2012 Jays Off Season Discussion Thread

dagger · Post #1 » by **dagger** » Wed Sep 28, 2011 11:06 pm

I guess we need a general offseason thread to complement the trade thread.

Who stays, who goes, who gets promoted/demoted?

Here's the list of roster guys on whom decisions have to be made. On arb eligibles, Rasmus, Morrow and Janssen appear to be keepers, plus McGowan and maybe Litsch. There's a risk Villaneuva does too well in arbitration. Wise and Carlson strike me as goners. I suspect Dustin won't be hard to sign, and Rasmus doesn't have a good case for a big raise.

Among free agents, I suppose we keep EE, tender Francisco and Johnson. I wouldn't tender Molina, but if he re-signs as a UFA so we don't rush d'Arnaud, fine.

Arbitration eligible: Brandon Morrow; Colby Rasmus; Casey Janssen; Dustin McGowan; Jesse Litsch; Carlos Villanueva; Dewayne Wise; Jesse Carlson.

Free agents: Frank Francisco; Kelly Johnson; Shawn Camp; Jose Molina; Edwin Encarnacion (team option); Jon Rauch (team option); Chris Woodward

Wally West · Post #2 » by **Wally West** » Thu Sep 29, 2011 1:00 am

Gone: Dewayne Wise, Jesse Carlson, Frank Francisco, Shawn Camp, Jose Molina, Jon Rauch and Chris Woodward retires and joins our front office.

Post #3 » by **tsherkin** » Thu Sep 29, 2011 1:12 am

Francisco not being on this team anymore would be nice.

Randle McMurphy · Post #4 » by **Randle McMurphy** » Thu Sep 29, 2011 1:30 am

tsherkin wrote:Francisco not being on this team anymore would be nice.

Didn't like his dominant last 3 months much?

Also, why wouldn't you offer Molina arbitration? You'll get a draft pick out of it.

Wally West · Post #5 » by **Wally West** » Thu Sep 29, 2011 2:03 am

Randle McMurphy wrote:
tsherkin wrote:Francisco not being on this team anymore would be nice.

Didn't like his dominant last 3 months much?

Also, why wouldn't you offer Molina arbitration? You'll get a draft pick out of it.

Who said anything about not offering arbitration to Molina? He'll be offered arbitration, he'll decline and we'll let him walk as a Type B free agent. "Gone:"

-MetA4- · Post #6 » by **-MetA4-** » Thu Sep 29, 2011 2:10 am

Randle McMurphy wrote:Didn't like his dominant last 3 months much?

I sometimes wonder about some of the posters on here....

1.42 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, no blown saves post All-Star break.

Even with the horrible first half, he still finishes the season with a fairly good year.

Lateral Quicks · Post #7 » by **Lateral Quicks** » Thu Sep 29, 2011 3:00 am

Of the arb eligible, all but Wise and Carlson stay. Of the free agents, Johnson, Molina and Encarnacion stay. I gather Francisco has burned bridges with management thanks to his off-field behaviour. As of now I see next year's team stacking up as follows:

Starters:
Romero
???
Morrow
Alvarez
McGowan

Bullpen:
Janssen
Carreno
Villanueva
Cecil
???
???
???

Lineup:
RF Bautista
CF Rasmus
LF ???
3B Lawrie
SS Escobar
2B Johnson
1B ???
C Arencibia
DH Encarnacion

Bench:
Molina
Davis
???
???

silverhill27 · Post #8 » by **silverhill27** » Thu Sep 29, 2011 4:01 am

Lateral Quicks wrote:
Starters:
Romero
Morrow
Alvarez
Cecil
McGowan / Drabek / Molina

Bullpen:
Janssen
Carreno
Villanueva
Litsch
Perez
???
???

Lineup:
RF Bautista
CF Rasmus
LF ???
3B Lawrie
SS Escobar
2B Johnson
1B ???
C Arencibia
DH Encarnacion

Bench:
Molina
Davis
Loewen
???

Cecil deserves another half season to prove himself before moving him to the pen. If he fails, one of Hutchison/ Drabek/ Molina/ McGuire/Jenkins should be able to fill his spot. Unless AA is serious about Darvish, I don't think he'll be in on a FA starter. McGowan needs to have a good spring training before he's handed a starting job. Molina needs to be put on the 40-man next year so he should be considered.

As for the bullpen, I think Litsch and Perez are fine in bullpen as ROOGY and LOOGY. I wouldn't mind giving Carlson a shot either depending on his health. The Jays will probably be in the market for a closer. However, I really wish they gave Janssen a shot at closing this year. Good righty, lefty splits and only 2 HRs allowed all year.

On to the lineup. Johnson should be back on a short-term deal. I'd like to see him bat 2nd next year and have him and Escobar be the OBP guys for Bautista. I'm not sold on EE at DH and Lind at 1st, there definitely needs to be more consistency offensively at these two positions. A solution might be to platoon them. Loewen is out of options so he should at least be on the bench. Molina won't be back due to his type B status so maybe Jeroloman?

SharoneWright · Post #9 » by **SharoneWright** » Thu Sep 29, 2011 5:00 am

Snider.

no 'swing adjustments'.

Michael Bradley · Post #10 » by **Michael Bradley** » Thu Sep 29, 2011 1:04 pm

Pretty safe bet that the Jays offer arbitration to all their free agents other than Rauch. Francisco and Camp are a risk to accept if they can't get a better deal elsewhere, but there are worse things in the world than having two decent relievers back for one more year. I'd imagine EE's option will be picked up, and the team will try to work out deals with Johnson (definitely) and Molina (possibly). Maybe bring McDonald back as well. I don't think AA is the type to release Teahen with the amount of money he makes in 2012, so I would expect him on the bench next season.

CrymeTime · Post #11 » by **CrymeTime** » Thu Sep 29, 2011 4:57 pm

I have a good feeling that Jose Molina would want to stay with our team.

Santoki · Post #12 » by **Santoki** » Thu Sep 29, 2011 6:34 pm

Michael Bradley wrote:Pretty safe bet that the Jays offer arbitration to all their free agents other than Rauch. Francisco and Camp are a risk to accept if they can't get a better deal elsewhere, but there are worse things in the world than having two decent relievers back for one more year. I'd imagine EE's option will be picked up, and the team will try to work out deals with Johnson (definitely) and Molina (possibly). Maybe bring McDonald back as well. I don't think AA is the type to release Teahen with the amount of money he makes in 2012, so I would expect him on the bench next season.

Is it possible to work a buyout in cases like this? I just don't see how the Jays can keep Teahen on the bench for a full season.

Wally West · Post #13 » by **Wally West** » Thu Sep 29, 2011 10:56 pm

If there's no room for Cecil in our rotation next season, the logical thing would be to trade him or package him in a bigger deal while he still has some value.

Graham's Cracker · Post #14 » by **Graham's Cracker** » Thu Sep 29, 2011 11:15 pm

If Murph isn't brought back, I'd like to see Chad Mottola get an opportunity. Like Bruce Walton, his guys seem to love him. I think it's helpful that he's worked with most of the guys on the club now too.

In his two seasons in Las Vegas, Mottola has worked with some outstanding hitters, including current Blue Jays J.P. Arencibia (last year's PCL Most Valuable Player), Brett Lawrie (who hit .353 for the 51s this season) and Eric Thames (.352), and former Toronto player Travis Snider, batting .327 for Las Vegas.

"I don't think you can say enough great things about him as a hitting coach. He's a guy who really understands different personalities and different styles of swings," Snider said.

"He's my favorite hitting coach I've ever had, and that's saying a lot because I thought really highly of my guy last year," said Cooper. "He understands what you go through as a hitter".

http://www.lvrj.com/sports/51s-in-swing-of-things-with-mottola-128302613.html

Graham's Cracker · Post #15 » by **Graham's Cracker** » Thu Sep 29, 2011 11:20 pm

I find 40-man rosters confusing. It'd be interesting to see who in the minors the Jays have to make decisions on this off-season. Hopefully someone out there with a bit more knowledge could compile the list.

Thanks.

silverhill27 · Post #16 » by **silverhill27** » Fri Sep 30, 2011 4:03 am

Graham's Cracker wrote:I find 40-man rosters confusing. It'd be interesting to see who in the minors the Jays have to make decisions on this off-season. Hopefully someone out there with a bit more knowledge could compile the list.

Thanks.

I think D'Arnaud, Molina and McDade are the big ones. Also guys like Ahrens, Jackson and Tolisano from the 2007 draft and the college guys from 2008.

Post #17 » by **darth_federer** » Fri Sep 30, 2011 4:04 am

He indicated a lukewarm commitment to re-signing free agent reliever Frank Francisco, catcher Jose Molina and second baseman Kelly Johnson, but will likely leave the door open with an offer of arbitration, since they would all likely yield a 2012 draft pick as compensation.

http://www.thestar.com/sports/baseball/ ... comes-next

Post #18 » by **Schad** » Fri Sep 30, 2011 11:11 am

Graham's Cracker wrote:If Murph isn't brought back, I'd like to see Chad Mottola get an opportunity. Like Bruce Walton, his guys seem to love him. I think it's helpful that he's worked with most of the guys on the club now too.

Agreed, I've heard nothing but good things about him.

Graham's Cracker · Post #19 » by **Graham's Cracker** » Fri Sep 30, 2011 4:28 pm

darth_federer wrote:
He indicated a lukewarm commitment to re-signing free agent reliever Frank Francisco, catcher Jose Molina and second baseman Kelly Johnson, but will likely leave the door open with an offer of arbitration, since they would all likely yield a 2012 draft pick as compensation.

http://www.thestar.com/sports/baseball/ ... comes-next

Gotta say, I love the terry grant avatar

Homer Jay · Post #20 » by **Homer Jay** » Fri Sep 30, 2011 10:28 pm

Well AA said he will probably go the FA route to address the bullpen.

Janssen, Carreno, Perez, Litsch are likely locks. That leaves 3 or 4 spots (likely 4 judging by this year).

FF may or may not be retained. AA said an arby offer was likely but I guess it would depend on price.
I think Rauch and Camp are gone.

Guys I hope we might target would be J.C. Romero, Matt Capps, and Jonathon Broxton.

For starters, if C.J. Wilson is not available, I think Mark Buehrle might be a decent fallback.