Blue Jays (40-36) vs Mariners (41-38) - June 29-July 1

[The_Hater]

What’s going to be the outcome for Semien after this year are we going to let him walk or try to re-sign him ya think ?

I would bet against his return. He’s priced himself into a huge contract and we’ve got Biggio, Bichette and a couple of highly ranked infield prospects coming up soon. I think they’ll spend that money somewhere else, like pitching.

[Michael Bradley]

Looking at the standings, the Jays are actually 24-19 on the road, and 2 games under .500 at home. They are 15-13 at Tampa, Oakland, Houston, Boston, Chicago, New York, and Cleveland. On the other hand, they are 5-14 at "home" against Tampa, Houston, Boston, New York, and Seattle. I'm just counting the games against AL teams that are currently over .500. I don't know what to make of playing home games in a Spring Training facility and minor league park over a 162 game season with normal travel. Not to mention in two different states and not even in the country that the team should be playing in. Whether the team is better, worse, or the same playing home games at RC, I have no clue. Maybe it wouldn't have made a difference, but between that and watching the Raptors Lowry Era run end with a whimper in Tampa, it's more than a bit frustrating to still have to be playing elsewhere other than Toronto.

It’s quite frankly a joke that the Jays aren’t in Toronto at this point and the fact that they’re not would clearly be at least some kind of impediment to the team’s success (especially when they’re playing the Yankees and get every call against them because the park is 95% NYY fans). It honestly doesn’t get talked about enough when discussing this team IMO

I don’t expect anything the rest of the year, though. It was never a scientific decision to keep them out in the first place and the political factors that kept them out are very much still there.

Agreed on all points. I never pay attention to things like road/home record, but when I was looking at the standings and saw that, it really stood out. It's easy to forget that the Jays home games have been played in a Spring Training complex in Florida and a Minor League stadium in Buffalo. I can't imagine that has been easy on the players, and while it's impossible to quantify what type of impact it has done to the team's record this season, I think it's safe to assume there is a mental toll involved that no other team is facing. There is no home field advantage, and for young teams in particular, home games in front of an actual home crowd (not transplants in New York) would conceivably make a real difference.

I am 100% with you on how much of a joke it is that we are in July and no where near playing in Toronto again. Even if the country decided to eventually let players travel, I'm sure they'd request some type of quarantining take place, and the MLBPA would spit all over that. As they should. It was understandable in 2020 to play in Buffalo, but if you told me back then that in July 2021 the team would still be playing there, I would have been shocked. Indoor NBA arenas are packed during the playoffs. Some baseball stadiums are full capacity (50k+). It's laughable and a really bad look for the country/city that the Jays are still being forced to play in Buffalo. Unfortunately, I also think this lasts all season.

[Schad]

Semien is going to get paid in a big way, and it's iffy whether we'd want to be the ones paying him. There's a price point at which you do, but the most likely scenario is that we QO him, he declines, and then he signs somewhere else.

It sucks that all we'd get is a comp pick, but giving him $100m or something probably isn't a top priority.

[Ado05]

I could see Semien getting 4/80ish but jolding out to get 5/100. I doubt he does though since he's 31.

I dont think Martin,Groshans, Smith etc should stop the Jays for looking for a good infielder/bringing back Semien since its pretty rare for young players to provide that much value.

If the Jays want to remain a consistent WS contender, replacing Semien with an actual good option will be imperative.

[JaysRule15]

Semien will get 5/100 million imo. This isn't exactly the first decent year he's having. Now teams have seen that he can repeat what he did in 2019. He can also play 2B/SS. Even in the crowded offseason market, I can see a team giving him 5 years. As much as I want him back, I wouldn't commit to 5 years for him. Like already mentioned, we have like 3-4 blue chip infield prospects, plus the extensions for Vlad and Bo to think about. At least it'll be nice to get a comp pick for Semien.

[Hottie McShotty]

Give Semien 4/90 and call it a day. He's an elite player. One that will help us compete for years to come. Our blue chip infield prospects need more development and are a few years away from joining the big league. If we want to compete and remain consistent as a WS contender the next 4 to 5 years, like Adrian_05 said, we do this. He also seems like a level headed guy, a team player, someone who competes and a favorite among his teammates. Someone who will mentor Bichette and the rest of our players going forward. You need guys like that on your team to be successful.

[Schad]

Semien's a good player, but he has been a below-average hitter in 5 of his 7 full seasons in the bigs, and his contact stats suggest that he's getting very lucky right now on flyballs. There's absolutely a price point where you do it, but anyone expecting him to be an elite player for the next four years hasn't really paid much attention to Semien in the past, because he's wildly inconsistent.

I'm not comparing them as players overall, obviously, but remember when people were talking Sogard up as a great asset? He's been sub-replacement-level since leaving. Be careful about putting a lot of faith in sudden spikes in HR rate, they generally don't last. Semien's more likely to go back to being a good defender who can hit a bit than he is to be an elite offensive/defensive option.

[dagger]

Give Semien 4/90 and call it a day. He's an elite player. One that will help us compete for years to come. Our blue chip infield prospects need more development and are a few years away from joining the big league. If we want to compete and remain consistent as a WS contender the next 4 to 5 years, like Adrian_05 said, we do this. He also seems like a level headed guy, a team player, someone who competes and a favorite among his teammates. Someone who will mentor Bichette and the rest of our players going forward. You need guys like that on your team to be successful.

I'd rather let Semien go than lock into him at that rate. Springer can lead off, we have quality prospects for the middle infield, Moreno can make up some of the lost offence in the lineup. Put every spare dollar on pitching. The pitching in the fam system isn't going to rescue the rotation. None of our best prospect starters have been doing well lately, and while someone is bound to figure things out, we are basically one starter - Manoah - who is under control for next season along with a stagnating or declining Ryu.