2021-22 Offseason Thread

[polo007]

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MLB trade scenarios: Jim Bowden evaluates your proposals for Josh Hader, Matt Chapman, Ketel Marte and more - The Athletic

Rockies trade RHP German Márquez and INF Ryan McMahon to Blue Jays for RHP Nate Pearson, SS Jordan Groshans, RHP Adam Kloffenstein and INF/OF Cavan Biggio — Chris W.

Chris, this is a fascinating trade idea and after careful review I’d make it if I’m the Blue Jays. Putting Márquez with Kevin Gausman, José Berríos, Hyun Jin Ryu and Alek Manoah in the rotation would make the Blue Jays my favorites to win the AL East in 2022. McMahon would fill their huge need for a left-handed bat and could be their answer at third base short- and long-term. I also like this deal for the Rockies. Pearson has a chance to dominate at Coors Field by missing bats, and he’s inexpensive compared with Márquez. Groshans and Biggio are everyday players and Kloffenstein profiles as a back-of-the-rotation starter. OK, let me forward this one to the Blue Jays and Rockies to get their opinions …

Marquez has not been good for a while... I'd rather gamble on the kids in this deal and spend $ on a reclamation arm in free agency. Cavan Biggio might put up better numbers than McMahon did last year if healthy.

[polo007]

Matt Chapman and Sean Manaea trade discussion: What might a Blue Jays-A’s deal look like?
- The Athletic

McGrath: Loosely, we’re looking at a four-for-two player deal. I can work with that.

For Chapman and Manaea, how about the Blue Jays offer a package of:

3B Jordan Groshans
C Alejandro Kirk
LHP Ricky Tiedemann
3B/UT Kevin Smith

Groshans is a top-five prospect in Toronto’s system and, as I said above, could project to take Chapman’s place at third base in a year or two. He’s likely slated for Triple A this season. Kirk could be a starting catcher on an MLB team. The only reason the Blue Jays might be willing to move him is that they have, potentially, a better catching prospect in Gabriel Moreno coming down the pipe. The A’s have Sean Murphy, I know, but Kirk has a lot of utility as a DH, too. Tiedemann is a 19-year-old rising pitching prospect who’s seen a recent uptick in velocity, per Baseball America. And, finally, after falling down the prospect ladder a bit in recent years, Smith had a breakout 2021 season in Triple A. His brief showing in the majors was modest, but he’s got a lot of utility as a versatile infielder who can play a little outfield as well.

What do you think?

Lockard: Groshans controls the strike zone well, which would fit the A’s philosophically, although you’d like to see a bit more power from a player more likely to play third base than shortstop long term. But potentially I see a fit. The A’s do need catching depth behind Murphy, but I think they liked how Murphy paired with the veteran Yan Gomes the second half of last season, so I am guessing they’ll look to the free agent market when targeting a backup catcher. Generally, the A’s have looked for pitchers who are further along in their development than Tiedemann is currently, although there have been exceptions. Smith’s versatility and production in Triple A last season certainly make him a candidate for an “extra” piece in this deal. If the A’s trade Manaea, they are pretty thin in upper-level starters, so I could see them targeting some starting pitching that could be ready in 2022.

What about something more like this?

Groshans
Smith
UT Otto Lopez (has the defensive versatility the A’s really like, plus batting titles at two different full-season leagues and excellent speed)
RHP Bowden Francis (coming off a strong season in Triple A; could step into a back-end of the rotation role in the big leagues in 2022)
LHP Zach Logue (left-hander who performed well in the upper levels last season. Excellent command and saw a bump in velocity last season. Could contribute at the big-league level in 2022)

McGrath: Interesting counter, and I think I like it. Groshans remains the centrepiece of the package for the A’s, which makes sense because Chapman is coming the Jays’ way. Smith gives the A’s a potential utility player they could use off the bench in 2022. You don’t want Kirk, that’s fine. The Blue Jays would be happy to keep him.

Lopez is a bit of a sleeper in the system. He doesn’t get much attention, but he’s steadily risen the ranks and, as you say, his minor-league stats suggest he could be a productive bat for an MLB team. Losing Smith, Lopez and Groshans cuts into Toronto’s upper-minor league infield and I’m a little concerned about MLB-ready depth should Chapman get hurt. They still have Biggio and Espinal, but it gets thin after that. That said, players come across the wire all season long so there are ways to fill for injuries. Long-term view, they’d still have guys like Orelvis Martinez, Leo Jimenez and Estiven Machado as infield prospects to plan around for the future.

Francis and Logue project to be part of Toronto’s starting pitching depth and moving them both puts a dent in that area, too. But adding Manaea to their rotation bumps Ross Stripling to a swingman role. If healthy, Nate Pearson could function as a kind of bulk pitcher, perhaps able to handle spot starts. Then there’s Thomas Hatch, Anthony Kay and Trent Thornton, who could all step into starting roles if necessary. The shallow pitching depth gives me pause, but adding Manaea to Toronto’s rotation, alongside Kevin Gausman, Berríos, Hyun Jin Ryu and Alek Manoah, makes their five-man group one of the best in the AL. I think that’s worth moving Francis and Logue for.

In my view, this would be a win-now move for the Blue Jays that still doesn’t jeopardize their long-term outlook either.

[polo007]

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[Schad]

A 15 year old who stands 6'3", and weighs 205 lbs? He'll be an excellent addition to the Toronto Large Adult Sons.

Also, a reminder that when people say that an IFA is 'linked to' a team, they really mean that we've probably had an agreement in place for a good year now.

[Cyrus]

A 15 year old who stands 6'3", and weighs 205 lbs? He'll be an excellent addition to the Toronto Large Adult Sons.

Also, a reminder that when people say that an IFA is 'linked to' a team, they really mean that we've probably had an agreement in place for a good year now.

They really hyping up Celesten, and Salas, calling them the best hyped prospect out the International class in YEARS even better than Vladdy and others before him??!?.

[Parataxis]

A 15 year old who stands 6'3", and weighs 205 lbs? He'll be an excellent addition to the Toronto Large Adult Sons.

Also, a reminder that when people say that an IFA is 'linked to' a team, they really mean that we've probably had an agreement in place for a good year now.

How do service years and Rule 5 work for kids signed as young teenagers? Does the clock start immediately, or does it wait until they're a certain age first?

[JTT]

Players signed at age 18 or younger need to be put on the 40 man roster within five years of their signing to protect them from the rule 5 draft. If I’m understanding what your asking about service years (ie arb years). I don’t believe that’s age related.

[GoRapstheoriginal]

ST is going to be pushed back, /sarcasm good going MLB MLBPA! Claps.

[polo007]

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[xAIRNESSx]

How many Jays can you name?

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[s e n s i]

borucki, dwight smith jr, marco estrada (!!!!!!!), jose, devon travis, grichuk, pillar and goins

[polo007]

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[s e n s i]

https://www.reddit.com/r/Torontobluejays/comments/sq8nof/is_alek_manoah_really_looking_for_left_handed/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share



props to anyone who actually takes alek up on this offer. just hope they're wearing full hockey gear.

[polo007]

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[polo007]

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[polo007]

MLB's new proposal to MLBPA addresses 4 core economic issues - MLB.com

The regular season is scheduled to begin March 31, and Manfred said he views missing games as “a disastrous outcome for this industry,” adding, “We’re committed to making an agreement in an effort to avoid that.”

MLB’s latest proposal included movement in the players’ direction on four major core economic issues:

Minimum salary: MLB’s proposal gives the MLBPA the alternative to choose between two systems. In the first, players would receive a single minimum salary of $630,000 in 2022, which would mark an increase more than twice as large as the $27,500 bump the players received in the first year of the last CBA. Under this system, the minimum salary would not be capped -- meaning teams could give discretionary raises -- while the $59,500 increase from 2021 to 2022 would nearly match the increase ($63,000) over the five years of the entire prior CBA.

The league’s other proposal features a tiered salary scale which would pay $615,000 for 0+ Major League service players, $650,000 for 1+ MLS players, and $725,000 for 2+ MLS players – the latter of which is an increase of $15,000 from the prior proposal. Compared to the current minimum salary of $570,500, players would receive a 16% raise ($278,500) over their first three years of service under this plan – and that’s not factoring in a pre-arbitration bonus pool.

Pre-arbitration bonus pool: MLB had already agreed to the MLBPA’s proposal to create a bonus pool funded by the league to reward the top performers in the 0-3 MLS group of players. MLB increased its offer from $10 million to $15 million on Saturday, the same increase as the MLBPA’s move from $105 million to $100 million in its last offer.

The league’s proposal includes the formation of a Joint Committee (3 MLB reps and 3 MLBPA reps) to develop a mutually agreeable WAR statistic to allocate the pool’s funds. (Both Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference expressed concerns that their WAR metrics would be relied upon for player compensation.) On average, the top 30 pre-arbitration players would have increased their salaries by 74% under this proposal.

Competitive Balance Tax: MLB offered to increase the base tax and surcharge thresholds from its prior proposal by $2 million each in 2024 ($216 million), 2025 ($218 million) and 2026 ($222 million). Additionally, the league made an additional concession to the union by withdrawing its proposal to require clubs over the base tax threshold to forfeit Draft picks. Only teams surpassing the $234 million threshold would be subject to Draft pick forfeiture.

Teams surpassing the $234 million threshold would forfeit second-round picks, while teams surpassing the $254 million threshold would lose a first-round selection. Based on this proposal, only 14 picks would have been forfeited during the last CBA compared to the 23 picks teams actually lost.

MLB’s proposal also eliminates recidivism, creating more year-to-year consistency in both team payrolls and competitive balance. Under the previous CBA, teams could “reset” the penalties by going beneath the CBT threshold for one season, and have followed with massive spending sprees; ending recidivism would result in the restraint of runaway spending, which would help competitive balance.

Service time: MLB added draft-pick incentives to further disincentivize clubs from managing the service time for top prospects. Teams will now potentially have the chance to earn two Draft picks per player if the player reaches certain benchmarks in awards voting.

Under its proposal made in late January, MLB offered to adjust the eligibility requirement to all players with less than 60 days of service time rather than players with no service or September callups, which would remove any incentive for a team not to use a prospect as an injury replacement during the previous season. (In other words, players who receive less than 60 days of service in one season would still be eligible the next.)

MLB’s Saturday proposal also increased the incentive for clubs to promote top prospects by allowing them to receive both a Rule 4 draft selection and an International selection (should an International Draft be instituted). Players had expressed concern that a single Draft pick would not be enough of a reward for teams to promote top prospects rather than managing their service time.

[rarefind]

Imagine awarding teams with draft picks for promoting their own mlb ready prospects.

[SharoneWright]

Imagine awarding teams with draft picks for promoting their own mlb ready prospects.

Maybe we could game it,, you know,, promote a young guy like Chad Dallas for a few months, who'll never really make it, but before he qualifies,, and get more picks!! Only to be quickly released.

All your lagging picks get a call up when it doesn't really matter, and you redeem your mistakes while stocking your cupboard with picks! I like!

Sorry Chad.

[Cyrus]

Imagine awarding teams with draft picks for promoting their own mlb ready prospects.

Maybe we could game it,, you know,, promote a young guy like Chad Dallas for a few months, who'll never really make it, but before he qualifies,, and get more picks!! Only to be quickly released.

All your lagging picks get a call up when it doesn't really matter, and you redeem your mistakes while stocking your cupboard with picks! I like!

Sorry Chad.

I think it only applies the draft pick stuff to whomever is the the "Top 100" prospects. So you can't just promtoe some random joe.