Possible Blue Jays Team Post EE/Bautista (Long Read)

[Fairview4Life]

Any article with "a bona fide leadoff man" in it makes me completely ignore the rest of it.

[Suga2Panda]

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“If the Toronto Blue Jays look at it and candidly decide centre field is where they can add a lefty bat then you have to consider trading Kevin Pillar.”

“I think that is a situation you have to give very, very serious thought to.”

“It’s a two-step process. You’re not going to trade Pillar for the sake of trading Pillar but if you look at it and the spot where you can find a leadoff man, which they need, add a bona fide leadoff man, a bona fide lefty bat, if that place is centre field then you have to give serious thought to trading Kevin Pillar.”

“Aside from Josh Donaldson, Russell Martin, and Troy Tulowitzki, I think the rest of the lineup is very, very much in flux so I would say anyone with the exception of those three guys is a potential trade."

Atkins has been on record as saying they have a very strong middle + JD, so to destroy that now would be illogical IMO.

I'm OK with an outfield of Upton, Pillar, and Carerra, with Zeke leading off.

Zeke
Upton
JD
DH signing
Martin
Tulo
Pillar
Smoak/1B signing
Travis

I hate that lineup.

If we're not adding to payroll, I'd rather go full on rebuild.

[super_balls]

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Atkins has been on record as saying they have a very strong middle + JD, so to destroy that now would be illogical IMO.

I'm OK with an outfield of Upton, Pillar, and Carerra, with Zeke leading off.

Zeke
Upton
JD
DH signing
Martin
Tulo
Pillar
Smoak/1B signing
Travis

I hate that lineup.

If we're not adding to payroll, I'd rather go full on rebuild.

Team #BringFowlerHome

[polo007]

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TORONTO – The Toronto Blue Jays entered into an exclusive five-day negotiating window with their nine impending free agents Thursday, a list headlined by franchise icons Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista.

Neither slugger is expected to sign before free agents become eligible to sign with any team at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, when the annual general managers’ meetings get started in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Still, the five days give the Blue Jays an opportunity to set the bar in talks with Encarnacion and Bautista, two of the top offensive players available in free agency, or at minimum gauge what type of contract each is seeking.

That in turn will allow president and CEO Mark Shapiro and GM Ross Atkins to assess how the two players might fit into their 2017 payroll. The Blue Jays are believed to at minimum have received enough guidance on a payroll figure to begin their off-season, if not a final number to work off.

Already the Blue Jays have $103.3 million guaranteed to eight players, not including a $3 million option on reliever Jason Grilli that must be exercised by 5 p.m. ET Monday and will be. Marcus Stroman, projected by MLB Trade Rumors to earn $3.5 million next year, will be the only player to earn a substantial raise through arbitration, but there are many holes to fill.

Aside from Bautista and Encarnacion, outfielder Michael Saunders, lefty reliever Brett Cecil, starter R.A. Dickey, set-up man Joaquin Benoit, catcher Dioner Navarro, reliever Gavin Floyd and swingman Scott Feldman also became free agents.

Bringing back the two sluggers while filling in the supporting cast around them will be difficult without an increase from the roughly $150 million spent in 2016. The Blue Jays are expected to get some type of bump in payroll but how much is unknown.

Qualifying offers of $17.2 million must be extended to free agents by 5 p.m. ET Monday in order to ensure draft compensation should players sign elsewhere. Bautista and Encarnacion will get qualified by the Blue Jays.

Players have until 5 p.m. ET Nov. 14 to make a decision on their qualifying offer.

[northernpuppy]

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Atkins has been on record as saying they have a very strong middle + JD, so to destroy that now would be illogical IMO.

I'm OK with an outfield of Upton, Pillar, and Carerra, with Zeke leading off.

Zeke
Upton
JD
DH signing
Martin
Tulo
Pillar
Smoak/1B signing
Travis

I hate that lineup.

If we're not adding to payroll, I'd rather go full on rebuild.

Yeah, that's not going to piss of JD at all. We have a solid middle core, it just requires some maneuvering.

[tecumseh18]

For the next six months, Smoak's name should only only appear on this board as a piece going the other way in a deal to take on salary - e.g. Votto.

[Suga2Panda]

Atkins has been on record as saying they have a very strong middle + JD, so to destroy that now would be illogical IMO.

I'm OK with an outfield of Upton, Pillar, and Carerra, with Zeke leading off.

Zeke
Upton
JD
DH signing
Martin
Tulo
Pillar
Smoak/1B signing
Travis

I hate that lineup.

If we're not adding to payroll, I'd rather go full on rebuild.

Yeah, that's not going to piss of JD at all. We have a solid middle core, it just requires some maneuvering.

I think you're being overly optimistic about what can be achieved by "maneuvering" considering we don't really have any position player prospects upcoming, the free agent market for position players is thin, Tulo and Martin's best years are probably behind them, and could be nothing more than league average, Zeke is a wildcard and Travis is made of glass. I doubt Upton, Pillar and Smoak combine for more than 1 WAR offensively.

If we do a full rebuild, JD is 30, and is a FA in 2019, so he'd probably be traded for max value.

[polo007]

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[Schad]

Nicholson-Smith is right on starting pitching...but not Stroman. If we want to move a starter for a position player, Estrada, Happ and Liriano have to be the options given their ages and contract status; we cannot afford to trade another young, cost-controlled starter. But moving one of the three vets for a young position player and back-filling the rotation with Biagini or a reclamation project could be good for 2017 and the future.

Something centered on Estrada for Puig, perhaps...?

[Jays4WS]

Nicholson-Smith is right on starting pitching...but not Stroman. If we want to move a starter for a position player, Estrada, Happ and Liriano have to be the options given their ages and contract status; we cannot afford to trade another young, cost-controlled starter. But moving one of the three vets for a young position player and back-filling the rotation with Biagini or a reclamation project could be good for 2017 and the future.

Something centered on Estrada for Puig, perhaps...?

I wouldn't give up Estrada. In fact I would rather just spend the money in FA if we needed an OF equal or similar to Puig.

[Schad]

I wouldn't give up Estrada. In fact I would rather just spend the money in FA if we needed an OF equal or similar to Puig.

Estrada is likely gone after the season, and we don't have that much money to go around. If someone wants to give us a young, major league-ready player with team control for him, and shave off a few mil which can be allocated elsewhere, it's worth considering.

[Jays4WS]

I wouldn't give up Estrada. In fact I would rather just spend the money in FA if we needed an OF equal or similar to Puig.

Estrada is likely gone after the season, and we don't have that much money to go around. If someone wants to give us a young, major league-ready player with team control for him, and shave off a few mil which can be allocated elsewhere, it's worth considering.

Yea forgot he was a FA after this season.

[polo007]

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[polo007]

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Blue Jays

Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion and Michael Saunders all are coming off the books — they combined to earn $27 million last season — but there is thought the Blue Jays will try to shed payroll, and Cespedes’ paycheck next season would negate the savings the team would receive if the trio departs. Without Bautista and Encarnacion, the Blue Jays would lose plenty of righty power. The idea of returning to the American League, where he could DH — at least on a part-time basis — could be appealing to Cespedes at this point in his career.

[wamco]

It would be tough to add cespedes and shed payroll at the same time I think

[wamco]

I wouldn't give up Estrada. In fact I would rather just spend the money in FA if we needed an OF equal or similar to Puig.

Estrada is likely gone after the season, and we don't have that much money to go around. If someone wants to give us a young, major league-ready player with team control for him, and shave off a few mil which can be allocated elsewhere, it's worth considering.

Estrada could bring in a comp pick after leaving as a fa. Keep him and trade liriano if you wanna move a sp

[Skin Blues]

I wouldn't give up Estrada. In fact I would rather just spend the money in FA if we needed an OF equal or similar to Puig.

Estrada is likely gone after the season, and we don't have that much money to go around. If someone wants to give us a young, major league-ready player with team control for him, and shave off a few mil which can be allocated elsewhere, it's worth considering.

Estrada could bring in a comp pick after leaving as a fa. Keep him and trade liriano if you wanna move a sp

Chances he's worth a QO after 2017 are slim. Plus, the value of that potential comp pick (whatever it might be - $2M, say) would be gained by the team trading for him, so you would get more in return. Estrada's value is sky high right now and his skillset doens't support it. Considering we're fairly deep in starting pitching, it's not a bad idea to move him for somebody with some years of control.

[T-d0t]

Happ is the guy you sell high on.

[Schad]

Happ is probably the one who'd sell for a slightly higher price, just because he has another year remaining and has the better two-year numbers. But Estrada's the one I'd move; both will be fringy QO options in all likelihood, but you can move Estrada this year for value, and then (if all goes well) do the same with Happ a year later.

And Cespedes is a hard pass for me. He's going to get 5 years, $125m or thereabouts for his age 31-35 seasons. Even with the improvements to his approach this year, I'm more than a bit dubious that he'll live up to the contract for more than a couple years.

[Santoki]

So when do we get our first real offseason move and what will it be? Big trade? Big FA signing?