bluejaysinternNo5

The good thing about having a middle of the pack pen is that only takes one or two additions to really take it the next level. Sign some minor league flyers and send them to the pitching lab over the winter and see what you have in the spring. Indulge yourself in a solid free agent relief arm and accept that risk that comes with that. Maybe make a trade for a young guy with electric stuff that's on the 40 man crunch for some team. Add those guys to this years pen and I would feel pretty good until the deadline. Side note: would anyone here give Edwin Diaz the Aroldis Chapman contract? I don't think the Jays are in a position to sign Diaz specifically since he might command 100M but I could see Atkins opening the books for a reliever worth 10 or 12 million a year for a year or two.

Most valuable player: Alek Manoah. Providing 196.2 innings of 2.24 ERA / 3.31 FIP ball in his first full season. Absolute workhorse. Most improved player: Ross Stripling. Provided stability in the rotation where Berrios and Kikuchi couldn't. Biggest disappointment: Vlad. He had a good year with a 132 wRC+ but only 2.8 fWAR. After his 2021 campaign it's hard not to be let down. Front Office: Shapiro gets an A. Hard not to love what he's doing as president. Atkins can get a C+. Overall a good GM but there are areas to improve upon and I would like to see some more aggressive moves. Coaching Staff: Schneider was just what we needed in the second half but I'd like to see an experienced manager from Day 1 next season. Walker can go. Martinez can stay for 1 more year. Gaps: We're missing a pitching pipeline of random guys that can be effective in the pen. Probably not an easy fix if we don't have it already. Outfield defence could be much improved by acquiring a glove first guy in center such as Trent Grisham or Alek Thomas and moving the aging Springer to a corner, which also comes with the benefits of keeping Springer more healthy. Team Culture: I think it needs a shift. It's good to have fun. But winning is the most fun at all. To me it's Vlad who sets the tone and I don't think anything changes without him also changing.

Honestly I think Bichette's gaffe Saturday and his poor defence at shortstop have made him underrated. Yes, he struggled most of the year. But he worked through it and figured it out. He led the AL in hits for two years in a row. He was our most valuable player by fWAR this year. With a move to second base and a whole off season to reflect on this year's post season failure and I think he will continue to be valuable for us. But I'll admit I have soured on Vlad.

I could see Kikuchi having success as a "stopper" out of the bullpen. Pencilling him in as the #5 starter would be a failure in my opinion, I would much rather consider him as depth. Give him reps early next season as long relief and if he shows promise give him higher and higher leverage. If a starter gets injured then consider putting him in the rotation again, but I think he would excel as a guy throwing 70-90 innings out of the pen.

In complete agreement with this. My guess is he is retained and I would hope he learns from this, but it becomes draining watching this team have learning experiences over and over and over again. A manager with experience would be welcome.

Alek Thomas or Grisham would be a nice get. With Springer's injury concerns and Teoscar and Gurriel's team control start to dwindle it wouldn't be a bad idea to acquire a bonafide center fielder and slide Springer to a corner as he ages. If going for Thomas I'd like to see Zac Gallen in the deal, too.