The Iceman

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/

I think you need to readjust your expectations. Martin played 2 games at SS while at Vandy. He was not a College SS and for sure not a MLB SS. Bregman is a MLB All Star/Super Star SS

Rosenthal: Free agents George Springer and Michael Brantley are close friends. They are represented by the same agency, Excel Sports Management. Imagine if the Blue Jays signed both in the kind of package deal more common in the NBA than Major League Baseball. Springer and Brantley would not only elevate the Jays’ offense but also provide leadership for the team’s young position players, transforming the franchise. I know what you’re thinking – the Jays will need to win the bidding for one coveted free agent before they can consider grabbing two. They remain 0-for-the-offseason, excluding their re-signing of left-hander Robbie Ray to a one-year, $8 million contract. And their list of misses – including Francisco Lindor in trade, and Kevin Gausman, Tomoyuki Sugano, Liam Hendriks, DJ LeMahieu and Corey Kluber on the open market – is rather daunting. The process is perhaps more frustrating for Jays fans than team president Mark Shapiro and general manager Ross Atkins, who understand the nature of free agency and the challenge of luring players to Toronto. Shapiro and Atkins faced the same type of uphill battle, albeit with less money, when they were with Cleveland. But they also know something else – that the laws of supply and demand eventually should work to their advantage. Only 11 of Keith Law’s top 40 free agents have reached agreement. Of the Big Four (Springer, LeMahieu, J.T. Realmuto and Trevor Bauer) LeMahieu is the only one who is off the board, though Realmuto seems likely to rejoin the Phillies. Perhaps most important, at a time of financial uncertainty in the sport, few teams appear as willing as the Jays to spend big. The Mets, of course, are one of those teams, and they remain a possibility for Springer, who is a native of Connecticut. Some in the industry, however, are skeptical the Mets will want to pay Springer $25 million to $30 million a year when they are likely to sign Lindor to an extension with an even higher average annual value and also might want to extend outfielder Michael Conforto, who will play this season at 28 and is 3 1/2 years younger than Springer. Of course, Conforto is no sure thing to stay in New York, not when he is represented by Scott Boras, who generally prefers his clients to establish their values on the open market. But rather than sign Springer, the Mets could focus entirely on run prevention, opting for, say, Jackie Bradley Jr. in center and additional pitching. Such an approach would make it easier for them to remain under the $210 million luxury-tax threshold. According to Fangraphs, the Mets are within $27 million of the threshold, which many teams treat as a de facto salary cap. Springer alone might put them over, not that the Mets’ new owner, Steve Cohen, is necessarily worried about such things. Nor should he be, considering the thresholds likely will rise or disappear entirely in the next collective-bargaining agreement, which will start with the 2022 season. Still, Cohen suggested the Mets would not go over the threshold this winter, and team president Sandy Alderson called it “a significant demarcation” after the Lindor trade. If the Mets want to stay under, they will need to leave themselves a cushion, creating flexibility for in-season moves. One way would be to stretch Springer’s contract the way the Yankees stretched LeMahieu’s six-year, $90 million deal, making him a better fit for the luxury-tax payroll, which is calculated by AAV (Springer, 31, is only one year younger than LeMahieu, and likewise might prefer to focus more on the total guarantee). Another way would be to trade a salary or two. Reliever Jeurys Familia, who is in the last year of a contract that carries an $11 million salary and $10 million AAV, would be one possibility. Lefty Steven Matz, who will earn $5.2 million in his final season before free agency, would be another. A lot of work, no? Only if Cohen is spooked by the threshold; otherwise, he can just spend away. For the Blue Jays, the process would be cleaner, easier. Their current luxury-tax payroll is more than $100 million below the threshold. And they already have demonstrated their interest in Springer, making him a five-year offer for more than $100 million, according to sources who confirmed a report by SNY’s Jim Duquette. Springer, as written previously, is the best fit of any major free agent for the Jays, who want to upgrade in center field. Springer and Brantley? The combination likely would be difficult to pull off, but the Blue Jays have shown interest in both players. Shapiro and Atkins have a history with Brantley from their time together in Cleveland; Shapiro acquired him as the player to be named in the CC Sabathia trade with the Brewers in 2008. Brantley, who will play this season at 34, is probably more of a DH than an outfielder at this stage of his career. Adding him along with Springer would leave fewer at-bats for the Jays’ current outfielders, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Randal Grichuk and Teoscar Hernández, as well as others the team might want to use as a DH, such as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. But the Jays were willing to displace shortstop Bo Bichette and shuffle other infielders for Lindor. Perhaps they could trade one of their younger outfielders for a starting pitcher. When teams are in position to land top players, they worry about the rest later. Springer and Brantley bring postseason experience (yes, Springer was part of the Astros’ teams that stole signs illegally in 2017 and ’18; Brantley did not join the club until ’19). Both also know what it is like to be a part of clubs on the rise, and could share their experiences from Houston and Cleveland, respectively, with the Jays’ younger players. Another benefit: Springer and Brantley could ease the transition of joining a new team for each other, something that could prove particularly helpful to Springer, who has spent his entire career with the Astros and would face the pressure of performing as a $100 million player for the first time. The idea of the Jays signing both players, or even Springer alone, might be a reach. The Jays, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, still do not know where they will start season. They are hopeful to be in Toronto, but likely will open at their spring-training home in Dunedin, Fl., rather than return to Buffalo if government restrictions prohibit them from playing at Rogers Centre. Such a shift, though, might only last a few months, and should not be a deterrent to Springer, Brantley and other free agents seeking multi-year deals. Ray, whom the Jays acquired from the Diamondbacks last Aug. 31, grew so fond of the team’s culture in his one month with the club, he was willing to return for one year even without knowing which city the Jays initially would call home. For Shapiro and Atkins, the only choice is to keep swinging, knowing the pool of free agents is so large, they eventually will make contact. If they miss on Springer, they can pivot to Bauer, who would fill just as important a need, considering the questions in the Jays’ rotation. Like Brantley, Bauer was with Shapiro and Atkins in Cleveland. And his market remains unclear. Playing in a different country, the Jays rarely will be favorites in free agency. To land left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu last offseason, they had to add a fourth year and increase his guarantee to $80 million. A similar concession might be required to sign a Springer or Bauer, but if most teams remain unwilling to spend, the better free agents are going to run out of chairs. And even if the Jays strike out on their top targets, they will have plenty of other players to choose from.

Hopefully we were second...

That is NO WAY to talk about our big diesel (As he referred to himself after getting an early pull)

LOL...kidding. My weak attempt at humor. You can't be a runner up for your own extension, but if there was a way I am sure the way this off season has gone Shapiro would do it.

I heard he was initially runner up for his contract renewal...thus the delay

But the baseball offseason stretches between 2 years.

Tweet from Scotty Mitchell a couple months back. Scott Mitchell @ScottyMitchTSN · Clarity from Ross Atkins on handful of #BlueJays pitching roles heading into spring 2021. SP -RHP Thomas Hatch -RHP Julian Merryweather -LHP Anthony Kay -RHP Elvis Luciano RP -LHP Ryan Borucki -RHP Sean Reid-Foley -RHP Patrick Murphy -RHP Yennsy Diaz -RHP Hector Perez

Would anyone care to make an offseason roster thread 2021? Clarity from Ross Atkins on handful of #BlueJays pitching roles heading into spring 2021. SP -RHP Thomas Hatch -RHP Julian Merryweather -LHP Anthony Kay -RHP Elvis Luciano RP -LHP Ryan Borucki -RHP Sean Reid-Foley -RHP Patrick Murphy -RHP Yennsy Diaz -RHP Hector Perez

Jim Bowden lists each teams most under rated prospect Toronto Blue Jays Leonardo Jimenez, 2B/SS Age: 19 B: R T: R HT: 5-11 WT: 165 Scouting grades: HIT: 50 PWR: 40 RUN: 55 ARM: 55 FLD: 55 Jimenez slashed .294/.372/.371 in 2019 at both Lansing of the Midwest League and Bluefield of the Appalachian League with 13 doubles in 251 plate appearance. He has played second base and shortstop and plays them both above average, but he profiles as an everyday second baseman when fully developed. He’s fundamentally sound who does everything average or above outside of his power tool. His short, compact swing is consistent and repeatable, which will lead to very few slumps. He sprays the ball all over the field, owning the gaps with line drives. He has the instincts and intellect to overachieve.

HEY, i resemble that old remark. YES, and the MLB teams were charged with collusion in the 80s. Three years of collusion The result of Ueberroth inserting himself into the day-to-day business of each of the teams was a three-year run of collusion in MLB. This isn’t suspected collusion, either: this is “MLB owners were punished for their actions from three consecutive years” collusion. There were 35 free agent players during the offseason that followed the 1985 campaign. Of those 35, four had new teams in 1986, and those four players only had new homes because their old teams didn’t want them any longer. Kirk Gibson, who had batted .287/.364/.518 in 1985 (good for a 140 OPS+), did not receive a contract offer from any club besides the Tigers, the team he was with in ‘85, and he wasn’t the only top player in that situation. Even more curious is Gibson did have potential suitors in the Royals ... until the first ownership meetings of the offseason were held, and suddenly Gibson was down to one option again. While the owners did get in trouble for this when arbitrator Thomas T. Roberts ruled in favor of the players, that didn’t happen until late 1987. This means what was eventually known as “Collusion II” happened the season after Gibson and the other 34 free agents were colluded against. In the winter of 1986-87, once again, just four free agents switched teams. Stars like Andre Dawson returned to their previous teams, and in Dawson’s case, took a pay cut: this despite a strong 1986 campaign, too. Three-fourths of the offseason’s free agents signed one-year deals. The average major-league salary declined for the first time since free agency came to exist, dropping by 16 percent, and, as Helyar wrote in Lords of the Realm, MLB’s profits rose by 15 percent at the same time. The MLBPA filed “Collusion II” before “Collusion I” had even been heard, but these two formal complaints against ownership did not deter them nor Ueberroth. In fact, Roberts ruling against them simply caused them to switch up how they planned to collude: the winter of 1987-88 featured an information sharing plan, so every owner knew what the other teams were doing in free agency, and they could avoid severely outbidding the competition. Grievance number three, “Collusion III,” would come in response to this information sharing bank in January 1988. Collusion fallout, and Fay Vincent All three cases ruled in favor of the players. “New look” free agency was implemented for the players impacted by collusion, so they could choose to search for new teams without having to give up the contract they had already signed. This is how Gibson ended up on the Dodgers in 1988, just in time to create one of the most memorable moments in World Series history, despite the previous lack of offers from anyone besides the Tigers. Ueberroth was no longer in office by the time MLB and the MLBPA finally settled on what the combined penalties from three years of collusion would be. In the end, it was agreed that MLB owners had to pay the players $280 million, and the players were able to do with that money what they wanted. Fay Vincent, the new commissioner following the sudden death of Ueberroth’s successor, Bart Giamatti, wrote about this settlement in his book. “The single biggest reality you guys have to face up to is collusion. You stole $280 million from the players, and the players are unified to a man around that issue, because you got caught and many of you are still involved.” Marvin Miller, who fought for decades against the owners and for the players, in his own book A Whole Different Ball Game explained that these years of collusion were not just horrible for the players, but also hypocritical of ownership by likening collusion to the Black Sox scandal of 1919: “It was undeniably, an agreement not to field the best team possible — tantamount to fixing, not just games, but entire pennant races, including all post-season series. If players had been found guilty of making agreements not to compete, the commissioner would have banned them for life and justifiably.” The owners did not listen to Vincent, who seemed to be the only person in the room who understood why the players were upset about collusion, and instead staged a lockout before the 1990 season. This lockout began in February, and kept spring training from ever starting — it also ended with Vincent’s interference, which angered the owners to the point of attempting to remove him from office.

Springer to the Jays DJL Yankees Realmuto Phils Bauer No real guess and further on the Mets: New York is in the $190MM payroll vicinity at the moment, and it would like to open the season around $5MM to $10MM under the $210MM mark, Martino reports. The Mets have been tied throughout the offseason to Springer, arguably the top position player on the open market. The former Astro wants a deal in the $175MM range, but the Mets have been short of that at around five years and $150MM, according to Martino. The Blue Jays, who have also been in on Springer, are in the five-year, $115MM range, Martino relays.

You couldn’t draw a bigger contrast between new Mets GM Jared Porter and his predecessor Brodie Van Wagenen than the one shown in their first big trades on the job. Where Van Wagenen traded away the team’s best prospect for a broken-down ex-superstar with an albatross of a contract plus an unreliable closer, Porter traded less and got a bona fide superstar plus an above-average starter. The former trade made the Mets more famous, but Thursday’s trade for Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco makes them more dangerous, and on par with the best teams in the National League. The Mets haven’t had an above-average player at shortstop since José Reyes’ last good season there in 2011, but with the trade for Lindor, whose 2018 WAR of 7.8 is higher than any shortstop in Mets franchise history has ever posted, they now have an all-around superstar who’ll make their offense and defense better. Lindor’s 2018 was his best year, and since then he’s lost some of his discipline at the plate, chasing more breaking stuff at the edges of the zone and out of it, resulting in small hits to his walk and strikeout rates and OBPs well below his 2018 peak. There’s nothing in his batted-ball data to say he can’t hit as he did in 2018, and perhaps a new environment and better team will convince him to go back to his earlier, more patient approach. He averaged 34 homers a year from 2017-19, slugging over .500 in each season, which would put him in the top 3 or 4 in the Mets’ lineup, behind guys who play the corners. He’s also a better fielder than Amed Rosario, who was included in Thursday’s trade, and has more range than Andrés Giménez, who played at the peak of his ability in 2020 and will also go back to Cleveland. The Mets got about 3-4 wins better in this deal just from Lindor, and that could become 5+ if he returns to the approach that made him a nearly 8-win player in 2018. The Mets also get Carrasco, giving them one of the strongest rotations in the National League and an actual surplus of starters. Outside of his 2019 season, when he was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia and still came back after less than three months on the injured list, he’s been an above-average starter every year since 2014. He works with a four-pitch mix and a traditional approach, getting ahead with the four-seamer but getting swings-and-misses with his slider and changeup, the latter a plus pitch for him going all the way back to his time as a prospect in the Phillies system. He’s gotten a huge whiff rate on his high-spin curveball the last two years, but seems to use it less than his other weapons because he doesn’t land it as consistently for strikes. The addition of Carrasco, who slots in with Marcus Stroman behind Jacob deGrom, gives the Mets at least three viable starter options for the last two slots, four if Noah Syndergaard is ready to return this year from Tommy John surgery. Seth Lugo, David Peterson and Steven Matz have all shown at some point they could be capable major-league starters, although Lugo and Matz struggled with the long ball in 2020 and Peterson gave up too many walks for a finesse pitcher. Cleveland gets a return that will likely be pilloried by fans, but the truth is this is a reasonable return for the situation. Lindor has one year left until free agency and expressed no interest in staying with Cleveland. The economy is down due to the pandemic, and MLB owners are on street corners asking for alms for the poor, so there are few buyers for premium free agents and stars available in trade. There are also a lot of shortstops available in free agency (including Marcus Semien and Didi Gregorius) and fewer contenders looking for help there than there are in most winters. We can certainly criticize Cleveland’s ownership for being cheap, but there are also a lot of outside factors here that were beyond the team’s control and left them worse off in the end. They weren’t getting an elite prospect back for one year of Lindor this winter, and it does appear that, given that constraint, they prioritized moving more money instead. They did get four players in return, a couple of whom are talented enough they might make fans feel better about the trade in time. Amed Rosario was among the top prospects in baseball when the Mets first called him up, but he struggled to recognize breaking stuff in the majors and regressed badly on defense, to the point that the Mets talked about moving him to the outfield. He still has plus bat speed, can run, and has the hands and arm to handle shortstop, although he might be better off in center field or as a super-utility player who can handle just about any position other than catcher or first base. It’s going to come down to the bat, which showed signs of progress in 2019, especially against offspeed stuff, but all of that progress was lost in the shortened 2020 season and the Mets seemed inclined to move on. There’s still a lot of untapped potential here, and Rosario is young enough to make a big jump in the next year, but the odds are now tilting against him. Andrés Giménez is the opposite sort of prospect — high floor, low ceiling, reliable on defense, projecting to no impact. He can handle shortstop, with good instincts, and average speed out of the box with more once he’s underway. At the plate, he makes a lot of contact, but it’s very low quality, and there’s nothing in his swing or build to make anyone think he’ll be a high-impact hitter in the future. He could be a soft regular at short for a while, maybe a José Iglesias type of player who balances below-average offense with above-average defense. Cleveland also gets two prospects, both of whom were recent high draft picks by the Mets. Josh Wolf was their second-round pick in 2019, a skinny, projectable high school right-hander from Texas with a great arm but not much polish to his game. He has mid-rotation upside, but is probably four years away from the majors and has the risk of any 19-year-old pitcher. Isaiah Greene was their second-round pick this year, and really impressed the Mets in instructional league this past fall, playing great defense in center field and hitting well off pitchers who were mostly older than he is. He has plus speed and very quick hands at the plate, showing good poise in the batters’ box and very good instincts in center. If there’s a sleeper in the deal, it’s him, as he wasn’t as famous as most elite California high school prospects are. This is a solid baseball return, but it’s also hard to avoid seeing it as a deal that cleared money in Cleveland’s budget at the cost of any short-term competitiveness.

If you can't land a SS move Bichette back to SS and use your $30 million elsewhere. Management can't keep finishing second to everyone in transactions. PULL THE TRIGGER.

NOPE, they need to get off their nuts. So even if Lindor wouldn't sign an extension right away make the steal of a deal and try to win this year. Pretty sure Lindor and Carrasco would put us right at the top of the heap. And if Lindor doesn't resign give your $30 million to Seager, Story Baez, or Correa instead.

Glad our management is sitting on their nuts. This was a deal to be made if there ever was one.

You realize that offer is with The Yomiuri Giants. Not San Fran.

The Mookie Betts trade, a rival executive was saying on Tuesday night, amounted to a perfect storm. The Dodgers had a win-now mentality, the money to absorb Betts’ original $27 million salary for 2020, and interest in signing him long-term. They even could offer the Red Sox a major-league ready replacement, Alex Verdugo. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage, restricting the willingness of many teams to spend, how the heck are the Indians going to find the same type of match for shortstop Francisco Lindor? The Red Sox’s inclusion of left-hander David Price and requirement that the Dodgers pay half of his remaining $96 million reduced their return for Betts to Verdugo, infielder Jeter Downs and catcher Connor Wong. Eleven months later, it’s unclear whether the Indians can secure even a package that good for Lindor, and that’s without a contract like Price’s involved. Lindor, like Betts at the time of his trade, is under club control for one more season. The Indians anticipate their homegrown star’s salary in arbitration to be between $19.5 million and $21.5 million in his final year before free agency. Yet at 27, he remains, in theory, one of the game’s most attractive commodities, even after regressing offensively during the shortened 2020 season. The problem is finding the right suitor for Lindor, or any suitor for that matter. The Mets, Blue Jays, Giants and Twins are among the handful of teams willing to spend, but any team interested in making a move at shortstop can choose from a variety of alternatives in this free-agent class (Marcus Semien, Didi Gregorius, Andrelton Simmons) and the next (Lindor, Javier Báez, Carlos Correa, Corey Seager, Trevor Story). The Mets and Blue Jays currently appear more focused on free agents at other positions. The Giants are not in a rush to add a shortstop with Brandon Crawford under contract for one more season at $15 million and possessing a full no-trade clause. The Twins might balk at paying the premium that likely would be necessary to acquire Lindor from a division rival. Of those teams, the Mets might be the only one in the position the Dodgers were with Betts, possessing both the wherewithal and major-market status to persuade Lindor to sign long-term. The Jays could make the same pitch, but for a player born in Puerto Rico, Toronto might not hold the same appeal as New York. Even in pre-pandemic times, the Red Sox had only two clubs interested in Betts, the Dodgers and Padres. All the Indians need is one, and the Blue Jays, run by former Cleveland executives Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins, would appear a prime candidate if they strike out in free agency, and perhaps even if they don’t. But the Jays, like the Mets, do not have a particular need at shortstop. And teams are hesitant to trade inexpensive young talent with parks expected to open at limited capacity for at least the start of ’21, creating potential shortfalls in revenue for the second straight season. If the Indians fail to get the deal they want, they could hold Lindor until the trade deadline and clear immediate money by moving right-hander Carlos Carrasco, who is owed $24 million over the next two seasons, plus a $3 million buyout. But that strategy, too, would entail risk. Lindor might slump in the first half or suffer an injury. The game’s economic landscape might remain cloudy. Potential buyers at the deadline might prefer to address other needs. For the Indians, the perfect storm remains elusive, if possible at all. Sugano still deciding Thursday is the final day of Japanese right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano’s posting period, and his return to the Yomiuri Giants cannot be ruled out as long as he remains without a major-league deal. The Giants have offered him a four-year contract with opt outs after each season, a structure that would enable him to re-enter the major-league free-agent market next offseason. Sugano, 31, arrived in the United States on Monday, increasing speculation he was about to join a major-league club. But he seems intent on getting the value he believes he deserves as a two-time winner of the Sawamura Award, Japan’s version of the Cy Young. After producing a 1.97 ERA in 137 1/3 innings in 2020, he loomed as one of the top pitchers on the open market, perhaps behind only Trevor Bauer. Left-hander Yusei Kikuchi, a less accomplished but younger Japanese pitcher, agreed to a four-year, $56 million free-agent contract with the Mariners in January 2019. In addition, the Mariners paid a $10.275 million posting fee. Sugano presumably would want a similar if not better deal, and while some in the industry believe the Blue Jays made a strong bid, he apparently is not getting his desired number. The major-league economy could be better next off-season, presuming a new collective-bargaining agreement is in place. Sugano would be 32 then, but Padres right-hander Yu Darvish, 34; Twins righty Kenta Maeda, 32; and free-agent righty Masahiro Tanaka, 32, are among the current Japanese major-league pitchers who appear to be aging well. Darvish ranked fifth in the majors in innings last season. Maeda, whose original physical with the Dodgers revealed what he called “irregularities,” has not been on the injured list for arm trouble since his major-league debut in 2016. Tanaka chose rehabilitation over Tommy John surgery for a partial elbow tear in 2014, but ranks 18th in the majors with 153 starts since ’15. Jon Lester and Rick Porcello are tied for the lead with 171 starts in that span. Maddon-Contreras reunion in Anaheim? Angels manager Joe Maddon was a strong advocate for Willson Contreras during their time together with the Cubs, so perhaps it’s no surprise the Angels are showing interest in trading for the catcher, according to major-league sources. No deal appears close, but Contreras, 28, would be an excellent fit for the Angels, whose top returning catcher, Max Stassi, might miss the start of the season while recovering from surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left hip. Stassi, 29, is not necessarily the answer even when healthy – he had a .611 career OPS before popping an .866 in 105 plate appearances last season, including a 1.024 against left-handed pitching. The fiery Contreras, who is under control for two more seasons, would bring energy to the Angels, whose position players are mostly older veterans. The Cubs could try to pry loose one of the Angels’ better position prospects – perhaps outfielder Jordyn Adams, 21; middle infielder Jeremiah Jackson, 20; or shortstop Kyren Paris, 19. As reported by The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney, they already have shown interest in free-agent catcher Jason Castro after including Victor Caratini in the Darvish deal. If they traded Contreras, they likely would add another catcher and wait one more season for Miguel Amaya. Contreras is known not just to Maddon, but also to three coaches who followed the manager from the Cubs to the Angels – third base coach Brian Butterfield, assistant hitting coach John Mallee and quality assurance coach Tim Buss. New Angels GM Perry Minasian, meanwhile, is familiar with Contreras’ younger brother, catcher William Contreras, from their time together with the Braves. Assessing the Darvish return Warning, Cubs fans: What you are about to read is an attempt to explain the Darvish trade, not defend it. The maddening part of the deal was that the Cubs seemed to prioritize cutting payroll over remaining the likely NL Central favorites in ’21. But considering the way clubs value players today, the underwhelming return for Darvish – right-hander Zach Davies and four prospects age 20 and under – perhaps should not have come as a surprise. Darvish might have been the NL Cy Young runner-up in ’20, but he is owed $62 million over the next three seasons, during which he will pitch at ages 34, 35 and 36. It’s not the kind of profile that typically brings back a massive package, and Darvish’s track record is not one of consistent dominance. He was a disappointment in his first 1 1/2 seasons in Chicago, only to revive beginning in the second half of ’19. In their trade with the Padres, the Cubs wound up clearing all but $3 million of Darvish’s remaining obligation and absorbing Davies’ arbitration salary, which MLBTradeRumors.com projects to range from $6.3 million to $10.6 million. The Cubs also acquired four players whom MLB.com installed as their Nos. 10, 11, 16 and 17 prospects – shortstop Reginald Preciado; outfielder Owen Caissie; outfielder Ismael Mena and shortstop Yeison Santana. The Padres spent approximately $5 million combined to sign those players – Preciado received $1.3 million, Caissie $1.2 million, Mena $2.2 million and Santana at least $300,000 (the exact figure has not been reported). None is even close to the majors. But for a Cubs system lacking in depth, they are not insignificant additions. Now about the Rays Like Darvish, Blake Snell is a Cy Young-caliber pitcher under club control for three seasons. Why did he cost the Padres far more in a trade? Two reasons: Snell, 28, is younger than Darvish, 34, and cheaper, owed an average of $13 million per season compared to Darvish’s $20.7 million. For Snell, the Rays acquired right-handersLuis Patiño and Cole Wilcox and catcher Blake Hunt, who are now the Nos. 3, 8 and 24 prospects, according to MLB.com, in perhaps the game’s deepest farm system. They also obtained catcher Francisco Mejía, a former top 100 prospect whom club officials believe might benefit from changing teams the way right-hander Tyler Glasnow and outfielder Austin Meadows did upon arriving from the Pirates. The problem is that the Rays have now subtracted two starting pitchers, Snell and right-hander Charlie Morton, who left for the Braves as a free agent, from a team that went to the World Series. The Rays, though, expect Patiño to transition to the majors quickly. They love what they saw of Hunt at the Padres’ alternate site and in the Instructional League. And they will try to work their development magic on Wilcox, a third-round pick out of the University of Georgia in last year’s draft. Is this any way to defend an American League title? Not in a traditional sense. But with the Rays, it’s all about playing the odds. Losing Snell might reduce their chances of winning the World Series in 2021 to, say, 15 percent. But the Rays believe the players they acquired will give the team a better chance of winning one in future seasons while helping it avoid a total rebuild. Of course, Snell might have helped accomplish the same goals, and now the Rays are short in their rotation. Either a veteran starter or a younger pitcher under long-term control would fit, and the Rays are deep enough in talent, both in the majors and minors, to entertain a variety of trade possibilities. One thing they are unlikely to do is move center fielder Kevin Kiermaier, the only player on their roster with a salary above $7 million. Kiermaier, who turns 31 on April 22, is owed $11.5 in 2021 and $12 million in ’22 with a $2.5 million buyout on a $13 million club option in ’23. His durability is an issue – he averaged only 105 games between ’16 and ’19 – but the Rays say they continue to value him highly. Kiermaier, Manuel Margot and Brett Phillips are all somewhat similar, offsetting their offensive deficiencies with their defensive abilities, enabling the Rays at times to play above-average fielders in the corners as well as in center. Other teams might see it differently, viewing Kiermaier as overpaid. Either way, the Rays are unlikely to get what they want for him in a trade. Odorizzi awaiting his turn One club in contact with free-agent right-hander Jake Odorizzi says the pitcher expects to land a three-year contract in the $36 million to $42 million range. Such a deal might not be out of reach: Starting pitchers are faring well on the open market, and the Blue Jays offered fellow righty Kevin Gausman three years in the $40 million range before he accepted the Giants’ one-year $18.6 million qualifying offer. Gausman, 29, is a year younger than Odorizzi, and coming off a 3.62 ERA in 59 2/3 innings last season. A variety of injuries limited Odorizzi to 13 2/3 innings, but before that he had a better track record than Gausman, producing a 3.82 ERA from 2015 to ’19. Another difference: Odorizzi is not subject to draft-pick compensation after accepting the Twins’ one-year, $17.8 million qualifying offer last offseason. A player only can be offered a QO once. The question with Odorizzi is whether other teams would be willing to spend at the level the Jays reached in their pursuit of Gausman. The Jays are perhaps the most aggressive team in the market, but have yet to find players willing to take their money. Of course, the Jays also could emerge as a player for Odorizzi if they fail to sign Sugano or Bauer. Around the horn Information from major-league sources… • Right-hander Blake Treinen’s two-year, $17.5 million free-agent deal with the Dodgers includes an interesting wrinkle: More than one-third of the money cannot be affected by a shortened season or work stoppage. The protected money is a $4 million signing bonus, which is not tied to Treinen’s salary in 2021, and a $1.5 million buyout on an $8 million club option in ’23, which Treinen will receive even if the players and owners fail to reach a new collective-bargaining agreement and a stoppage wipes out part or all of ’22. One more note on Treinen: The Astros, one of the teams that pursued him most heavily, are also focused on free-agent closer Liam Hendriks. Ideally, they wanted to sign both relievers, who were teammates with one of the Astros’ biggest rivals, the Athletics, from 2017 to ’19. • The Nationals, after trading for first baseman Josh Bell, want to add a corner outfielder, ideally someone from the free-agent tier that includes Michael Brantley, Joc Pederson and Kyle Schwarber. Marcell Ozuna figures to be too expensive for the Nats, and like Brantley was more of a DH last season. Pederson or perhaps Adam Duvall would be a more logical fit, considering Washington ranked last in the majors with -45 defensive runs saved. • Outfielder Robbie Grossman’s strikeout and walk rates last season both were better than league average, making him a good fit for the Tigers, who ranked last in the majors in both categories. Grossman, 31, also pulled the ball at a much higher rate than in previous seasons, helping produce a career-high .482 slugging percentage. The Athletic’s Cody Stavenhagen wrote more on the newest Tiger, who agreed to a two-year, $10 million free-agent contract. • Free-agent right-hander Ken Giles will miss the entire 2021 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery on Sept. 30, but figures to sign the type of two-year deal that teams frequently award pitchers recovering from an elbow reconstruction. Giles, 30, might appeal to clubs that plan to be more competitive and/or financially flexible in ’22, as well as those that might lose their closer to free agency. The Dodgers (Kenley Jansen), Nationals (Daniel Hudson) and Cubs (Craig Kimbrel) are among the teams that could fit that description. Then again, the signing of Treinen might cover the Dodgers, who earlier added righty Tommy Kahnle, a free-agent setup man recovering from Tommy John, on a two-year, $4.75 million deal, and traded for righty Corey Knebel, who signed a one-year, $5.25 million contract. • If government orders citing COVID-19 force Major League Baseball to delay the start of its regular season, playing 162 games might become problematic. Television networks want their sports partners to resume their normal schedules, which for MLB would mean concluding the World Series on FOX by Nov. 1. Viewership numbers, ad sales and sponsorships all were affected by overlapping sports schedules in 2020. • And finally, wondering why the Padres are so aggressive this offseason when other teams are not? Before 2020, the Pads had reached the postseason only five times in 51 seasons, and only once had they qualified back-to-back years, in ’05 and ’06. They lost to the Cardinals in the Division Series both times, winning a total of one game. What the Padres are trying to do is sustain momentum, believing they ultimately will benefit in attendance once fans return, and through sponsorships. After adding Darvish, Snell and Korean shortstop Ha-Seong Kim, they remain interested in re-signing free agent Jurickson Profar, whom they would use primarily as an outfielder, believing they would benefit from the additional depth, particularly if the National League again uses a DH.

Seems most pitchers from Japan have a delay in their delivery. Just like most hitters also have a slap and dash mentality to their swings.

2. Why did John Olerud only get 500+ at bats once with the Jays? 2.B Why did Olerud play over 138 games only once as a Jay

It has been reported Tanaka wants to remain a Yankee or potentially return to play back in Japan. I would take Paxton though.

Was a horrible catcher as a prospect. Can't wait for tomorrow...why did Jays hold back Cecil Fielder he of 466 RBI in 518 minor league games

It was obvious Jays wanted to delay by one season their 7 year $126 million commitment

Jays need to improve defensively. Easiest way is to get a top SS and move Bichette to 2nd base in my opinion. 2nd base is where I see him long term as a Jay. 3rd base can be manned primarily by Biggio ideally with a veteran LH 3rd baseman added as a bench player. Brad Miller would be my choice.