Blue Jays vs. White Sox, July 7-9

[Michael Bradley]

I think Lukes/Clement/Barger have definitely played themselves into an everyday role at this point. Which begs the question, what do we do with Giminez/Santander/Varsho when they are back?

Against RHP: Barger at 3B, Lukes in LF, Gimenez at 2B.

Against LHP: Clement at 2B, Barger at 3B, and RHB (Davis Schneider or a deadline pickup) in LF.

Clement has a 59 wRC+ against RHP this season. He's not a starter. He's done a good job filling in, but his best role is as a super sub. Whether Schneider and the front office agree with that is a different story.

[bluerap23]

I think Lukes/Clement/Barger have definitely played themselves into an everyday role at this point. Which begs the question, what do we do with Giminez/Santander/Varsho when they are back?

Unfortunately nothing we can do with Giminez and Santander as they have negative trade value. Giminez deal was always a head-scratcher for me. I wouldn't be surprised to see them mover Varsho because I'm not sure we can afford to sign him and he probably still has value on trade market.

They won't trade Varsho midseason while they are in 1st. It could happen in the offseason if they can't extend him, though.

Also, check out Gimenez's xwOBA this year. There's nothing wrong with him or that deal and his offensive numbers would have corrected themselves over time (they were already beginning to before he got hurt again).

As far as Santander, he looked awful but it's pretty easy to attribute a lot of that to his injury. If he can get healthy again this season, there's no reason to think he can't be a productive hitter.

All three of them will start more or less full time when they return, as they should. Particularly against RHPs.

Only thing I disagree with is Giminez. Paying him 23million in 27, 28 and 29 is complete malpractice by Shatikins. Yes, he is an elite defender, but his bat has somehow been even worse this year. He is in fact having the worst offensive season of his career. If by turning it around you are referring to the 3 games he played last, I'd call that a pretty small sample to get excited about. I hate xwOBA. It isn't even updated regularly and his 24 point bump is not that impressive. He is money very poorly spent.

[Randle McMurphy]

Unfortunately nothing we can do with Giminez and Santander as they have negative trade value. Giminez deal was always a head-scratcher for me. I wouldn't be surprised to see them mover Varsho because I'm not sure we can afford to sign him and he probably still has value on trade market.

They won't trade Varsho midseason while they are in 1st. It could happen in the offseason if they can't extend him, though.

Also, check out Gimenez's xwOBA this year. There's nothing wrong with him or that deal and his offensive numbers would have corrected themselves over time (they were already beginning to before he got hurt again).

As far as Santander, he looked awful but it's pretty easy to attribute a lot of that to his injury. If he can get healthy again this season, there's no reason to think he can't be a productive hitter.

All three of them will start more or less full time when they return, as they should. Particularly against RHPs.

Only thing I disagree with is Giminez. Paying him 23million in 27, 28 and 29 is complete malpractice by Shatikins. Yes, he is an elite defender, but his bat has somehow been even worse this year. He is in fact having the worst offensive season of his career. If by turning it around you are referring to the 3 games he played last, I'd call that a pretty small sample to get excited about. I hate xwOBA. It isn't even updated regularly and his 24 point bump is not that impressive. He is money very poorly spent.

That money won’t be an issue if he maintains his defensive level and hits even close to his career average (which his batted ball stats this year suggest he’s fully capable of). And I’d much rather spend that money on Gimenez than an aging Bichette who will be moved to 2B within a year or two, which was the calculation they made there.

[bluerap23]

They won't trade Varsho midseason while they are in 1st. It could happen in the offseason if they can't extend him, though.

Also, check out Gimenez's xwOBA this year. There's nothing wrong with him or that deal and his offensive numbers would have corrected themselves over time (they were already beginning to before he got hurt again).

As far as Santander, he looked awful but it's pretty easy to attribute a lot of that to his injury. If he can get healthy again this season, there's no reason to think he can't be a productive hitter.

All three of them will start more or less full time when they return, as they should. Particularly against RHPs.

Only thing I disagree with is Giminez. Paying him 23million in 27, 28 and 29 is complete malpractice by Shatikins. Yes, he is an elite defender, but his bat has somehow been even worse this year. He is in fact having the worst offensive season of his career. If by turning it around you are referring to the 3 games he played last, I'd call that a pretty small sample to get excited about. I hate xwOBA. It isn't even updated regularly and his 24 point bump is not that impressive. He is money very poorly spent.

That money won’t be an issue if he maintains his defensive level and hits even close to his career average (which his batted ball stats this year suggest he’s fully capable of). And I’d much rather spend that money on Gimenez than an aging Bichette who will be moved to 2B within a year or two, which was the calculation they made there.

Me - I'd rather pay Clement 1/10 the salary for better overall play

[Randle McMurphy]

Only thing I disagree with is Giminez. Paying him 23million in 27, 28 and 29 is complete malpractice by Shatikins. Yes, he is an elite defender, but his bat has somehow been even worse this year. He is in fact having the worst offensive season of his career. If by turning it around you are referring to the 3 games he played last, I'd call that a pretty small sample to get excited about. I hate xwOBA. It isn't even updated regularly and his 24 point bump is not that impressive. He is money very poorly spent.

That money won’t be an issue if he maintains his defensive level and hits even close to his career average (which his batted ball stats this year suggest he’s fully capable of). And I’d much rather spend that money on Gimenez than an aging Bichette who will be moved to 2B within a year or two, which was the calculation they made there.

Me - I'd rather pay Clement 1/10 the salary for better overall play

Clement's playing SS next year.

[Mehar]

I think Lukes/Clement/Barger have definitely played themselves into an everyday role at this point. Which begs the question, what do we do with Giminez/Santander/Varsho when they are back?

Against RHP: Barger at 3B, Lukes in LF, Gimenez at 2B.

Against LHP: Clement at 2B, Barger at 3B, and RHB (Davis Schneider or a deadline pickup) in LF.

Clement has a 59 wRC+ against RHP this season. He's not a starter. He's done a good job filling in, but his best role is as a super sub. Whether Schneider and the front office agree with that is a different story.

Call it mirage or not, but based on how Clement has performed this year- I want him in the lineup on a regular basis, along with Lukes and Barger. All three guys have earned their playing time based on performance. Like I said previously, you can have Clement at 3rd, Barger in RF, when Gimenez is back playing Second.

All three of Lukes, Clement, Barger can be in the lineup when Varsho and Gimenez come back. It just means that Lukes will be in LF, Varsho in CF, and Springer at DH. It also means guys like Straw, Loperfido, Wagner, and Schneider will be on the bench more times than not, until this team makes a trade or two to enhance the bullpen and starting pitching.

[Asianiac_24]

I’m pretty sure Giminez will be moved to SS next year when Bo leaves. If we are paying him 23 million to play defense, we should put him where the defense matters more.

[Hottie McShotty]

Yeah, Bo is good as gone. Gimenez was picked up to be his replacement. It's unfortunate that we can't get anything in return for him. It would have brought back some nice prospects.

Bo leads the team in hits again this year. Going to be tough replacing him.

[JaysRule15]

Yeah, Bo is good as gone. Gimenez was picked up to be his replacement. It's unfortunate that we can't get anything in return for him. It would have brought back some nice prospects.

Bo leads the team in hits again this year. Going to be tough replacing him.

Leading the team in hits doesn't mean as much when Bo doesn't walk at all. So his on-base percentage is below average at .311. WRC+ of 105 this year. He's been slight above average this year offensively while grading out as slightly below average defensively.

[bluerap23]

Yeah, Bo is good as gone. Gimenez was picked up to be his replacement. It's unfortunate that we can't get anything in return for him. It would have brought back some nice prospects.

Bo leads the team in hits again this year. Going to be tough replacing him.

Leading the team in hits doesn't mean as much when Bo doesn't walk at all. So his on-base percentage is below average at .311. WRC+ of 105 this year. He's been slight above average this year offensively while grading out as slightly below average defensively.

Despite management's love affair with defence only baseball players, you still need to score runs. If we aren't bringing Bo back I really hope we are replacing him with someone that can produce at the plate.

[JaysRule15]

Yeah, Bo is good as gone. Gimenez was picked up to be his replacement. It's unfortunate that we can't get anything in return for him. It would have brought back some nice prospects.

Bo leads the team in hits again this year. Going to be tough replacing him.

Leading the team in hits doesn't mean as much when Bo doesn't walk at all. So his on-base percentage is below average at .311. WRC+ of 105 this year. He's been slight above average this year offensively while grading out as slightly below average defensively.

Despite management's love affair with defence only baseball players, you still need to score runs. If we aren't bringing Bo back I really hope we are replacing him with someone that can produce at the plate.

Defense is a huge reason why this team is playing so well currently. We're the best defensive team in the majors. There's no way we would've had the same record in one-run games that we currently do without an elite defense.

I don't think anyone on this team is like a pure glove only type. I assume you mean Kirk, Varsho and Gimenez when you say management loves defence only players. Varsho graded as a league average bat last year with a 98 WRC+ and was at 104+ WRC in limited at-bats this year. Kirk had a couple of down years but has performed well offensively before and is doing so again this season. Gimenez hasn't been great offensively this year, but he's been decent in the past and shown flashes of being good this year.

The problem with Bo is that while he does get hits, he really doesn't do anything else well offensively. So his overall offensive impact is quite limited. Especially this season when he isn't hitting for power as much either and is putting up the second lowest SLG season of his career currently. Combine that with his below average defense and his value drops quite a bit. I would be extremely leery of giving him any big money deals.

[WuTang_OG]

Vladdy been late on fast balls for years lol

[Mehar]

Sandlin on the DL again. It is about time this organization acts sooner than later to acquire another high leverage reliever. You cannot keep wearing out guys like Hoffman, Rodriguez, and even Chad Green now.

You have excess outfielders on the Major League roster and in Buffalo with guys like Loperfido, Schneider, etc., and even some lower tier prospects that would be attractive to rebuilding teams. Do not wait until July 31st, while putting on extra workload for certain guys the next 3 weeks.

[bluerap23]

Leading the team in hits doesn't mean as much when Bo doesn't walk at all. So his on-base percentage is below average at .311. WRC+ of 105 this year. He's been slight above average this year offensively while grading out as slightly below average defensively.

Despite management's love affair with defence only baseball players, you still need to score runs. If we aren't bringing Bo back I really hope we are replacing him with someone that can produce at the plate.

Defense is a huge reason why this team is playing so well currently. We're the best defensive team in the majors. There's no way we would've had the same record in one-run games that we currently do without an elite defense.

I don't think anyone on this team is like a pure glove only type. I assume you mean Kirk, Varsho and Gimenez when you say management loves defence only players. Varsho graded as a league average bat last year with a 98 WRC+ and was at 104+ WRC in limited at-bats this year. Kirk had a couple of down years but has performed well offensively before and is doing so again this season. Gimenez hasn't been great offensively this year, but he's been decent in the past and shown flashes of being good this year.

The problem with Bo is that while he does get hits, he really doesn't do anything else well offensively. So his overall offensive impact is quite limited. Especially this season when he isn't hitting for power as much either and is putting up the second lowest SLG season of his career currently. Combine that with his below average defense and his value drops quite a bit. I would be extremely leery of giving him any big money deals.

If we are the best defensive team with Bo, we can continue to play Bo. Giminez is pretty awful at the plate and so is Varsho. We are playing good defence without our 2 best defenders and we are winning because we are also hitting. It helps when you don't have 2 guys hitting 200 in the lineup every day. You still need hits to win.

[Randle McMurphy]

Despite management's love affair with defence only baseball players, you still need to score runs. If we aren't bringing Bo back I really hope we are replacing him with someone that can produce at the plate.

Defense is a huge reason why this team is playing so well currently. We're the best defensive team in the majors. There's no way we would've had the same record in one-run games that we currently do without an elite defense.

I don't think anyone on this team is like a pure glove only type. I assume you mean Kirk, Varsho and Gimenez when you say management loves defence only players. Varsho graded as a league average bat last year with a 98 WRC+ and was at 104+ WRC in limited at-bats this year. Kirk had a couple of down years but has performed well offensively before and is doing so again this season. Gimenez hasn't been great offensively this year, but he's been decent in the past and shown flashes of being good this year.

The problem with Bo is that while he does get hits, he really doesn't do anything else well offensively. So his overall offensive impact is quite limited. Especially this season when he isn't hitting for power as much either and is putting up the second lowest SLG season of his career currently. Combine that with his below average defense and his value drops quite a bit. I would be extremely leery of giving him any big money deals.

If we are the best defensive team with Bo, we can continue to play Bo. Giminez is pretty awful at the plate and so is Varsho. We are playing good defence without our 2 best defenders and we are winning because we are also hitting. It helps when you don't have 2 guys hitting 200 in the lineup every day. You still need hits to win.

Probably not true about Gimenez and definitely not true about Varsho.

[Asianiac_24]

We are winning right now because George Springer is playing like Barry Bonds, and we are hitting like .400 with RISP. Can’t expect that to continue, especially if you insert back the bats of Varsho and Giminez

[Randle McMurphy]

We are winning right now because George Springer is playing like Barry Bonds, and we are hitting like .400 with RISP. Can’t expect that to continue, especially if you insert back the bats of Varsho and Giminez

The offense has been fine for the past 2 months but we’re winning right now primarily due to defense and luck more than anything else.

Varsho and Gimenez are among this team’s best players (and Varsho probably is their best player). They will play regularly as they should.

[Boogie!]

Schneider is back

[Randle McMurphy]

Sometimes Vlad’s groundballs end up in doubles

[Boogie!]

I mean Guerrero rbi double but also still pounding it into the dirt.