General Blue Jays Thread

[Scott Hall]

Is Free Agency ever gonna start?

[polo007]

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[Trilogy]

It's definitely boring but it makes a lot more sense that free agency should be the slow burn like MLB vs the bonanza rush of the NBA.

Teams slowly assess the market and evaluate their options here. In the NBA we got teams kicking down Mason Plumlee's door to get his signature.

I'm pretty in on the idea of Kim. Great age and lots of upside surplus value based on the league transfer risk deflating his value. The downside isn't so bad as he's basically a utility infielder then. Obviously need to see what the actual contract would be but it's a opportunity to roll favourable dice.

[T-d0t]

Players are probably overvaluing themselves despite the amount of money every team has lost because of the pandemic.

[polo007]

Passan: Springer and the Blue Jays makes sense - Sportsnet.ca

1:38 | December 16, 2020

MLB insider Jeff Passan explains why free-agent slugger George Springer landing with the Jays makes sense and how signing the outfielder sooner rather than later should also be a priority for Toronto.

[polo007]

Bichette: LeMahieu is 'best hitter' in baseball - MLB.com

Report: Urena returning to Blue Jays on Minor League deal

Infielder Richard Urena has agreed to a Minor League deal with the Blue Jays that includes an invitation to Spring Training, according to MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez. The deal has not yet been made official by the club.

A former top prospect with the Blue Jays, Urena, who’s still just 24 years old, spent seven seasons with the organization (2013-19), including three in the big leagues. Urena was with the Orioles in '20, but he did not appear in any games.

While Urena hasn’t put it together at the Major League level just yet, there’s still plenty to work with in a young, switch-hitting infielder who plays multiple positions. Urena certainly had a supporter, too, in Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo in 2019. Over his three MLB seasons, Urena has hit .253 with a .636 OPS.

[polo007]

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[polo007]

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I'm Not Welcome In Toronto!? #shorts w/ Trevor Bauer

• Dec 17, 2020

Blue Jays fanbase received an honorable mention spot for their recruiting efforts. Here's how I scored their pitches on the creativity, consistency, and volume scale.

[polo007]

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[polo007]

Jon Morosi on Musgrove, Gray - MLB.com

December 18, 2020 | 00:06:35

Jon Morosi joins Hot Stove to discuss the trade market for starting pitchers, including Joe Musgrove and Sonny Gray

Toronto Blue Jays may be best fit for RHP Joe Musgrove - Call to the Pen

Joe Musgrove could be moved soon and the Toronto Blue Jays are a great fit.

According to MLB.com’s Jon Morosi, there’s a good chance that a starting pitcher gets traded at some point before the calendar switches to 2021 and that pitcher could be Pittsburgh Pirates starter Joe Musgrove. If so, the Toronto Blue Jays make the most sense as a possible landing spot.

Morosi lists the Los Angeles Angels, Boston Red Sox, and Toronto Blue Jays as the top three landing spots, but considering that Pirates general manager Ben Cherington was with the Blue Jays from 2016-2019 and the two teams have already come close to making a deal for Musgrove before, we could finally see that deal come to fruition.

With very few notable assets on their major league roster to deal this offseason, the Pirates are hoping to get a big return for arguably their top asset in Musgrove and between the three teams listed by Morosi as suitors, the Toronto Blue Jays have the deepest farm system to deal from.

Armed with multiple years of control, Musgrove just turned 28 years old and has slowly progressed into a formidable starting pitcher, poised to break out and become a more well-known name across the league.

Musgrove was worth 3.0 Wins Above Replacement in 2019 with career-high strikeout numbers and a 3.82 FIP across 32 outings and 170 innings, but injuries prevented him from coming out of the gates strong in 2020.

[polo007]

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[bturn2210]

https://www.espn.com/mlb/insider/story/_/id/30568689/what-jeff-passan-hearing-new-homes-george-springer-nolan-arenado ...Polo thanks for all you do! Are you able to post the George Springer info from Passan's latest? Thanks.

[polo007]

https://www.espn.com/mlb/insider/story/_/id/30568689/what-jeff-passan-hearing-new-homes-george-springer-nolan-arenado ...Polo thanks for all you do! Are you able to post the George Springer info from Passan's latest? Thanks.

According to Jeff Passan of ESPN.com:

1. Week 8 of free agency began Sunday with less than $200 million committed across the sport, every top player still available and no sign of the dam breaking anytime soon. It has become clear that barring some reverse-Scrooge action by a munificent owner, Trevor Bauer, DJ LeMahieu, J.T. Realmuto and George Springer -- the Mount Rushmore of this free-agent class -- will go into the new year unemployed. The staring contest between teams and the available elite players hasn't yet reached the eye-watering stage; each side is locked in and ready for this thing to go a while, particularly with no sense of when the 2021 season actually will begin. And as interesting as the markets are for Bauer, LeMahieu and Realmuto, Springer might be the most fascinating of all because of the teams vying for his services: the New York Mets and Toronto Blue Jays. There are others, too, but executives believe this is a two-team race between the duo seen as the likely biggest spenders this winter.

Certainly this benefits Springer; bidding wars these days are few and far between. But Springer also understands that there are scenarios in which both teams go in another direction. The Blue Jays, sources said, have emerged as significant players in the LeMahieu sweepstakes -- perhaps the biggest threat to him re-signing with the New York Yankees, with whom a significant gap remains. The Mets also have expressed interest in LeMahieu. New York is seen by a number of executives as the best landing spot for Bauer. Both the Mets and Jays are seen as potential trade targets for Francisco Lindor, as well, though Toronto is the likelier partner. And as Joel Sherman suggested in the New York Post, the idea of the Mets staying out of the high-end market altogether and building depth before the monster free-agent class of 2021-22 isn't far-fetched.

Wherever Springer (and Bauer and LeMahieu and Realmuto for that matter) winds up, it won't be for some paltry sum. Even if the market is slow, one thing that hasn't changed about free agency is that the best players always get paid and paid handsomely.

2. The aggressiveness of the Blue Jays, and to a lesser extent the Mets, combined with the market's silence could leave an impression that they're the only two teams willing to dish out big money this winter. That's not the case. Teams, sources said, are simply being strategic with their approaches, cognizant that the uncertainty of the season allows them such a delay. Players' frustration with that approach is perfectly understandable and adds to the undercurrent of animus between the sides, even with a number of deals -- James McCann, Mike Minor, Carlos Santana, Robbie Ray, Adam Eaton and Anthony DeSclafani -- seen as player-friendly.

The Nationals' interest in Realmuto follows their template of building around stars. Minnesota, sources said, is expected to be active. Boston might not be in on the big names, but the Red Sox are players in the next tier. The Braves probably have one more move to make. The Dodgers need a third baseman -- and, if Bauer's market collapses, might be in on a short-term deal. The Astros might be the next team to sign a player; they were aggressive in the past week across various parts of the market, including relief pitchers, according to sources.

The two mysteries: the Los Angeles Angels and the Philadelphia Phillies. So far, the Angels have value-shopped. They're in the starting-pitcher market. But Bauer? The last time they spent big on a pitcher was in 2012 on C.J. Wilson's five-year, $77.5 million deal. Over that time, he produced 5.7 wins above replacement. Since hiring Dave Dombrowski as president of baseball operations, the Phillies have suggested they do not have significant money to spend, according to sources -- unless they re-sign Realmuto. Should he go elsewhere, the money earmarked for him might not wind up in the pockets of other free agents.

[bturn2210]

https://www.espn.com/mlb/insider/story/_/id/30568689/what-jeff-passan-hearing-new-homes-george-springer-nolan-arenado ...Polo thanks for all you do! Are you able to post the George Springer info from Passan's latest? Thanks.

According to Jeff Passan of ESPN.com:

1. Week 8 of free agency began Sunday with less than $200 million committed across the sport, every top player still available and no sign of the dam breaking anytime soon. It has become clear that barring some reverse-Scrooge action by a munificent owner, Trevor Bauer, DJ LeMahieu, J.T. Realmuto and George Springer -- the Mount Rushmore of this free-agent class -- will go into the new year unemployed. The staring contest between teams and the available elite players hasn't yet reached the eye-watering stage; each side is locked in and ready for this thing to go a while, particularly with no sense of when the 2021 season actually will begin. And as interesting as the markets are for Bauer, LeMahieu and Realmuto, Springer might be the most fascinating of all because of the teams vying for his services: the New York Mets and Toronto Blue Jays. There are others, too, but executives believe this is a two-team race between the duo seen as the likely biggest spenders this winter.

Certainly this benefits Springer; bidding wars these days are few and far between. But Springer also understands that there are scenarios in which both teams go in another direction. The Blue Jays, sources said, have emerged as significant players in the LeMahieu sweepstakes -- perhaps the biggest threat to him re-signing with the New York Yankees, with whom a significant gap remains. The Mets also have expressed interest in LeMahieu. New York is seen by a number of executives as the best landing spot for Bauer. Both the Mets and Jays are seen as potential trade targets for Francisco Lindor, as well, though Toronto is the likelier partner. And as Joel Sherman suggested in the New York Post, the idea of the Mets staying out of the high-end market altogether and building depth before the monster free-agent class of 2021-22 isn't far-fetched.

Wherever Springer (and Bauer and LeMahieu and Realmuto for that matter) winds up, it won't be for some paltry sum. Even if the market is slow, one thing that hasn't changed about free agency is that the best players always get paid and paid handsomely.

2. The aggressiveness of the Blue Jays, and to a lesser extent the Mets, combined with the market's silence could leave an impression that they're the only two teams willing to dish out big money this winter. That's not the case. Teams, sources said, are simply being strategic with their approaches, cognizant that the uncertainty of the season allows them such a delay. Players' frustration with that approach is perfectly understandable and adds to the undercurrent of animus between the sides, even with a number of deals -- James McCann, Mike Minor, Carlos Santana, Robbie Ray, Adam Eaton and Anthony DeSclafani -- seen as player-friendly.

The Nationals' interest in Realmuto follows their template of building around stars. Minnesota, sources said, is expected to be active. Boston might not be in on the big names, but the Red Sox are players in the next tier. The Braves probably have one more move to make. The Dodgers need a third baseman -- and, if Bauer's market collapses, might be in on a short-term deal. The Astros might be the next team to sign a player; they were aggressive in the past week across various parts of the market, including relief pitchers, according to sources.

The two mysteries: the Los Angeles Angels and the Philadelphia Phillies. So far, the Angels have value-shopped. They're in the starting-pitcher market. But Bauer? The last time they spent big on a pitcher was in 2012 on C.J. Wilson's five-year, $77.5 million deal. Over that time, he produced 5.7 wins above replacement. Since hiring Dave Dombrowski as president of baseball operations, the Phillies have suggested they do not have significant money to spend, according to sources -- unless they re-sign Realmuto. Should he go elsewhere, the money earmarked for him might not wind up in the pockets of other free agents.

Thanks man! I'm hoping we get news of a Springer signing this week! Ha-Seong Kim's deadline to be signed is approaching, so at least we get clarity on that by January 1st!

[SharoneWright]

Real talk.

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[Schad]

I mean, he's right about the bit about swing plane, but the "back in my day" stuff about two strike slap-hitting not only is demonstrably wrong, it didn't exactly typify Dante Bichette's career. He had one of the worst K:BB ratios of any players in the 1990s, heh.

[The_Hater]

He’s flat out lying. And he’s lying because he’s trying to raise the market for his guy.

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[rotty]

dante is great. I hope he sticks around

[anj]

He’s flat out lying. And he’s lying because he’s trying to raise the market for his guy.

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Rachel's a she.