General Blue Jays Thread

[Wo1verine]

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He's my #1 FA on my wish list - I agree with Bradley.

Bauer
Ryu
Pearson

My goodness that's tough to beat, especially if Pearson pans out as expected.

[Garrett]

If Springer to the Mets looks like a done deal, the Jays should move to sign Bradley first. Once Springer is off the board, and the options narrow, that gives Bradley bargaining strength. Bradley has some advantages anyway in terms of fewer dollars and years - allowing us to keep flexibility for other moves or re-signing the young core to early extensions.

Who's Bradley?

[Garrett]

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He's my #1 FA on my wish list - I agree with Bradley.

Bauer
Ryu
Pearson

My goodness that's tough to beat, especially if Pearson pans out as expected.

Bradley?

[SharoneWright]

Bradley Beal. Obvs.

[Wo1verine]

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He's my #1 FA on my wish list - I agree with Bradley.

Bauer
Ryu
Pearson

My goodness that's tough to beat, especially if Pearson pans out as expected.

Bradley?

Sorry, i was talking about poster here MichaelBradley.

[polo007]

MLB rumors: With Yankees, DJ LeMahieu $25M apart, Blue Jays ‘desperately want’ batting champ - nj.com

Five weeks into free agency, the Yankees and free agent infielder DJ LeMahieu have dug their feet in the sand waiting for the other to cave in. By all accounts, they want a reunion after two very happy years of marriage, but at their price.

According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the sides are one year and $25-million apart on an agreement.

”He wants five years, $100 million,” Nightengale said Friday night on MLB Network’s Baseball Tonight. “The Yankees are more interested in four years around $75 million. They can split the difference.”

That might be how this shakes out.

Unless …

According to Yankees broadcaster Michael Kay, the Toronto Blue Jays are just as eager to sign LeMahieu as the Yankees.

“I know for a fact from people I know in Toronto that the Blue Jays desperately want him,” Kay said Friday on his ESPN radio show. “And they’ve got a lot of infielders, too. They desperately want him."

“Would (LeMahieu) want to go to Toronto? That’s the question.”

A lot of industry people doubt it, but LeMahieu might be tempted if Toronto offers five years for $110 million and the Yanks won’t go more than four for around $85 million.

[polo007]

This winter's Mookie Betts trade? Why Cleveland Indians are finally ready to deal Francisco Lindor - ESPN

The Francisco Lindor trade rumors have been more reliable than any train the last five years, arriving and departing on schedule every November, before the return trip leading up to the July 31 deadline. Because Lindor is a superstar and turned down the Indians' initial overture of $100 million in the spring of 2017, the assumption in the industry has long been that yes, there will be a day when Cleveland will cash in on the shortstop it drafted eighth overall in 2011.

The Indians talked with other teams in past years, choosing to keep Lindor and continue their general domination of the AL Central. But with Lindor now a year removed from free agency, a trade now finally seems inevitable, much in the way a Mookie Betts deal did at the outset of last offseason.

By all accounts from sources around baseball, the Indians are prepared to listen, aggressively.Cleveland needs to recoup value for Lindor before he walks away, just as it did with CC Sabathia (swapped for Michael Brantley), Cliff Lee (Carlos Carrasco), and Trevor Bauer (Franmil Reyes).

It's unclear how much progress the Indians have made in their talks with other teams -- the other day, club president Chris Antonetti declined to address the trade rumors when speaking with reporters -- but agents and club executives say that a lot of the movement has been slowed by the Mets' deliberate front office search. Since Steve Cohen officially took over as the team's owner, president Sandy Alderson has been multi-tasking, looking for a general manager while also making player moves. Because the Mets are one of the few aggressive teams in the market this winter, it would make sense for the Indians to wait for Alderson's front office to gain clarity.

The Toronto Blue Jays are a natural fit for Lindor, as well: He would be the veteran superstar placed in the middle of the Jays' group of young, high-end position players. Bo Bichette, the team's shortstop in 2020, has indicated he'd be open to changing positions, whether it be second base or third base or the outfield -- and why not, given all that Lindor would bring to the table. Exceptional defense. Speed. Power. A switch-hitter.

Most of the time, when a front office pursues an established star in free agency or trade, they have to do background work to learn about the player -- what type of teammate he is, how he gets along with other players, his work ethic. But for the Jays' front office, Lindor is a known quantity: Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins, at the top of the chain of command in Toronto, were with the Indians for the first years of Lindor's professional career.

Lindor might fit the Yankees, as well, and Lindor's ebullient personality would seemingly play well the big stage in the Bronx. But so far, that team's winter focus seems to be on retaining DJ LeMahieu and adding starting pitching, and the Yankees project Gleyber Torres to be their shortstop for years to come.

There may not be a lot of trade bidders for Lindor because of the team budget cuts going on around baseball, and because of the shortstop's looming free agency. The team that trades for him presumably will look to sign the All-Star to a long-term deal, and agents say Lindor's contract leverage might be at its apex this winter. Next fall, he would have to compete for market space with four other star shortstops who will be eligible for free agency -- Carlos Correa, Trevor Story, Corey Seager and Javier Baez.

[polo007]

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[Brinbe]

pull the trigger on lindor already lol. make a statement. bauer too

[polo007]

Why Blue Jays would be better off signing several smaller name free agents - Sportsnet.ca

2:05 | December 14, 2020

With the Toronto Blue Jays very involved in free agent talks, MLB Insider Jon Paul Morosi spoke to Lead Off about whether or not the team should pursue one high-profile free agent or several smaller names instead.

[polo007]

What Jeff Passan is hearing about 2020 MLB free agency, trade rumors and the latest offseason buzz - ESPN.com

1. As the top of the market takes its sweet time developing, the interest in closer Liam Hendriks, far and away the best reliever available, is leading to an interesting array of teams ready to bid on his services, according to sources. The Chicago White Sox have been linked to Hendriks as his primary suitor, but a number of other teams in search of a closer -- or simply more bullpen help -- are prepared to pounce.

Among the teams that have pursued the 32-year-old: the Los Angeles Dodgers, Houston Astros, New York Mets and Toronto Blue Jays. Hendriks has been the best closer in baseball by a healthy margin the past two seasons, and his desire for a four-year deal at a strong annual value is understandable, especially with the next-best options -- Blake Treinen, Alex Colome, Trevor Rosenthal and Brad Hand -- not the same caliber. The Dodgers would give Hendriks the best shot at a title. The Astros are hankering to add to a young bullpen. The Mets are everywhere because they can be. And Hendriks is familiar with the Blue Jays, having begun his stellar relief career with them in 2015. One team to keep an eye on: the Philadelphia Phillies, who, if given financial leeway with the hiring of new president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, could see Hendriks as a panacea for some of their bullpen woes.

2. Toronto's pursuing Hendriks is no surprise. The Blue Jays, as one general manager snarked this week, "are in on everyone." George Springer? Check. DJ LeMahieu? Check. A potential Francisco Lindor trade? Check. It's easy to forget that as recently as three years ago, Toronto was carrying payrolls in the $160 million range. Currently, the Jays' 2021 commitments stand at less than $60 million. Their entire 40-man roster at the moment is about $75 million. Their future obligations are just as slim: Only Hyun-Jin Ryu, Randal Grichuk and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. are owed money beyond this year, and each one's contract expires in 2023. The Blue Jays, with their solid, young core and playoff showing in 2020, could, with the right maneuvers, turn into an annual contender. The hardest part: getting players to buy in to the long-term plan. However, the Blue Jays and the teams they're going against in pursuit of the best players recognize that one thing hasn't changed: Even for a team that doesn't know where it's going to play in 2021, money almost always wins the day.

3. One name to keep an eye on in the coming days, sources say, is Marcus Semien, the shortstop who followed his third-place showing in the 2019 AL MVP race with an underwhelming 2020. Although the 30-year-old Semien is unlikely to command the kind of deal that will take him deep into his 30s, one executive said he appreciates Semien for his steadiness, versatility, makeup and, yes, price point. What he meant: Semien isn't going to cost nine figures like the shortstops in the mega-class of 2021-22. Some teams are already preparing for the shortstopalooza of next offseason, which, barring extensions, will feature Javier Baez, Carlos Correa, Francisco Lindor, Corey Seager and Trevor Story -- five All-Stars, all of whom will hit free agency at 28 or younger. Among the teams that could find themselves in play: the Dodgers, Mets, Blue Jays, Phillies, Astros, Cubs, New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Angels, Texas Rangers and Detroit Tigers.

5. With the market for Trevor Bauer still working itself out -- some teams believe he wants a long-term deal, others are talking with him about a shorter-term pact -- the second tier of starting pitching is starting to percolate. A handful of executives see 30-year-old Jake Odorizzi as the class of the remaining pitchers, with Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton, Taijuan Walker and Corey Kluber alongside him. One sneaky name worth following: Tomoyuki Sugano, the 31-year-old right-hander who has spent eight spectacular seasons with the Yomiuri Giants. Sugano has won two Sawamura Awards -- the Japanese equivalent to the Cy Young -- and finished second this year, when he went 14-2 with a 1.97 ERA and a 131-to-25 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 137⅓ innings. Among the teams that have shown interest in Sugano: the Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox, San Diego Padres and Texas Rangers. As good as Sugano has been in Japan, one scout said that his competitiveness will translate even better in MLB and that his five-pitch mix has a chance to make him at least a No. 3 starter. His posting window closes Jan. 7, which means that if Sugano is to pitch in MLB in 2021, he'll need to sign before then.

[polo007]

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[dagger]

This is so tiring. We're being shopped around like a $2 hooker. Wake me up when the Jays actually do something.

[rotty]

Yeah hopefully we make a move soon. Im getting anxious

[rarefind]

It is this way always... once the first shoe drops the races are on... especially while league revenue is down and the players likely failing to take heed of this.

Expect a lot of 1 year deals.