2019-20 Offseason Thread

[SharoneWright]

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Why were we ever going to help out the Red Sox out of luxury tax purgatory anyway? Let 'em squirm. Let 'em cook.

[Schad]

$50 in internet currency that Price is an Angel within a week. They have to be desperate at this point.

[polo007]

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[fbalmeida]

Wow we got Ryu.

This is going to be a super fun year.

[Scott Hall]

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I wonder what players we'd have to send them back?

[polo007]

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[polo007]

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[The_Hater]

Does anyone know where the Jays payroll is at after the Ryu signing and projected arbitrations? And where are we expected to be at for 2020? Is there still room for another $15-20 million in payroll?

[bluerap23]

Does anyone know where the Jays payroll is at after the Ryu signing and projected arbitrations? And where are we expected to be at for 2020? Is there still room for another $15-20 million in payroll?

Major League (26 man roster) is about 99 million. 40 man is close to 120. I have a feeling that the budget is 120, but who knows...

edit: 120 million includes 15 million for player benefits

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1krcN5UUeCGrMvzf3hPyrcuwWKbYoWomK5WmL7paNDaA/edit#gid=1520401900

[wazabifuzz]

The jays need to find a way to consolidate the surplus outfielders and get a decent cf..
Or sign they could end up signing pillar minor league deal?

[guvernator]

I'm guessing people are proposing a castellanos signing for DH because guy is a bum on the defensive front.

[Duffman100]

I'm guessing people are proposing a castellanos signing for DH because guy is a bum on the defensive front.

Defense or not, we need an outfielder who can hit like a starting outfielder and not a quad player.

[Schad]

I'm guessing people are proposing a castellanos signing for DH because guy is a bum on the defensive front.

Defense or not, we need an outfielder who can hit like a starting outfielder and not a quad player.

Sure, but he's an OF in name only: he's been one of the worst defensive players in baseball over the past three years. The problem with Castellanos or other DH/DH-in-all-but-name players is that they have to be really, really good hitters in order to be fairly good players. If his offensive production dips even a little, as it did in 2017, he's not worth very much.

Overall, while I'm happy with the Ryu signing, I'm really dubious that we should double down by spending our money on another old pitcher with serious injury concerns (Price) or a DH type hitter (Castellanos). We have other significant needs, and as 2020 isn't likely to be our year regardless, we would be better off keeping our powder dry rather than signing players who we'll have to work around/could be boat anchors when our core hits its prime.

[polo007]

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[polo007]

Blue Jays aren’t done shopping yet | Toronto Sun

Among the most often mentioned potential targets are a pair of popular former Jays: Free agent designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion and current Red Sox starter David Price.

The Jays have been linked to both, with Encarnacion an intriguing possibility at DH. For Price to return via trade, the Red Sox would likely have to eat up a large portion of the US$96 million over three years remaining on the 34-year-old’s contract with the Sox.

It’s unclear whether the Ryu signing will have the Jays walk away from Price, but by all indications they’ve been taking a hard look at the veteran.

“(The Jays) are still looking to make the team better,” said one MLB source familiar with the team’s interests both before and after the Ryu signing.

[Black Watch]

Or sign they could end up signing pillar minor league deal?

Please, no more Pillar nostalgia. He was a bum who could field for a couple of years, and it's been some years since then. Time to move on.

[polo007]

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Of all of the options to reduce the payroll, trading Price to a team that missed out on the free-agent bonanza that included Madison Bumgarner, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Zack Wheeler, and new Yankee/hairless cat Gerrit Cole makes the most sense, at least on the surface. Price is due $96 million over the next three years, the remainder of what was a record-setting, seven-year, $217 million deal he took to join the Red Sox before the 2016 season.

He can still pitch — he struck out a career-best 10.7 batters per nine innings last season, and had a 3.24 ERA in the first half before injuries altered his season. He finished with a 7-5 record and a 4.28 ERA in just 107⅓ innings.

But he’s a decent gamble to age well if his “special” elbow holds up, he should have been the World Series MVP in 2018, and he should have appeal to big-payroll teams such as the Dodgers and Angels, and perhaps even the Padres, Twins, and more, depending upon how much money the Red Sox swallow to move on from him.

In a perfect Carmine-tinted baseball world in which the Red Sox had no need to get under some tax threshold, I’d actually prefer the Red Sox to keep Price. There’s a chance he bounces back strong, and there’s something off-kilter about the big-market Red Sox paying another team — perhaps even a legitimate competitor — to take a pitcher who has a reasonable chance of still being an asset.

But in the real world, where there are so many variables to building a baseball team? I can accept trading Price and eating some money to do so. It’s probably their best bet to get under the threshold. We might miss his pitching. I doubt we’ll miss his personality.

There’s just something fundamentally wrong about the notion that the Red Sox would have to entice another big-market, high-payroll team to take on an expensive but accomplished player by including the second-best player in baseball heading into his prime.

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[guvernator]

If the rumor about Jays offering Cole 300 mil is true, then Its best if they dont bother with a multi yr OF deal this year - 1yr EE dh deal would suffice. Go all in on Betts next year and dont bail out Sox out of their salary cap troubles when it comes to price. I mean if they have 300 mil budgeted for Cole, they can budget 350 -400 mil for Betts.

[BigLeagueChew]

Here's how the next 4 free-agent classes look.There are plenty more high-profile free agents out on the market this winter, and teams have plenty to look forward to in the coming years, too.

Here's a look at the notable players at each position who are set to become free agents in 2020-21 and beyond.

*Note some of these no longer apply,as they have signed extensions ie Yuli Gurriel, this article was written in November.

https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-free-agents-for-2020-2021-and-2022-c302396056

Notable free agents for 2020-21
Catcher: J.T. Realmuto, Mike Zunino, Yadier Molina
First base: C.J. Cron, Yuli Gurriel
Second base: Cesar Hernandez, Marwin Gonzalez, DJ LeMahieu, Daniel Murphy (mutual option)
Third base: Justin Turner, Zack Cozart, Jake Lamb
Shortstop: Andrelton Simmons, Jonathan Villar, Marcus Semien, Jurickson Profar
Outfield: Mookie Betts, George Springer, Yoenis Cespedes, David Peralta, Michael Brantley, Joc Pederson, Jackie Bradley Jr., Jay Bruce, Giancarlo Stanton (opt-out)
Starting pitchers: Trevor Bauer, Robbie Ray, James Paxton, Masahiro Tanaka, Jake Arrieta (club option), Marcus Stroman, Jose Quintana
Relievers: Blake Treinen, Alex Colome, Andrew Miller (vesting option)

Notable free agents for 2021-22
Catcher: Salvador Perez, Wilson Ramos
First base: Freddie Freeman, Anthony Rizzo, Brandon Belt, Matt Carpenter (vesting option)
Second base: Javier Báez, Kolten Wong, Dee Gordon (vesting option)
Third base: Nolan Arenado (opt-out), Kris Bryant, Eduardo Escobar, Travis Shaw, Miguel Sano
Shortstop: Francisco Lindor, Carlos Correa, Corey Seager, Trevor Story
Outfield: Michael Conforto, Tommy Pham, Starling Marte, Kyle Schwarber, Christian Yelich (club option), Andrew McCutchen (club option)
Designated hitter: Khris Davis
Starting pitchers: Noah Syndergaard, Clayton Kershaw, Corey Kluber, Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Zack Greinke, Chris Archer, Mike Foltynewicz
Relievers: Kenley Jansen, Brad Hand, Jeurys Familia, Corey Knebel, Archie Bradley, Raisel Iglesias, Roberto Osuna, Zack Britton (club option)

2022-23: Aaron Judge, Trea Turner, Gary Sanchez, Aaron Nola (club option), Luis Severino (club option), Aroldis Chapman, Edwin Diaz, Sale (opt-out), deGrom (opt-out)

2023-24: Machado (opt-out), José Ramírez, Matt Chapman, Cody Bellinger, Rhys Hoskins, Blake Snell, Josh Hader

[GoRapstheoriginal]

My cousin said that we offered Gerrit Cole? a 300M deal, but he turned us down for the 326M deal from the Yankees.

(he didn't provide a source). Any truth to this matter?