Projecting next year's infield

bluerap23 · Post #1 » by **bluerap23** » Wed Oct 3, 2018 1:57 pm

Could we see a starting infield of:

1B Tellez
2B Urena
SS Gurriel
3B Vlad

Skin Blues · Post #2 » by **Skin Blues** » Wed Oct 3, 2018 2:47 pm

I can't see Urena playing any kind of major role out of the gate. He's just simply not very good. Soon, there won't be much middle infield playing time for him in the upper minors anymore either, so he better figure something out. Pretty sure it'll be Travis at 2B to start the year. He's too good of a hitter when healthy to not give him a chance, and he's too big of a potential asset to just let him rot. His second half didn't look good on the surface, but he was making better contact, and cut down his whiffs considerably. It's the kind of guy you don't want on a team going all-in especially since he isn't suited as a utility infielder, but we can afford one last chance to see if he can be something.

Diaz will probably find semi-regular AB's between all of the IF spots. He'll play 3B until Vlad is up, and Travis will rest a lot. His glove is decent enough to leave him at short if Gurriel can't handle it. A league average hitter who can cover every infield position is pretty useful, and there's decent upside there as well given his controllable years and flexibility.

Tellez had a great month, but he's got work to do to be the starter. He still struck out a ton and didn't walk at all, and even with all the doubles he hit, he hasn't shown the type of power that can overcome his K/BB tendencies and lack of defensive value. If Smoak is around it's hard to imagine he doesn't play 1B most days. Then there's Kendrys. Obviously, we have a lot of mediocre old guys that are passable starters at their position but not really valuable trade bait. Smoak, I can see us trading. We won't get much in return, but it's better than nothing. Really, we should be clearing out Smoak, Morales, and Pillar to make room for the guys that might have a future here. Tellez, Dwight Smith, Alford, McKinney, etc.

-MetA4- · Post #3 » by **-MetA4-** » Wed Oct 3, 2018 2:49 pm

Brandon Drury will start.

Skin Blues · Post #4 » by **Skin Blues** » Wed Oct 3, 2018 3:12 pm

-MetA4- wrote:Brandon Drury will start.

Oh yeah, that guy. haha. Gonna be crowded.

Black Watch · Post #5 » by **Black Watch** » Wed Oct 3, 2018 3:51 pm

I still haven't heard any ideas on how they'll get rid of Tulo...

Skin Blues · Post #6 » by **Skin Blues** » Wed Oct 3, 2018 3:55 pm

Black Watch wrote:I still haven't heard any ideas on how they'll get rid of Tulo...

"Thank you for your service. Pack up your things and let us know if you change your address so we can make sure you get all your cheques."

I_Like_Dirt · Post #7 » by **I_Like_Dirt** » Wed Oct 3, 2018 4:07 pm

Black Watch wrote:I still haven't heard any ideas on how they'll get rid of Tulo...

We now cut to a picture from Tulo next season while he's still on the Jays' roster.

And here is a picture of an alternate universe where Tulo is no longer on the Jays roster next season.

dagger · Post #8 » by **dagger** » Wed Oct 3, 2018 5:23 pm

I think Travis is a candidate to be shipped out. So an infield at the start that includes Smoak, Gurriel, Drury and Vlad strikes me as likely, with Diaz as all-purpose backup. When Bo arrives, someone of the aforementioned either gets moved to the outfield or traded.

Post #9 » by **Schad** » Wed Oct 3, 2018 6:07 pm

Really, we should be clearing out Smoak, Morales, and Pillar to make room for the guys that might have a future here.

Yeah, and I think that's what makes this so difficult to project. It's less "who do we want to start" at certain positions, and more "who do we successfully clear out". We have so many middling options; some will need to go, though it's a matter of which will have markets.

Black Watch · Post #10 » by **Black Watch** » Wed Oct 3, 2018 7:18 pm

Any one have a serious guess as to how they'll get rid of Tulo?

Post #11 » by **Schad** » Wed Oct 3, 2018 7:42 pm

Black Watch wrote:Any one have a serious guess as to how they'll get rid of Tulo?

They won't. Best hope is that he's physically unable to continue, as it appears that his contract is at least partially insured so long as he doesn't set foot on the field.

Black Watch · Post #12 » by **Black Watch** » Wed Oct 3, 2018 8:29 pm

How does that solve his taking up a spot on the 40-man roster?

Post #13 » by **Schad** » Wed Oct 3, 2018 8:33 pm

Black Watch wrote:How does that solve his taking up a spot on the 40-man roster?

So long as he's on the 60-man DL, he doesn't take up a 40-man spot. Now, it's still a problem in the offseason, when those players have to be transferred back to the 40-man, but Tulo never playing another game is still probably our best case scenario.

Black Watch · Post #14 » by **Black Watch** » Wed Oct 3, 2018 8:39 pm

Schad wrote:Now, it's still a problem in the offseason, when those players have to be transferred back to the 40-man

Exactly!

Rule 5 Draft coming up...

North_of_Border · Post #15 » by **North_of_Border** » Wed Oct 3, 2018 9:49 pm

Schad wrote:
Black Watch wrote:Any one have a serious guess as to how they'll get rid of Tulo?

They won't. Best hope is that he's physically unable to continue, as it appears that his contract is at least partially insured so long as he doesn't set foot on the field.

Black Watch wrote:Any one have a serious guess as to how they'll get rid of Tulo?

Let him Play. And if he can even do a decent job. Let him show case himself for the league.

If all goes good. Some team might take him if the Jays eat a Huge chunk of his contract. He would play a role similar to Jose Reyes as a NY Met the second time. It just might work out.

And the Jays just cut their losses and move on.

Sent from my HTC Desire 728 dual sim using RealGM mobile app

hst420 · Post #16 » by **hst420** » Thu Oct 4, 2018 10:02 am

Will the infield finally be grass next year?

bluerap23 · Post #17 » by **bluerap23** » Thu Oct 4, 2018 12:52 pm

Skin Blues wrote:
-MetA4- wrote:Brandon Drury will start.

Oh yeah, that guy. haha. Gonna be crowded.

Don't believe in Drury. Also shouldn't rule out Bo by the ASG.

-MetA4- · Post #18 » by **-MetA4-** » Thu Oct 4, 2018 12:55 pm

bluerap23 wrote:
Don't believe in Drury.

That's nice. The guys building the team obviously do, and hence he will play until he proves he can't perform. Or do you believe that the main piece in the trade for their top asset at the deadline is going to be relegated to bench duty without even getting a ~season's worth of at bats to prove whatever they believe about him?

bluerap23 · Post #19 » by **bluerap23** » Thu Oct 4, 2018 1:02 pm

-MetA4- wrote:
bluerap23 wrote:
Don't believe in Drury.

That's nice. The guys building the team obviously do, and hence he will play until he proves he can't perform. Or do you believe that the main piece in the trade for their top asset at the deadline is going to be relegated to bench duty without even getting a ~season's worth of at bats to prove whatever they believe about him?

You mean the lesser half of the return on the rental of an aging 4th starter?

Skin Blues · Post #20 » by **Skin Blues** » Thu Oct 4, 2018 1:55 pm

I don't know that he's a lesser talent than McKinney. All else equal, Drury may be the better player right now, but he's already arb eligible next season whereas McKinney has 3 pre-arb seasons remaining. Drury should still be cheap though, since he's been hurt so much and not even that good when he's been healthy - arb year 1 might end up being not much more expensive than pre-arb. I'd still rather have McKinney. Maybe he's kind of a boring player, but he's been good enough at every level, with solid plate discipline while maintaining some pop, that he could be a league-average right fielder for us for a while. The Jays obviously think they see something in Drury though, so who knows.