Blue Jays Trade Rumors 2014(waiver trade deadline August 31)

[BigLeagueChew]

Chisolm

Despite the lacklustre season, a change at catcher is still a long way from guaranteed. Anthopoulos likely will explore every avenue, but free agent Brian McCann is expected to generate a lot of interest this offseason while Texas' A.J. Pierzynski and Boston's Jarrod Saltalamacchia could be equally difficult to lure away from their respective teams.

Washington's Wilson Ramos is known to be of interest to the Blue Jays but would cost a lot through trade. There isn't an easy fix, but expect this situation to remain a hot topic until Anthopoulos either makes a move or comes out and definitively says that Arencibia will be his starting catcher again in 2014.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article/tor/blue-jays-inbox-beat-reporter-gregor-chisholm-on-jp-arencibia-anthony-gose?ymd=20131008&content_id=62661834&vkey=news_tor

I will not watch the Jays next year if Arencibia is our starting catcher! Trade prospects for Ramos or sign McAnn/Pierzynski?

[torontoaces04]

I will not watch the Jays next year if Arencibia is our starting catcher! Trade prospects for Ramos or sign McAnn/Pierzynski?

Yes you will, stop being a drama queen.

...but I agree, JP stinks, and has to go.

[Michael Bradley]

Unless the Nats have a back-up option at catcher that I am not aware of, I'm not sure they have any reason to trade Ramos. He is young, puts up solid numbers, and is cheap.

The fact that the Jays are looking to upgrade from JPA in itself is a positive. I can't believe they wasted one season of this short window period with him catching as many games as he did.

[Schad]

Unless the Nats have a back-up option at catcher that I am not aware of, I'm not sure they have any reason to trade Ramos. He is young, puts up solid numbers, and is cheap.

The fact that the Jays are looking to upgrade from JPA in itself is a positive. I can't believe they wasted one season of this short window period with him catching as many games as he did.

Having spent most of the budget on a few needs, we really didn't have much choice but to roll the dice on a couple positions. It failed miserably, of course...as did the big-money acquisitions, for that matter.

[dagger]

Unlike 2B or LF where we at least have defensive options, the situation at C is miserable. No offence, and with JPA, poor defence, and Thole isn't so good on defence that he's the answer even if other positions are upgraded. Jimenez might have been a stop gap if he had played a full year, but missed the chance to play some September ball.

[Kurtz]

How come Ruiz isn't being bandied about? He's got about 2 years of juice left in him, which should be perfect for us.

[Michael Bradley]

Watching the Tigers/A's series, I think the Jays and Tigers match up well in terms of trades. The Tigers have an expensive and possibly expendable #5 starter in Porcello who looks like he is on the verge of a breakout and they desperately need some relief help which the Jays have a surplus of.

[Schad]

How come Ruiz isn't being bandied about? He's got about 2 years of juice left in him, which should be perfect for us.

It's not clear that he'll be available; Philly apparently wants to bring him back, and Ruiz is interested in re-signing there.

He'll also cost at least $7-8m a year, methinks, and I'm not sure that we're going to have that kind of money unless we're seriously escalating the payroll again. Doesn't help that his production drop-off happened to coincide with his return from a second amphetamines suspension...it'd be worth the risk if Rogers gives Anthopolous $160m to play with, but that's no given.

[Skin Blues]

The Tigers have an expensive and possibly expendable #5 starter in Porcello who looks like he is on the verge of a breakout

He's been on the verge of a breakout for the past 5 seasons, it seems. Since he was a Super 2 he's gonna be expensive in his final 2 arb years. If they don't have to give up anything special then sure, why not give him a shot? But I doubt they'd trade him for a relief pitcher.

[Wally West]

It sucks because our farm system isn't as strong as it use to be. AA has made it clear that Aaron Sanchez isn't going anywhere and we gave up Syndergaard in that awful Dickey deal. We don't really have the luxary of dealing away prospects of value to other teams like we use to. Do you give up an Osuna/Davis for a high end pitcher or catcher?

I've been paying attention to some of the situations teams are going to have heading into the offseason and two of them which stand out to me are Atlanta and Chicago. If Atlanta somehow resigns Brian McCann, does Christian Betancourt who's a high regarded defensive catching prospect that made strides on offense this year in the Southern League become available and what would his price tag even be? What's Chicago going to do with Wellington Castillo (a great fielding catcher who's average on offense) if they decide to resign Dioner Navarro who had a breakout year this year at catcher in limited at bats and feel that he's the real deal and hand him the keys at catcher? What would the price tag for Castillo be? Definitely some scenarios our team will definitely and probably already have considered heading into the offseason. There's way more scenerios like this heading into the offseason and I'll post some more when I have time.

[LBJSeizedMyID]

Can't see the Nats wanting to let Ramos go unless they really believe he can't stay healthy, but thinking the Jays go cheaper at catcher if Pierzynski isn't available. Someone like Kurt Suzuki, George Kottaras or Hank Conger perhaps?

[Michael Bradley]

The Tigers have an expensive and possibly expendable #5 starter in Porcello who looks like he is on the verge of a breakout

He's been on the verge of a breakout for the past 5 seasons, it seems. Since he was a Super 2 he's gonna be expensive in his final 2 arb years. If they don't have to give up anything special then sure, why not give him a shot? But I doubt they'd trade him for a relief pitcher.

I never saw Porcello as a breakout candidate until this season. His K/9 rate jumped significantly to 7.22 in 2013, while it hovered around 4-5 in his first few seasons. More importantly, his K increase coincided with the best GB rate of his career and the best BB rate of his career. His FIP was 3.53 and xFIP was 3.19 as a result. When you consider he hasn't turned 25 yet, there is probably still some room for growth and a chance his new ratios could carry over.

The fact that his last two arbitration years figure to be expensive is why I think he may be available. The Tigers have four superior options (Verlander, Scherzer, Sanchez, Fister), with Smyly and Alvarez more than capable of filling in the #5 spot on the cheap.

Would they trade him for relievers? I'm not sure. I just pointed out that Detroit's weakness is the pen and that's the only area the Jays have a legitimate surplus, so if the Jays grouped some relievers together (headed by Janssen), they could make an offer that would help the Tigers immediately. Whether they would want just relievers, or prospects, or money savings, etc, who knows. But I'd imagine they will trade an excess starter eventually. I know the Tigers don't care about money, but Scherzer will need to be extended soon, Fister has two arby years left, etc. They will have to make some decisions soon on who they want to keep.

[polo007]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/b ... e14792890/

The Blue Jays might go in on Japanese pitcher Masahiro Tanaka, but in the meantime, when do we find out if the, erm, Price is right?

Has Anthopoulos hit a Homer yet with the Cincinnati Reds?

“As a courtesy, you’ll wait until a team is out of the playoffs and, even then, you’ll give it a good amount of time,” Anthopoulos said Wednesday.

“I just think it’s a courtesy not to talk to guys when they’re in the playoffs. So, my calls now are to teams that are out.”

Anthopoulos’s off-season wish list couldn’t be clearer: a couple of starting pitchers and an upgrade behind the plate.

He has some commodities: in particular, bullpen depth and some cost-effective outfielders.

While it’s nice to have Steve Delabar setting up Casey Janssen, Delabar is an arm that could provide a contending team immediate ninth-inning help in 2014. The Rays can’t run Fernando Rodney out as a closer in 2014. The Reds are mulling over putting Aroldis Chapman in the rotation, especially if they decide to move starter Homer Bailey thinking he won’t be inclined to sign a multiyear contract. Other teams that are still in the race – the Detroit Tigers, for example – have expressed past interest in Delabar.

[Schad]

That's hopeful...sounds both like Delabar is highly valued and Anthopolous is open to moving him.

[Wo1verine]

Isn't A.J. Pierzynski the perfect fit for the next 2 years? That's pretty much our window for winning with this current group.

He's also a winner and obviously knows how to run a staff.

[Schad]

Isn't A.J. Pierzynski the perfect fit for the next 2 years? That's pretty much our window for winning with this current group.

He's also a winner and obviously knows how to run a staff.

He's an option, but he's another guy who'll likely get somewhere in the $7m/year range, so it really depends on what our payroll will be.

He's also someone who, when he hits a real decline, is going to be really quite frightening offensively. His walk rate both this season and career has been considerably lower than that of Arencibia...if his bat speed goes, oh lawd.

[polo007]

http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/blue-j ... -how-long/

Many of the team’s top players, including Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, Jose Reyes, Brett Lawrie and R.A. Dickey remain under team control for at least three more seasons. Others, such as Colby Rasmus and Brandon Morrow, have just one more guaranteed year in Toronto.

Since so much of the Blue Jays’ core remains in place for three years—an eternity in the fast-paced world of MLB transactions—Anthopoulos is positioned to keep this team in place if he wants. If he prefers to re-shape the roster, as he did last winter with blockbuster deals with the New York Mets and Miami Marlins, then that option also exists.

“The core that we have in place from a contractual standpoint speaks for itself,” he says. “That’s not to say that we would rule anything out. No one has a no-trade clause. Clearly, with players that are productive if you move those players you don’t want to fill one hole to create one in another area. But I don’t think we ever enter any discussions saying we’re unwilling to discuss any player.”

The Blue Jays may consider trading players including Bautista this winter, but assuming the right fielder stays put along with Encarnacion, Anthopoulos can keep two of the top right-handed bats in MLB for the next three years. That’s a good starting point for any lineup.

The Blue Jays’ pitching staff needs work, though, so the front office must make changes leading up to the 2014 season, a reality acknowledged by Anthopoulos, manager John Gibbons and the Blue Jays’ players.

It’s now a question of how much change is required. If Anthopoulos wants to keep the core of this team in place, he can do so for another three years, supplementing the roster with starting pitching and a position player or two in the hopes of better health and results in future seasons.

And if the disappointment of 2013 has weakened Anthopoulos’ belief that the core currently in place will yield a winner, he can make larger adjustments such as the deals he made a year ago. Change is on its way one way or another, it’s just a question of how far the Blue Jays decide to go.

[akakalakin]

“The core that we have in place from a contractual standpoint speaks for itself,” he says. -

is he high again, they were in last- fire this guy

[Wo1verine]

The Toronto Blue Jays’ longstanding interest in left-hander Brett Anderson hasn’t disappeared, even after an injury-plagued year. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reported Thursday that numerous teams are interested in acquiring Anderson from the Oakland Athletics, particularly the Blue Jays.

The Blue Jays have pursued Anderson for two years and had a scout following him at the end of the 2013 season, according to Slusser. MLB teams routinely scout potentially available players, so the Blue Jays are not necessarily targeting the 25-year-old

.

“Very few players are, for lack of a better term, clean in terms of their (medical) file,” Toronto general manager Alex Anthopoulos said on the final day of the regular season. “If we are willing to take (a health risk), maybe that will influence us in terms of the acquisition cost, or what we would pay.”

Anderson started 30 games as a rookie in 2009, but has started fewer than 20 games in each year since.

http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/re ... -anderson/

What do you guys think it would take to acquire Anderson?

[Schad]

I wouldn't give up anything even the least bit significant for him...he has averaged less than 70 IP a year over the past four seasons. The oft-injured Morrow? 126 IP a year over that stretch. Josh Johnson? 129 IP a year.

That said, it might not take anything. Oakland has suggested that they will pick up the $8m option that Anderson holds for next year, but I'm not terribly convinced that they aren't just working leverage to try and effect a trade...assuming that their payroll will be in the $60-70m range again next season, that's a tonne of money to spend on a guy who has on average pitched one-third of a season in his last four years.