AA: Improving rotation is the priority, bullpen second

[Rhettmatic]

http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/anthopoulos-rotation-priority-for-blue-jays/

TORONTO – The Toronto Blue Jays want to improve their rotation and their bullpen, but if they had to address one need they’d focus on upgrading their starters.

“That’s probably more our priority,” GM Alex Anthopoulos told MLB Network Radio Sunday. “We could use both, but if I did have to prioritize it I’d say rotation first, bullpen would be next.”

While the Blue Jays view Sanchez as a starter both short term and long-term, a big enough deal could push him back to the bullpen, where he excelled last year, posting a 1.09 ERA in 33 innings.

“If all of a sudden we make some trades — if we can get two starters in a trade and our team’s stronger with him in the bullpen, we wouldn’t rule it out,” Anthopoulos said.

[Randle McMurphy]

As it should be.

[JaysRule15]

Getting a solid starter would go a long way towards stabilizing the pen as well imo.

[Kurtz]

[Xaos]

Starting pitching and bullpen help should both be a priority this year. Doesn't matter which one comes first. Get it done. Please.

[Schad]

Even acquiring one starter ought to be sufficient to push Sanchez into the 'pen; I'm no great fan of Estrada, but he's probably the more likely of the two to perform as a decent fifth starter for the time being.

[Sifu]

It's sad that neither the starting rotation nor the bullpen was addressed in the off season.

Now, it will cost both money to pay for a player and prospects for trading instead of just money.

[hyper316]

back-to-back no-hitter going to the 8th for Marco Estrada

Estrada may pan out, if the jays can hold up until stroman comes back in Sept, things might get interesting

Hutch
Dickie
Buehrle
Estrada
Stroman

Good to see 2013 steve delabar back, too

[Santoki]

back-to-back no-hitter going to the 8th for Marco Estrada

Estrada may pan out, if the jays can hold up until stroman comes back in Sept, things might get interesting

Hutch
Dickie
Buehrle
Estrada
Stroman

Good to see 2013 steve delabar back, too

I don't always agree with Zaun but he's right in that you can't suddenly count on Estrada to give you quality starts every time out. It's likely just a hot streak. Get wha you can out of him but expecting anything more than a 4-5 starter is asking for trouble.

[Lateral Quicks]

If - and it's a big if - Stroman is back in September, I'd expect it to be a relief role. Which would still be awesome.

[LBJSeizedMyID]

All you want from your fifth starter is a guy that can command the ball really, and Estrada has shown repeatedly he could do that. Yes he'll have his games where he'll surrender four runs or so, but with this offense, Estrada has a much better chance of keeping the Jays in a game then Sanchez, who's doing it with smoke and mirrors.

Acquiring the starter allows the Jays to put Sanchez in the bullpen and not have to rush acquiring another one for the time being.

[RapsFanInVA]

We called up Redmond and Rasmussen, our bullpen is set

[Komodo]

When is the deadline? Who are SP options? Would we target guys with 1 yr or 2 yrs remaining? Which prospects would we likely give up?

[Schad]

When is the deadline? Who are SP options? Would we target guys with 1 yr or 2 yrs remaining? Which prospects would we likely give up?

July 31st. No one knows. No one knows.

[Michael Bradley]

When is the deadline? Who are SP options? Would we target guys with 1 yr or 2 yrs remaining? Which prospects would we likely give up?

With the 2nd WC in place, it makes it unlikely for teams to pack it in this early. We will have a better idea of the teams that are selling by mid-July. Right now the Reds look like a safe bet to sell, and they certainly will have pieces that the Jays would be interested in (Cueto, Leake, Chapman), but it will likely be expensive.

The other issue is whether the Jays actually have any money to spend, as adding anyone of consequence will require them to add payroll. Some are speculating that AA sat on some of his budget to save for the deadline, and for the team's sake I hope that's true, but I'm not expecting anything after last summer. It genuinely would not surprise me if Boyd, Norris, and possibly Doubront are the only "new" arms the Jays depend on post-deadline, especially with Syndergaard's development likely making AA cautious about which prospects to trade.

[polo007]

Toronto Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos talks to Baseball Central @ Noon about how the season is shaping up for the team, how he’s evolving in his position, the possibility of Roberto Osuna taking up the closing role, the plan for Aaron Sanchez, his impression of Matt Boyd’s debut, the value of retaining Dioner Navarro, the character of the trade market, the health status of Marcus Stroman, the AL East not being as weak as initially thought, and the impact Josh Donaldson has made.

Alex Anthopoulos tells Baseball Central that trade talks are coming out of a deep freeze, expecting talks to accelerate in the coming week and that the Jays will be active in trying to make the club better.

http://pmd.fan590.com/audio_on_demand-3/Alex-Anthopoulos-with-Jeff-Blair-and-Kevin-Barker-bc-20150629-Interview.mp3

[BigLeagueChew]

All indications are that Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos “has been busy trying to make something happen for a while now,” writes Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca. Toronto may be willing to give significant value for a truly high-quality player that makes a perfect fit for the club’s overall situation, says Davidi, much as it did in signing Russell Martin and trading for Josh Donaldson. That being said, it seems unlikely that Anthopoulos and Co. will part with its best young talent for a pure rental, the report suggests.

Anthopoulos tells reporters that the Blue Jays nearly pulled off two trades in May, but has not come as close since, as Brendan Kennedy of the Toronto Star reports (Twitter links). The GM added that he’ll consider moving prospects for rentals if the price is right, noting that he discussed a deal last summer involving young players Kevin Pillar and Sean Nolin.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2015/07/east-notes-encarnacion-jays-yankees-niese.html