2015-2016 Blue Jays Off-Season Thread

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by JayP

The Jays weren't your average .500 team. They had the best run differential in the league at the time. Even without making those trades, the team more than likely goes on a big run - you don't heavily outscore your opponents all year and fail to win ball games. It was a smart GM realizing what he had on his hands was much better than the record indicated.

There's no way Gibbons sticks around. GMs in baseball always hire their own guy. They don't beat around the bush like in hockey and wait for the incumbent coach to falter before cutting him. Gibbons probably doesn't last until the end of November.

The Jays were underachieving no doubt but at the time of the trade they were 8 games behind the Yankees with 60 games left. Were the trades really for a divisional run or for more likely a wildcard berth. Trading away the future for Price pitching in a one game playoff seemed pretty crazy.

I could see these trades being done if the Jays were near or in the division lead. They got really lucky.

Or AA knew that he was done after Beeston announced his retirement so it was one last hurrah.

[ClubFlames]

If it is the end of Gibbons, I really hope Francona comes on board.

[Harry Lime]

I have a feeling that the drum is going to getting louder and louder for a return of the Expos. And with Selig finally gone, it may actually happen, in a few years, if another franchise falters.

[zukes]

I am 100% against this move! Shapiro is an idiot for ripping AA for trading prospects. Take a look around the city of Toronto in August, September and right up to the end of the KC series. The Jays owned that city and most of the country. There were people watching baseball that I didn't think even knew what baseball was.

I will wait and see what happens, but if they start trading guys for prospects, firing Gibbons (another mistake, IMO) and pinching pennies, I am done forever. Screw Rogers!

[ClubFlames]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

The Jays were underachieving no doubt but at the time of the trade they were 8 games behind the Yankees with 60 games left. Were the trades really for a divisional run or for more likely a wildcard berth. Trading away the future for Price pitching in a one game playoff seemed pretty crazy.

I could see these trades being done if the Jays were near or in the division lead. They got really lucky.

Or AA knew that he was done after Beeston announced his retirement so it was one last hurrah.

They didn't get lucky. Yes they acquired Price who made a huge difference but Dickey and Estrada were 2 of the best pitchers since the All Star break. Strategically, the moves were made to win the division because the schedule with the Yankees was going to be the deciding factor and the Jays even scheduled Price starts according to that.

The trades gave a boost to the entire team. The talent was there already but the trades gave them confidence.

Plus, they can restock with the draft by finding gems in a year or two.

[868904]

Sounds like Rogers plan all along was to clean house. Imagine if they had actually won the World Series?

[bluejays]

This move is becoming more and more ludicrous. Money on Shapiro being both prez and gm for the time being. F Rogers.

[Senator Clay Davis]

[ClubFlames]

I wonder if everyone's opinion will change if Rogers does infact manage to pony up for Price and other FA's to make the team competitive.

[REDVAN]

The only thing that looks bad is the timing- when you've made your first decent playoff run in 22+ years is NOT usually the time to clean house.

That said, there's been years of underachieving and we had to sell the farm to do it this year. I see both sides of this- from the business and futures side I am not happy with what happened this year, but from a fans point of view I am ecstatic!

Best of luck AA, I'm sure you'll find a new club soon- and best of luck to the Jays so that they don't lose a bunch of re-invigorated fans through this.

[TheAlpineOracle]

I have to shake my head at people that think the Jays won't reduce payroll. This past season was their big run. There's not enough pitching for next year and they are 100% not adding payroll despite the delusion of some from this year's run. They lose Bautista and Edwin next year, and from there they will reduce payroll as they descend back into a mid-payroll team. Those guys are not replaceable, and there's not an agent in baseball that wants their clients to end up there (some are even on record saying as such).

I've been saying this for a while. The signs of this have been there all year. Signing of Martin to usher in young pitching, bringing Gibbons for one more year, bringing on a Penny-pinching President, etc. That's why i was getting so mad with the decisions being made up to the playoffs this year to lose them home field advantage. This year's actions were a one off. Jays will not be in a position to do this again for a long time. Needed to make the most of their run. Rogers went all out for one year to buy themselves another 5-10 with their disenchanted fan base who gobbled up just making it to the dance and now can't point the finger at Rogers as easily.

This AA move is the only one that is going to piss Jays fans off the season other. I'd bet a lot of money they pull the ole "Goins proved he is an every day player", and decide to move him to SS and keep Travis at 2nd. Cheap infield, Rogers likes!. They'll move Tulo's contract for a mediocre "upcoming pitcher" under team control and some B level prospects stating that they needed to fill the pitching hole (that they were too cheap to fill) and Goins has taken strides on offensively so they are willing to give up some of Tulo's offence to improve pitching as offense is a team strong point. Typical Rogers move, that this 30 year + Jays fans is all to familiar with.

[The Big Chill]

Originally Posted by TheAlpineOracle

Rogers went all out for one year to buy themselves another 5-10 with their disenchanted fan base who gobbled up just making it to the dance and now can't point the finger at Rogers as easily.

I don't think this is true at all. This whole thing will blow up in Rogers' faces really quickly if we aren't able to put out a product that can compete for the division again next season.

If anything, the pressure on them to spend is enormous right now, considering that they just lost the GM that so many fans love. If the Jays aren't good next season, fans will blame Rogers for losing AA, regardless of who the blame actually should lay with.

[TheAlpineOracle]

Originally Posted by The Big Chill

I don't think this is true at all. This whole thing will blow up in Rogers' faces really quickly if we aren't able to put out a product that can compete for the division again next season.

If anything, the pressure on them to spend is enormous right now, considering that they just lost the GM that so many fans love. If the Jays aren't good next season, fans will blame Rogers for losing AA, regardless of who the blame actually should lay with.

I'll be quite surprised if the Jays spend any money this off season. I think they will compete for the division next year with the team they have, but will fall short due to pitching. The problems start the year after. Their window was 2015 and 2016, and I don't think Rogers will do anything to extend that, and I think the moves they make demonstrate that.

[lifetime_flamesfan]

First off, I would have liked to seen AA back, but its not the end of the world. The Jays under him are only 6 games above .500 in the 6 years he was GM. He made some bad trades and some good trade, like all GM's have.

I really hope Gibbons is gone now, I think you put almost any other Coach in there and the Jays are in the World Series right now, and I think the better team (the Royals) won. There were too many times that I saw coaching errors costing the Jays games. Most notably in game 6 where the Jays had a runner on third and zero outs, gotta get that run in no matter what.

[Bobblehead]

Excellent timing here....

Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos is Sporting News’ 2015 Major League Baseball Executive of the Year, as selected by a panel of 47 major league executives. Voting for the honor, which SN has awarded since 1936, concluded before the start of the postseason.

http://www.sportingnews.com/mlb-news...-sporting-news

[Ne7en]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

I could see these trades being done if the Jays were near or in the division lead. They got really lucky.

Lucky? I couldn't disagree more. AA went for it and added ELITE players, you don't need luck when you have immense talent.

It's not rocket science, you don't let the 'executive of the year' walk away. This is seer stupidity on the Jays/Rogers part.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by ClubFlames

I wonder if everyone's opinion will change if Rogers does infact manage to pony up for Price and other FA's to make the team competitive.

Absolutely, opinions will change. But what the **** are the chances? Jays fans aren't stupid, and it's pretty easy to put some pieces together here. We're likely done going for it. Now we'll see payroll reduced, and likely a big name or two gone for a smaller name plus prospects.

Not to be chicken little, but with the pitching problems already requiring big money and what transpired today, I'm willing to bet we are turned into a 3rd place team by training camp. With the Yankees reloading, and Boston making some big moves/significant signings.

If I were to put money down, we'll be one of those teams that's "fighting" for a wild card spot most of the year and then loses a spot to a team or two that puts a bunch of money into their lineup sometime in July.

[Senator Clay Davis]

I don't think fans issue is necessarily losing AA or Gibbons, but the fact that Shapiro is fully running the show. His track record strongly indicates the Jays payroll is going to be in the bottom 5 teams in the league after being in the top 10 for the past few years. He better be a wizard at finding prospects and cheap talent, otherwise this likely ends horribly.

[normtwofinger]

I wonder how Shapiro ripped AA.

"Well Alex, in spite of building a playoff World Series contending team, ending this franchise's 22 year playoff drought, filling the empty ballpark again, bringing the whole city, province and country together, adopting a whole new generation of fans and bringing x amount of money from sellout attendance, TV revenue, etc, we are soooo disappointed you traded some prospects away. GTFO."

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Tyler

Good morning guys let's talk ab... wait, what happened?

It's funny, for me and seemingly a lot of Jays fans today, this news is actually a worse feeling than losing game 6 against KC. At least with that game we were already on the ropes with Texas and came back to win the ALDS, then lost a hard fought ALCS.

But all the good feelings after the KC series hinged on "Well that was just year one of the new Blue Jays, CAN'T WAIT to see what AA does this off season, bet he has some huge moves in store!".

Well, we didn't have to wait long. His first move was certainly his biggest!