have all regressed. He’s actually making more contact, but it’s not as hard and he isn’t barrelling balls as he used to. You can make an argument that this could be a reason to buy low on him, but the Rockies aren’t going to accept a deal anything short of what a peak Arenado would’ve fetched. There’s also good alternatives to Arenado on the trade front and in the free agent market, and I just don’t see the need to make that type of splash just yet. You can very easily revisit these conversation next offseason when there will be more certainty about his contract status and if he bounces back.

Ryu and Montoyo both finalists for Cy Young and Manager of the Year, respectively.

Full list of minor league free agents: https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/full-list-of-2020-2021-milb-free-agents/ Blue Jays have 18: Deiferson Barreto, Andy Burns, Patrick Cantwell, Ryan Dull, James Dykstra, Conor Fisk, Gabriel Guerrero, Mac James, Jesus Lopez, Mike Nittoli, Juan Nunez, Norberto Obeso, Willy Ortiz, Connor Overton, Tom Pannone, Luis Silva, Mitchell Walding, Forrest Wall I guess Pannone & Forrest Wall are the ones of note.

I’d be concerned if there was a clear lack of investment by Rogers in this team, but that just hasn’t been the case: - $40M towards an improved player development complex in Dunedin - Rogers Centre improvements - Top 10 payrolls in the 2015-2018 seasons. - Improved number of personnel in the front office and establishing a high performance department Probably some things that I’m missing, but all things considered, having a telecommunications giant as an owner that is relatively financially unaffected by the pandemic is not the worst situation to be in. I’d venture to argue that the narrative that Rogers doesn’t spend should be partially retired at this point. Sure, they SHOULD be #1 in spending every year considering they are the richest ownership group in baseball, but it’s not like they’re not at a respectable level. It also seems as if Shapiro has a much better relationship with Edward Rogers and Joe Natale than Paul Beeston ever had in terms of convincing them to increase investment in the team, but thats just speculation on my part. Beeston did convince Rogers to make some big splashes, but Shapiro seemingly has steered Rogers to put a ton of money in the backend player development infrastructure in recent years.

We'll see, but I still don't think Bauer, Realmuto, and Springer will get paid what they would've in any normal market. Bauer would've gotten at least ~$200M in last years market? Springer probably around $150M-$170M. We'll see what happens, but I don't see those numbers being touched.

This is shaping up to be an insane market already. Part of me is legitimately wondering if guys like Bauer and Springer will even clear $100M in total contract value. They probably will, but at the same time, I wouldn't be surprised if they don't or if it's barely over that. Good year to be a team like us, that has very little financial commitments and no big arbitration salaries, because I can imagine getting premium free agents for relative pennies on the dollar. If you can get Springer for 4/$100M or 5/$115M, you do that in a heartbeat. Just need Rogers to approve a respectable level of spending. We could load up on so many good players this offseason and really take advantage.

There’s no way this is true, right? $400M guaranteed to a player with just under a seasons worth of games?

Holy s***, Muncy with a grand slam. 11-0 Dodgers in the 1st lol