General Blue Jays Thread

[polo007]

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[rarefind]

Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. won't take part in the 2021 Home Run Derby at Coors Field on July 12, according to Hazel Mae of Sportsnet.

https://www.thescore.com/mlb/news/2180574

Whew. I know he did his thing in 2019 but memories of Alex Rios make me happy about this.

[polo007]

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[polo007]

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[The_Hater]

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Monoah is trying to say now that he didn’t do it on purpose and the ball just got away from him. And he was walking towards the plate and making hand gestures because he was confused with the reaction he got.

I’m buying absolutely none of that story. It looked like a fairly obvious beanball, he offered no apology and walking towards the plate onky escalates things.

[Randle McMurphy]

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Monoah is trying to say now that he didn’t do it on purpose and the ball just got away from him. And he was walking towards the plate and making hand gestures because he was confused with the reaction he got.

I’m buying absolutely none of that story. It looked like a fairly obvious beanball, he offered no apology and walking towards the plate onky escalates things.

He clearly meant to do it. He could probably appeal and get them to drop a game, though. He may also just decide to drop his appeal immediately after his next start (which would ensure the team only has to push his start back a day or so).

[polo007]

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[polo007]

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[polo007]

Blue Jays' Shapiro 'very confident' winning pieces will be added | theScore.com

Toronto Blue Jays president and CEO Mark Shapiro is confident his team will make additions prior to next month's trade deadline.

"Those conversations are being had, they'll end up being the roots of the deals that we will make between now and July 30 and we will ultimately improve the team," he said Thursday on Sportsnet 590 The Fan. "Some of that will come externally as I'm very confident we will add pieces that will help us win."

The executive said the front office is targeting run prevention, with the bullpen being an area of need. He added the club wouldn't make an emotional, short-term move.

"The decisions made emotionally, the decisions made with short-term momentum, often are bad decisions," Shapiro said.

The Blue Jays are in the midst of a four-game winning streak but are only 10-10 this month after struggling through a five-game losing skid between June 14-18 amid a slew of injuries. Despite sitting fourth in the AL East - six games behind the Boston Red Sox for first place - Shapiro believes the club is poised to contend.

"I feel pretty good about where we are, that we have a good run in us this year, and most importantly, I feel like this is a team positioned for a multi-year run of championship baseball and that excites me," he said.

[polo007]

MLB Trade Deadline Big Board: Jim Bowden evaluates 75 trade candidates, from Max Scherzer to Trevor Story - The Athletic

7. Kyle Gibson, Rangers
Likelihood of a trade: High
WAR: 1.5

Gibson is having his best season by far, going 5-0 with a 2.17 ERA in 14 starts (83 innings pitched). Is it sustainable or a first-half aberration? Your guess is as good as mine, but he’s pitched well enough for contending teams to aggressively pursue him next month. The Blue Jays are the best potential trade fit.

8. Matthew Boyd, Tigers
Likelihood of a trade: High
WAR: 1.5

Boyd is having success this season by throwing more strikes, pitching to more contact and walking fewer batters. His 3.44 ERA and 3.75 FIP are career bests. The Blue Jays, Cardinals, Braves and Giants are the teams to watch with Boyd.

[The_Hater]

Does anyone want to pull Roberto Osuna out of the Mexican league and offer him a contract?

[polo007]

Trade Deadline Inbox: Will Nats be buyers? - MLB.com

The Blue Jays need a left-handed bat and a third baseman. Do you see Kyle Seager being a possibility and what would it cost?
-- @pipstake

Can you see Kyle Seager being an attractive rental for a contender (or Washington)?
-- @chall77

Seager has become a popular name on the trade rumor mill, which isn’t surprising given the Mariners’ place in the standings and his own contract situation. The 33-year-old is earning $18 million this season and has a 2022 club option worth between $15-20 million. That option, however, becomes a player option if he is traded, which could cause teams to pause before dealing for him.

There is a belief that Seager -- who has 13 homers and 43 RBIs in 76 games, albeit with a pedestrian .279 on-base percentage and .696 OPS -- would be willing to negotiate that option (such as a bigger buyout, for instance) in order to make a trade happen, as the former All-Star has yet to appear in a postseason game during his 11-year career.

If Seager becomes a legitimate trade option, I could see either of the aforementioned teams -- the Blue Jays and Nationals -- in the mix, while the Brewers and Mets could also look for help at the hot corner. Giving Seager his first true shot at the postseason could be the jolt he needs.

[polo007]

If Blue Jays are trade deadline buyers, what might they be giving up? - Sportsnet.ca

In theory, the Blue Jays could part with a top prospect this summer, using their reserve of catching and infield talent in the minor leagues to bolster the big-league team. Yet the front office would undoubtedly prefer to acquire help without trading away the likes of Gabriel Moreno, Austin Martin and Jordan Groshans.

With that in mind, we arrive at four prospects who will all be Rule 5 eligible over the winter, meaning the Blue Jays will have to add them to their 40-man roster or leave them exposed. The combination of their roster status and their current performances suggests they’re likely to draw interest from rival teams in the weeks ahead.

LHP Zach Logue, 25

In his first start at triple-A, the left-hander struck out eight over seven scoreless innings while allowing just one hit. Before that, he’d struck out 51 while walking just seven in 35.2 innings at double-A. Is he a top prospect? No, and at 25 years old he probably never will be. But that doesn’t mean he’s without value, either for the Blue Jays or a seller looking to add young pitching.

IF Kevin Smith, 24

For Smith, the last four years have been a roller coaster. In 2018 he broke out with a 25-homer season at Class A, but he struggled badly the following season, and his prospect stock tumbled as a result. But after the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, he’s putting up big numbers through his first 40 games at triple-A. With 10 home runs, 10 stolen bases, a .284 average and a .982 OPS, he’s pushing closer to the majors every day. But will the Blue Jays keep him? Or, knowing infield prospects like Martin and Groshans are also on the way, could they dangle Smith in trades?

OF Logan Warmoth, 25

When the Blue Jays drafted Warmoth in the first round four years ago, he was a shortstop. Since then he’s transitioned to the outfield, mostly centre and right, while posting a .752 OPS with seven stolen bases at triple-A. It’s not a skillset or statline that necessarily jumps off the page, but beauty is often in the eye of the beholder this time of year, and he’s likely expendable for the Blue Jays.

Of note: Steve Sanders, now the assistant GM of the Pirates, was the Blue Jays’ amateur scouting director when Logue, Smith and Warmoth were drafted, among many others. That should make it easier to get on the same page as the Pirates, who have many interesting big-leaguers including Richard Rodriguez, Colin Moran and Adam Frazier.

IF Samad Taylor, 22

Over the winter, the Blue Jays left Taylor off their 40-man roster ahead of the Rule 5 draft — a sign they were prepared to lose him. Yet he went unclaimed and now ranks among the double-A leaders with 12 home runs, 17 stolen bases and a 1.008 OPS.

Suddenly the guy who appeared to be an afterthought in the 2017 trade that sent Joe Smith to Cleveland appears to have far more trade value. With numbers like that at age 22, it’s likely fair to assume the Blue Jays would have to get something substantial back in any deal for Taylor.

[polo007]

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Inside the Clubhouse: Washington Nationals trade plans, and more - FanSided

Braves and Blue Jays are looking for bullpen help

Rival executives say that two of the most aggressive teams looking for bullpen help have been the Atlanta Braves and Toronto Blue Jays.

With the Cubs and Nationals unlikely to sell, it takes Craig Kimbrel, Brad Hand and Daniel Hudson from the trade market. The best reliever now expected to be available is Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Richard Rodriguez, who is already drawing trade interest, as well as Los Angeles Angels righty Raisel Iglesias, Texas Rangers righty Ian Kennedy and Seattle Mariners righty Kendall Graveman, among others.

[Cyrus]

Interesting, why did we trade for another outfielder:

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[Cyrus]

Looks like there is more to this deal now:

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/06/marlins-trade-corey-dickerson-blue-jays.html

Traded Joe Panik and Minor league pitcher for Corey Dickerson and Relief pitcher

[rarefind]

Not sure I get adding another OF... Adam Cimber will help the bullpen a bit though... Would have preferred Yimi Garcia though.

[Cyrus]

Guess it was we had to take on Dickerson salary which is 18 mill , probably 10 mill owed or whatever to get Adam Cimber.

[Schad]

If we're looking at reasonably-priced relievers with team control, I'd really like to nick Paul Fry off the Orioles. Yeah, the guy who blew the 9th against us a week ago, and got smacked around a bit by Houston in his last appearance. His components are kinda nuts...walks a decent number, strikes out plenty, but is also suppressing power about as well as anyone this season. His flyball rate is insanely low, and his expected slugging against is in the 98th percentile this year, and was in the 96th percentile last year. He's also a lefty with reverse platoon splits on his career, which isn't a bad thing.

He'll be in line for a modest raise next year in first-year arb (talking low $1m range here), but the Orioles do not seem to believe in paying people even modest salaries, and an on-paper-decent middle reliever can't be very high on the list. I can't imagine he'd cost much, but he could be quite an effective addition.