Ross Atkins' talks with media - Oct 24

[dagger]

Atkins says

-All coaches back except Eric Owens
-Qualifying offers for EE and Bautista
-Grilli's option going to be picked up
-Does not commit to Saunders QO (still working through decision on that)

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[BramptonYute]

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[dagger]

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[Schad]

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That's interesting, because it could suggest a willingness to move one of the veteran starters for a bat while trying to remain competitive. Liriano wouldn't be exceptionally valuable, but with his finishing kick to the year I could see another team with an imbalance moving a decent-enough OF with some team control for him.

Flip side with Liriano is that, if he has a good season, he's a near-lock to be QO'd in a year, so he wouldn't be given away.

[CrookedJ]

So they are ready to make QO offers on Jose and Edwin but not on Saunders. I would imagine that means they have decided against the QO.

I like the idea of trading a pitcher for a good OF. Especially if Biagini is being stretched out which also sounds plausible. They were "gonna" talk to Joe about that , but hard to see how a guy who has always been a starter would want his long term career plan to be a set up guy.

[dagger]

Well I've been saying this for some time, with Biagini we have a potential starter now, so why not deal from strength to offset a clear weakness in the outfield. If salaries in a trade were similar, that would let the team load up financially on another deal or signing elsewhere, perhaps adding a prospect in addition to a veteran by assuming a large salary (i.e. like the Liriano trade).

[Lateral Quicks]

Very surprised to hear Jacoby will be back. Is Owens taking the fall or was it his decision?

With Gibbons and staff brought back, I expect them to try and win next year. Will be really interesting to see how they tackle the outfield. I suspect Upton/Pompey or Upton/Carrera will platoon in one spot, but we'll need another regular out there. Shatkins might have hoped Ramirez would be that guy as soon as next year, but his injury probably put the kibosh on that. Maybe they'll try to snag a cheap veteran in the hopes that one of Pompey or Ramirez earn a full-time job by mid-season.

[polo007]

Toronto Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins held his year-end news conference on Monday and touched on Jose Bautista's and Edwin Encarnacion's future in Toronto, John Gibbons' contract status, balancing out the lineup over the offseason, his first year as GM of the Blue Jays and much more.

http://www.tsn.ca/video/atkins-reflects-on-first-year-as-jays-gm-looks-ahead-to-offseason~979117

[Schad]

Well I've been saying this for some time, with Biagini we have a potential starter now, so why not deal from strength to offset a clear weakness in the outfield. If salaries in a trade were similar, that would let the team load up financially on another deal or signing elsewhere, perhaps adding a prospect in addition to a veteran by assuming a large salary (i.e. like the Liriano trade).

I'd prefer we kept Biagini in the bullpen, simply because his stuff plays up so much in that role. He was barely exceeding 90 from what I remember when he was in the minors as a starter, but both his fastball and slider are real weapons with the extra rpm.

Very surprised to hear Jacoby will be back. Is Owens taking the fall or was it his decision?

Jacoby has overseen a team that finished 6th in the majors in wOBA this year, and 1st last. Slumps happen, and sometimes they happen at inconvenient times...that's not really worth a firing.

[Lateral Quicks]

Well I've been saying this for some time, with Biagini we have a potential starter now, so why not deal from strength to offset a clear weakness in the outfield. If salaries in a trade were similar, that would let the team load up financially on another deal or signing elsewhere, perhaps adding a prospect in addition to a veteran by assuming a large salary (i.e. like the Liriano trade).

I'd prefer we kept Biagini in the bullpen, simply because his stuff plays up so much in that role. He was barely exceeding 90 from what I remember when he was in the minors as a starter, but both his fastball and slider are real weapons with the extra rpm.

Agreed. Biagini is outstanding at keeping the ball in the park, which couple with a decent K rate makes for a nice late inning arm. Given he struck out just 5.8/9 in AA last year over 130 innings, banking on him as a starter would be a big risk.

[The_Hater]

Well I've been saying this for some time, with Biagini we have a potential starter now, so why not deal from strength to offset a clear weakness in the outfield. If salaries in a trade were similar, that would let the team load up financially on another deal or signing elsewhere, perhaps adding a prospect in addition to a veteran by assuming a large salary (i.e. like the Liriano trade).

Biagini wasn't looking like a quality starter in A/AA, which is exactly why the Giants didn't protect him. Makes me wonder if he figured something out? On the flip side he could tire easily as a starter or be one of those guys that batters figure out the 2nd time they see him in a game.

[The_Hater]

Very surprised to hear Jacoby will be back. Is Owens taking the fall or was it his decision?

If Jacoby is going to get blame for a disappointing 2016 offense doesn't he deserve credit for the MLB leading 2015 offense as well? It's generally tough to know how much blame/credit to put on the coach in these situations. It's not like he went from a genius to an idiot in one winter.

[JaysRule15]

Managing Sanchez's innings will still be an issue next season? He pitched 198 this year. Shouldn't he be pitching 200+ next season as well?

[Lateral Quicks]

Very surprised to hear Jacoby will be back. Is Owens taking the fall or was it his decision?

If Jacoby is going to get blame for a disappointing 2016 offense doesn't he deserve credit for the MLB leading 2015 offense as well? It's generally tough to know how much blame/credit to put on the coach in these situations. It's not like he went from a genius to an idiot in one winter.

In 2015 Jacoby presided over an offence that was, on paper, the best in the league.

In 2016, that lineup remained largely intact, and in fact added Saunders and Travis. That team lost 20 points in batting average, scored 132 fewer runs, and struck out 211 more times despite hitting 11 fewer home runs. In general, they did not meet expectations. Almost a one run per game drop off is pretty significant.

[BigLeagueChew]

Managing Sanchez's innings will still be an issue next season? He pitched 198 this year. Shouldn't he be pitching 200+ next season as well?

If they are still going to be careful then giving him a lighter workload in Spring Training or April is the best time to do it. i think that's what it means when it says managing 'front end' better and hopefully nothing to do with thinking about a bullpen move anymore whatsoever.

[The_Hater]

Very surprised to hear Jacoby will be back. Is Owens taking the fall or was it his decision?

If Jacoby is going to get blame for a disappointing 2016 offense doesn't he deserve credit for the MLB leading 2015 offense as well? It's generally tough to know how much blame/credit to put on the coach in these situations. It's not like he went from a genius to an idiot in one winter.

In 2015 Jacoby presided over an offence that was, on paper, the best in the league.

In 2016, that lineup remained largely intact, and in fact added Saunders and Travis. That team lost 20 points in batting average, scored 132 fewer runs, and struck out 211 more times despite hitting 11 fewer home runs. In general, they did not meet expectations. Almost a one run per game drop off is pretty significant.

In 2015 nobody really underachieved except for probably Tulo for those few injury plagued weeks He was here but he helped Donaldson, Goins, Travis, Pillar and Colabello all Overachieve or have career years. And we could explain a lot of the 2016 struggles on an old lineup that predictably showed some regression.

You could be right that he deserves a lot of blame for 2016 but giving him zero credit for 2015 and a majority of the blame for 2016 is still a very one sided argument.

[The Duke]

If no EE & no Jose

#1 - New Leadoff Man
#2 - Travis
#3 - Player acquired (with high OB%) for Stro/Estrada
#4 - Donaldson
#5 - Tulo
#6 - Martin
#7 - Upton/Pompey
#8 - Saunders?
#9 - Pillar

[The_Hater]

If no EE & no Jose

#1 - New Leadoff Man
#2 - Travis
#3 - Player acquired (with high OB%) for Stro/Estrada
#4 - Donaldson
#5 - Tulo
#6 - Martin
#7 - Upton/Pompey
#8 - Saunders?
#9 - Pillar

If they're truly going to reload and go for it, I can't imagine they would trade a front line starting pitcher to add a bat. That would be counter productive to the overall roster. THey would either take on a chunk of Votto's salary without losing an MLB player, sign a free agent or even resign Jose. And I can't imagine they would go into the season with Pompey at one spot. Maybe Saunders/Upton or even Carerra/Upton and another FA in RF. I could see Beltran on a 1 year deal playing RF.

[Lateral Quicks]

If no EE & no Jose

#1 - New Leadoff Man
#2 - Travis
#3 - Player acquired (with high OB%) for Stro/Estrada
#4 - Donaldson
#5 - Tulo
#6 - Martin
#7 - Upton/Pompey
#8 - Saunders?
#9 - Pillar

If they're truly going to reload and go for it, I can't imagine they would trade a front line starting pitcher to add a bat. That would be counter productive to the overall roster. THey would either take on a chunk of Votto's salary without losing an MLB player, sign a free agent or even resign Jose. And I can't imagine they would go into the season with Pompey at one spot. Maybe Saunders/Upton or even Carerra/Upton and another FA in RF. I could see Beltran on a 1 year deal playing RF.

Yeah I can't see them trading a starter either. That said, if they have any doubts over Stroman's ability to succeed as a starter going forward, selling high on him now wouldn't be a bad idea at all. Another sell high candidate is Pillar. He'll be 28 next year and still can't hit - if anything, he somehow took a step back with the bat this year. And I also have concerns over how long he can keep his Superman act up. When the defense starts to go, so does his value. If they're confident a combination of Pompey and Upton can play a competent centre field defense next year, and Pillar can net you a solid piece somewhere else, that would be worth doing. Pillar has four more years of team control, but next year is his last pre-arb season.

[polo007]

Rogers Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi joined Bob McCown and Damien Cox to discuss his takeaways from Toronto Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins’ season-ending press conference. Davidi was interested by Atkins comments that the organization wants to win now, and that they’re making Jose and Edwin a priority. He discussed the progression of Blue Jays’ prospects, and what a new Rogers CEO means for the club.

http://pmd.fan590.com/audio_on_demand-4/Shi-Davidi-with-Bob-McCown-and-Damien-Cox-BM,DC-20161024-Interview.mp3