Jays pick up options on Lind, Janssen, DeRosa, no Kawasaki

dagger · Post #1 » by **dagger** » Thu Oct 31, 2013 10:09 pm

http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/blue-j ... en-option/

SHI DAVIDI
OCTOBER 31, 2013, 5:56 PM

TORONTO – The Toronto Blue Jays have exercised the 2014 contract options on Casey Janssen, Adam Lind and Mark DeRosa while declining the option on Munenori Kawasaki, multiple sources told sportsnet.ca Thursday.

Lind will earn $7 million, Janssen $4 million and DeRosa $750,000. Kawasaki would have earned $1 million, but may still return on a minor-league deal.

The moves mean the Blue Jays now have $120 million committed to 16 different players for 2014.

Janssen, 32, was one of the most effective closers in baseball during the 2013 season, making the decision an easy one for the team. The $4 million option is part of the US$5.9 million, two-year deal Janssen just completed, leaving him eligible for free agency after the next campaign.

Janssen posted a 4-1 record and converted 34 of his 36 save chances, tied with Steve Cishek for the best rate in baseball at 94.4 per cent. He posted an ERA of 2.56 and his OPS against of .558 was the seventh lowest among American League relievers.

Fairview4Life · Post #2 » by **Fairview4Life** » Thu Oct 31, 2013 11:56 pm

No Kawasaki? Nightmare season rolls on.

Santoki · Post #3 » by **Santoki** » Fri Nov 1, 2013 1:46 am

Fairview4Life wrote:No Kawasaki? Nightmare season rolls on.

They're going with Maicer off the bench next season since they're paying the guy like $3 million. I would have just bought him out and sent him on his way, but I'm still convinced they're more worried about some payroll ceiling than trying to improve the roster.

BigLeagueChew · Post #4 » by **BigLeagueChew** » Fri Nov 1, 2013 2:23 am

Kawasaki to the Red Sox.

Randle McMurphy · Post #5 » by **Randle McMurphy** » Fri Nov 1, 2013 2:32 am

Another downside to giving Izturis multiple years.

kwamebargnani · Post #6 » by **kwamebargnani** » Fri Nov 1, 2013 2:59 am

lol @ DeRosa

s e n s i · Post #7 » by **s e n s i** » Fri Nov 1, 2013 3:17 am

kwamebargnani wrote:lol @ DeRosa

it's not laughable imo. a .323 wOBA, .810 OPS vs lefties last season with a decent enough eye to draw a walk, next season he probably plays a **** ton less than he did last season, and if that's the case then i can live with a replacement level player for $750k, especially if that's the other side of a platoon still featuring adam lind

dkmo · Post #8 » by **dkmo** » Fri Nov 1, 2013 9:10 am

DeRosa or Kawasaki... who would you have kept as your utility infielder?

Cutting a favorite player of the fans doesn't seem like a good way to start the offseason.

Post #9 » by **Duffman100** » Fri Nov 1, 2013 1:05 pm

kwamebargnani wrote:lol @ DeRosa

Well, you need someone to platoon with Lind.

Wo1verine · Post #10 » by **Wo1verine** » Fri Nov 1, 2013 1:40 pm

Last i heard it's not even a guarantee DeRosa returns as he might call it a career.

Santoki · Post #11 » by **Santoki** » Fri Nov 1, 2013 4:04 pm

If we're looking at the intangibles that Kawasaki brings, you also have to look at what DeRosa does as well. Clearly, he was the de facto leader of the clubhouse last season, and the Jays need as much veteran presence as possible for next year. The way DeRosa has come in and been that guy makes me think we could see him in a managing role of sorts sooner rather than later. He seems to fit that model.

kwamebargnani · Post #12 » by **kwamebargnani** » Fri Nov 1, 2013 6:42 pm

Duffman100 wrote:
kwamebargnani wrote:lol @ DeRosa

Well, you need someone to platoon with Lind.

What does it say about the team, when Mark freaking DeRosa is the platoon partner with Lind?

s e n s i · Post #13 » by **s e n s i** » Fri Nov 1, 2013 8:06 pm

kwamebargnani wrote:
Duffman100 wrote:
kwamebargnani wrote:lol @ DeRosa

Well, you need someone to platoon with Lind.

What does it say about the team, when Mark freaking DeRosa is the platoon partner with Lind?

"Mark freaking DeRosa" had a .355 wOBA vs. lefties last season. while a DH combo of lind/derosa leaves a hell of a lot to be desired, it's not terribly bad either. an .800-.850 OPS between them both is more than adequate, and i think that's reasonable. i haven't looked at the FA market for DH's, if there's one out there that can be had at a reasonable cost then do tell. who we're wielding at 2B, C, SP, and maybe LF is maybe a better barometer of what we should expect next season

kwamebargnani · Post #14 » by **kwamebargnani** » Fri Nov 1, 2013 8:51 pm

s e n s i wrote:"Mark freaking DeRosa" had a .355 wOBA vs. lefties last season. while a DH combo of lind/derosa leaves a hell of a lot to be desired, it's not terribly bad either. an .800-.850 OPS between them both is more than adequate, and i think that's reasonable. i haven't looked at the FA market for DH's, if there's one out there that can be had at a reasonable cost then do tell. who we're wielding at 2B, C, SP, and maybe LF is maybe a better barometer of what we should expect next season

He's been **** for 4 years now. It's unreasonable to expect those are the numbers we're gonna be getting from a 39 year old guy who put up -0.8WAR over the past 4 seasons. It's not like he's an adequate defender either. He's a pylon out there. Some of you think i'm suggesting we sign all-stars to fill out the bench, but all I'm saying is we can do better than replacement level players.

Attonitus · Post #15 » by **Attonitus** » Fri Nov 1, 2013 10:02 pm

dkmo wrote:DeRosa or Kawasaki... who would you have kept as your utility infielder?

Cutting a favorite player of the fans doesn't seem like a good way to start the offseason.

This move is better for the team, the fans will get over it as fast as they did Johnny Mac.

s e n s i · Post #16 » by **s e n s i** » Fri Nov 1, 2013 10:10 pm

kwamebargnani wrote:Some of you think i'm suggesting we sign all-stars to fill out the bench, but all I'm saying is we can do better than replacement level players.

like who? james loney will likely be marked up and unaffordable. do we really want to spend 4-5m on kendrys morales, even though he's arguably worse for DH than a lind/derosa platoon? no we do not. you would obviously "LOL" all over a signing of hafner or berkman, and rightfully so. who are our other options for DH?

kwamebargnani · Post #17 » by **kwamebargnani** » Fri Nov 1, 2013 10:59 pm

s e n s i wrote:
kwamebargnani wrote:Some of you think i'm suggesting we sign all-stars to fill out the bench, but all I'm saying is we can do better than replacement level players.

like who? james loney will likely be marked up and unaffordable. do we really want to spend 4-5m on kendrys morales, even though he's arguably worse for DH than a lind/derosa platoon? no we do not. you would obviously "LOL" all over a signing of hafner or berkman, and rightfully so. who are our other options for DH?

There are always better options than a 39-year-old who has been struggling to get a job over the past 4 years. Especially, if he's gonna be getting substantial amount of playing time platooning, look for a better option. And no, Morales is terrible.

Post #18 » by **Schad** » Fri Nov 1, 2013 11:02 pm

kwamebargnani wrote:He's been **** for 4 years now. It's unreasonable to expect those are the numbers we're gonna be getting from a 39 year old guy who put up -0.8WAR over the past 4 seasons. It's not like he's an adequate defender either. He's a pylon out there. Some of you think i'm suggesting we sign all-stars to fill out the bench, but all I'm saying is we can do better than replacement level players.

He's an inadequate defender at 3B, without question, and he's fringy at 2B. He shouldn't be receiving any playing time at either position unless as a last resort, though, and his presence there last year was largely the result of the cataclysmic suck that was the Izturis/Bonifiasco situation.

But for $750k, we pretty well had to pick up the option. We have limited dollars with which to overhaul this roster (no matter what our budget might be), and DeRosa is a capable if entirely dull bench player, in that he does a couple things well (hit against lefties, play a decent first base), and is an 'oh ****' option in a couple other roles.

You cannot stash a DH/1B-only platoon player without creating roster trauma somewhere else. With practically all teams carrying at least twelve pitchers, that means a four-man bench...a backup catcher, a middle infielder, an outfielder and a wildcard. If that fourth guy cannot do any of the other three things (particularly manning an infield spot in a pinch, if not terribly well) your roster ends up white-knuckling it every time an infielder suffers an injury that is not serious enough to merit the DL, but will keep them out for a couple games. Have a weak-hitting MI coming up in a big spot? Sorry, pinch-hitting for them is not an option, because no one else can man their position.

So, if you think that you can find a right-handed bat who carries an OPS in the .775-and-up range against lefties who can play at least two (preferably three) infield positions and will cost less than the $1m that we can realistically offer so as not to impact our ability to credibly fill our other, more pressing holes...I'm all ears.

s e n s i · Post #19 » by **s e n s i** » Fri Nov 1, 2013 11:13 pm

kwamebargnani wrote:
s e n s i wrote:
kwamebargnani wrote:Some of you think i'm suggesting we sign all-stars to fill out the bench, but all I'm saying is we can do better than replacement level players.

like who? james loney will likely be marked up and unaffordable. do we really want to spend 4-5m on kendrys morales, even though he's arguably worse for DH than a lind/derosa platoon? no we do not. you would obviously "LOL" all over a signing of hafner or berkman, and rightfully so. who are our other options for DH?

There are always better options than a 39-year-old who has been struggling to get a job over the past 4 years. Especially, if he's gonna be getting substantial amount of playing time platooning, look for a better option. And no, Morales is terrible.

like who? a first and last name, preferably. that's really all i'm wondering here. you seem to have the route to a world series all mapped out, yet don't want to share?

kwamebargnani · Post #20 » by **kwamebargnani** » Fri Nov 1, 2013 11:22 pm

Again, he's 39, and it's just too hard to expect the same numbers from 2013. If anything, that number has nowhere to go but downwards. Him being a butcher on the field, his contribution as a player would be limited to DH (and only DH) vs lefties. If that's truly the case, money is not a concern. It's the amount of PA we're gonna be wasting. Guys like Jeff Baker and Morse can offer everything DeRosa can offer, but with a chance to be more.