Latest News/rumours

[spykelee]

and JP says the jays are done spending money this off-season... so looks like matt clement is going to be our big time off season acqusition... woah watch out... meh, whatever, the **** yankees and there **** **** ass contracts are **** bull anyways. **** pisses me off

[hsb]

I'm not even mad at the Blue Jays. I really have no feeling, it is what it is.

[5DOM]

lol
Burnett -> 3rd round pick

[Raptorian]

Well,

I think this offseason so far has made it abundantly clear on how we can compete in the AL East. The only way is to take the Devil Rays route, be terrible for about 10 years, stockpile #1 picks and hope that we can eventually compete.

[Cartman]

Tex signs with Big Apple money and now we get 3rd round pick from Burnett..wow

[Holmes]

How can one say they are done spending money when they didn't even spend money in the first place?

[Schad]

Tex signs with Big Apple money and now we get 3rd round pick from Burnett..wow

Third rounder and a sandwich pick, which'll probably fall in the 33-37 range. Still pretty bad.

[SharoneWright]

Tex signs with Big Apple money and now we get 3rd round pick from Burnett..wow

Third rounder and a sandwich pick, which'll probably fall in the 33-37 range. Still pretty bad.

Yeppers. Sad indeed.

from Buster Olney:

Losers: The Blue Jays. They're stuck in the dreaded no-man's land: The Jays are not moving forward and they're not rebuilding, with their payroll locked in place. Their superstar pitcher, Roy Halladay, is at his peak, and he's surrounded by a lot of talented young players who will need more time to develop. And the Jays sadly inhabit a division loaded with three monsters -- the Yankees, with their staggering payroll and financial might; the Red Sox, another team with huge resources and a great farm system; and the Rays, who might have more pure talent than anybody in the game in their organization.

It might behoove the Jays to take a step back and consider dealing Halladay, because contending is going to be very difficult for them in the immediate future.

Oh, and by the way: The Jays had thought that they might get a first-round pick from the loss of A.J. Burnett. Because the Yankees signed Teixeira and Sabathia, the Jays will now get the Yankees' third-round pick, instead.

[Michael Bradley]

It surprises me that Ricciardi would rather get picks over ready talent in the first place. He let three FA's go and restocked the farm system in 2007, but how is that going to help during Halladay's prime? It won't. The Justin Jackson's and Brett Cecil's of the world will be contributing, if at all, after Roy is gone. Even if they traded Burnett at the deadline for a similar package that Oakland got for Harden (a decent prospect and some filler), at least they would have had MLB ready talent to plug into spots in 2009-beyond. Now it's two draft picks that may or may not pan out five years from now. How is that going to help in 2009-10?

That, in a nutshell, is Toronto's problem. Not only do they lack direction but they have a GM who is gunshy about going all the way. Being stuck in the middle is better than taking a risk in his mind.

Letting Burnett go for a 3rd round pick and a sandwich pick is irresponsible. I realize no one expected the Yankees to get three Type-A's in the off-season, but that i a possibility any time you are dealing with draft compensation. The Jays got a 3rd round pick for Escobar too (Adam Lind). You can't let players of that calibre go for so little and expect to compete short-term or even long-term.

[Peteros]

How can one say they are done spending money when they didn't even spend money in the first place?

The Jays budget was cut down this year to $85 million. So how can they possibly spend?

Just as a comparison this year's NYY's will have a payroll of (pending any other signings) over $250 million. Craaaazy!

[SharoneWright]

Michael Barrett gets a minor league deal:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3798451

[Holmes]

Mike Maroth!

I can't wait until he updates his site!!!

http://www.marothbaseball.com

[Relentless88]

Michael Barrett gets a minor league deal:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3798451

There's the big story; Jays finish spending, sign Matt Clement and Michael Barrett to minor league deals. Wow.

[5DOM]

5 line article = highlight of this offseason

[Holmes]

Yes. Former 38 HR and 124 RBI guy. Sweet.