2018-19 Offseason Thread

[polo007]

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[polo007]

Blue Jays still have options as starting pitcher market begins to move - Sportsnet.ca

The Blue Jays appear more likely to spend on mid-tier starters such as Wade Miley, Trevor Cahill or Mike Fiers. One way or another, they likely need to add two starters to their rotation before the season begins.

“I think there’s the potential for that,” Atkins acknowledged. “To call it ideal just yet–it really depends on some other variables and factors.”

The Blue Jays had some interest in Lynn before he agreed to terms with the Rangers, yet talks never appeared to get serious. As for the Reds, the addition of Roark improves their rotation but by no means takes them out of the market for further starting pitching upgrades.

Cincinnati’s one of the many teams to inquire about Marcus Stroman, who’s clearly on the market in the view of rival executives. It stands to reason that nearly every team seeking starting pitching has checked in with the Blue Jays at some point.

That said, acquiring Stroman would undoubtedly require a substantial return. He’s just 27 with two years of team control remaining and two 200-inning seasons to his name–a combination that’s tough to match.

By all indications, the Blue Jays would like to add starting pitching before moving on to their other needs: bullpen help and depth at shortstop to replace the recently-released Troy Tulowitzki.

To some extent, these recent developments around baseball nudge them toward pitching additions of their own. At the same time, the Blue Jays’ search for arms dragged into spring training last year, and as much as the Blue Jays would like to leave Las Vegas with pitching in hand, this search could last for months.

“I’d be surprised if that’s what happened again, but I wouldn’t be shocked,” Atkins said. “It’s certainly a possibility.”

[polo007]

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[dagger]

Losing Bergen may come back to haunt the Jays. Too bad they couldn't have dumped Solarte and Tulo sooner, like before the rosters were frozen for the Rule 5 draft.

[wamco]

Seems like awful asset management, no?

Now gonna try to carry this 18 yr old we drafted all season?

[manjusaka]

Losing Bergen may come back to haunt the Jays. Too bad they couldn't have dumped Solarte and Tulo sooner, like before the rosters were frozen for the Rule 5 draft.

agree on this, we all know Solarte is not coming back. Why not non-tender him before the rule 5 roster deadline?

[dagger]

Luchiano has never pitched higher than the Pioneer League, doesn't turn 19 until February, and would be a year younger than Osuna when the latter made the Jays as a rookie out of spring training. Atkins insists he might be able to make the 25-man roster (i.e. they won't have to make a deal with KC to keep him and send him out for more seasoning). He was only available in the Rule 5 because of a renegotiation of his contract.

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http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?player_id=672773#/career/R/pitching/2018/ALL

Luchiano was the Royals #23 prospect on MLB Pipeline, which offered this assessment

Scouting grades: Fastball: 60 | Curveball: 55 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 50 | Overall: 45

Luciano signed with the Diamondbacks for $85,000 out of the Dominican Republic in October 2016, and the potential he showed in his pro debut last year could make him one of the biggest bargains of the 2016-17 international crop. Arizona cashed in on his upside by packaging him with left-hander Gabe Speier to acquire Jon Jay from the Royals this June. Kansas City views Luciano, just 18 at the time of the trade, as the equivalent of a top-two-rounds Draft pick.

Luciano has added velocity since signing and works with a 92-96 mph fastball with good sink. He shows flashes of a plus curveball and can miss some bats with his changeup as well. As with most teenagers, the quality of his stuff can fluctuate significantly.

With his athleticism and clean delivery, Luciano should develop at least average control and command as he gains experience. He has impressive maturity and mound presence, which also should aid in his development.

[wamco]

Anyone else hear circus music? Easily could have protected the 2 pitchers we lost.

At what point do we acknowledge that urena sucks?

[Schad]

Seems like awful asset management, no?

Now gonna try to carry this 18 yr old we drafted all season?

I don't particularly get it, either. We could have easily cleared a couple spots on the roster for Romano/Bergen, and we had to expect that we'd lose them. Given that we're actively shopping bullpen arms (as we should be), both had utility.

[Schad]

Dipoto's crazy offseason continues. Picking up a pick and $10m in savings in jettisoning Santana eases the concerns I had about that trade. That Edwin has become trade ballast two years later indicates why we were pretty lucky that he turned down our contract offer...old 1B/DH types just aren't what they used to be.

[Schad]

I will say, the Luciano pickup -- while deeply weird -- is at least interesting. The upside is you somehow manage to keep him and not totally **** up his development is significantly more than your typical Rule 5 draftee, but that is a series of ifs large enough to overburden an oceanliner.

[SharoneWright]

Does he just do bullpens for a year? yeesh.

[Schad]

Does he just do bullpens for a year?

Basically, I guess, and perhaps some mop-up? It really is a throwback; in the olde days before the modern farm system, a player who signed for a significant bonus had to be rostered for two years, so there were a number of 'bonus babies' who were pushed straight to the majors. The good news is that many of them turned out pretty okay given their limited reps; the bad news is that it isn't 1949 anymore and baseball may have moved on a touch.

He probably ends up getting returned to the Royals after Spring Training, in all likelihood.

[Skin Blues]

Yeah, I don't get why we kept Solarte that long. Made no sense to let him occupy a 40-man spot. Tulo was a bit more of a murky situation, but he also could have been cut. Or we could have kept him on the bench through May and negotiated a buyout cheaper than his $38M. It's nice and all, but niceness doesn't get you much.

As for this Luciano guy... I kinda like it. He might suck this year, but who cares? We put up with a bad pitcher for a season and then send him down to the minors next year and stretch him out as a starter.

Scouting grades: Fastball: 60 | Curveball: 55 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 50 | Overall: 45

I'd put up with a bad relief pitcher for a year for that line from an 18 year old.

[Schad]

Yeah, I don't get why we kept Solarte that long. Made no sense to let him occupy a 40-man spot. Tulo was a bit more of a murky situation, but he also could have been cut. Or we could have kept him on the bench through May and negotiated a buyout cheaper than his $38M. It's nice and all, but niceness doesn't get you much.

As for this Luciano guy... I kinda like it. He might suck this year, but who cares? We put up with a bad pitcher for a season and then send him down to the minors next year and stretch him out as a starter.

Scouting grades: Fastball: 60 | Curveball: 55 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 50 | Overall: 45

I'd put up with a bad relief pitcher for a year for that line from an 18 year old.

Beyond losing the development time, the downside is that he'll need to be a major leaguer at a pretty early age, because we'll start burning options. So his age 19 season will be in the bigs, ages 20-22 will burn options, and he'll have to stick thereafter. It's an interesting upside play, for sure, but one that messes with the poor kid's long term prognosis a tad.

[JaysRule15]

I wonder which team takes EE from Seattle

[Lateral Quicks]

Really awful asset management here. Inexplicable, really.

I really hate to lose Bergen in particular. Why on Earth they decided to lose him so that they could keep Solarte a few more days is beyond me.

I don't understand the Luciano pickup. It's highly unlikely he sticks, and even if he does, it's kind of unfair to the kid's career to throw him into a situation he's probably not at all prepared for.

[polo007]

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Seattle saved about $9 million in the exchange of players, and are only responsible for one season of Encarnación ($21.6 million in 2019) and a $5 million club option. As was the case with Santana, it’s likely he never appears in a game with the Mariners.

As Seattle continues with its offseason plan to gather as many long-term assets as possible, adding the No. 77 overall pick gives the team a chance to add a potential impact player to a minor-league system that has received an influx of talent since the Mariners started their trading spree — which now stands at seven total deals — on Nov. 7.

Being able to move Encarnación for another long-term asset would also assist the blueprint for the team’s future.

The Mariners could conceivably carry Encarnación into the season as their designated hitter, where his power (32 home runs last season) could give the team a boost. But chances are that Seattle spins Encarnación as they did Santana to try to acquire most long-term assets for 2020 or 2021, when the club hopes to contend again.

“It creates flexibility for us, the comp pick,” Hollander said. “No disrespect to Edwin, (but) it’s what we’re trying to do and speed up our timeline on contenting again. That’s important to us. The flexibility is valuable. We’ll see if he stays with us.”

[polo007]

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[Lateral Quicks]

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Excellent news. One of Morales and Smoak needs to go, and really I wouldn't lose any sleep if both were moved. But it's probably not a bad idea to have at least one well-respected veteran in the clubhouse.