Toronto Blue Jays - Offseason Thread

[Parallex]

Originally Posted by KootenayFlamesFan

Looks like Jesse Chavez is going to Anaheim to be one of their starters.

I think there is no better argument for Athism then the fact that Mike Trout is being left to rot on a team that still thinks Jesse Chavez is a starter. No true God would let such a travesty occur.

[Roof-Daddy]

Originally Posted by Parallex

This is my thoughts... A Reddick/Upton strict platoon probably replaces Jose's value (normal value... not down year value), But Morales does not replace Edwin. We therefor need a replacement for Saunders who fully replaces his value + the difference between EE and Morales... that's a tall order. If the Jays have the $$ they should burn it + the pick and get both Reddick and Fowler.

I guess I'd put Reddick in the 10M range.

1. LF - Fowler
2. 2B - Travis
3. 3B - Donaldson
4. DH - Morales
5. SS - Tulowitzki
6. RF - Reddick / Upton
7. BC - Martin
8. 1B - Smoak / Pearce
9. CF - Pillar

Bench

Barney
Carerra
A backup catcher for $1.5 million or less

Rotation

Happ
Estrada
Sanchez
Liriano
Stroman

Bullpen

Biagini
Osuna
Grilli
Cecil or Logan
Tepera
Loup

All that for roughly $165,000,000 payroll with Fowler @ $18mil, Reddick @ $10mil, Pearce @ $3mil, Ceci/Logan @ $6mil

[Roof-Daddy]

Originally Posted by jschick88

Ken Rosenthal ‏@Ken_Rosenthal
Sources: #BlueJays interested in Steve Pearce, possibly as RH platoon partner for Smoak at 1B. @Shidavidi first mentioned possibility.

Fits like a glove.

Platoon with Smoak, can also play 2B as insurance for Travis and his injury woes, and also plays some corner OF.

Also a decent hitter with a bit of pop who doesn't strike out much.

[Jason14h]

Jays need to spend some money to get 2 real lefties in the pen

[JiriHrdina]

Apparently the Jays are interested in Jay Bruce again

[Roof-Daddy]

Originally Posted by JiriHrdina

Apparently the Jays are interested in Jay Bruce again

Hits right handed pitching pretty hard.

If they platooned him with Upton, for $14 million combined the Jays would probably see .260/.340/.530/.870 with 35~ HR's and 100~ RBI's

Nothing to sneeze at really.

[Alberta_Beef]

Bruce is a terrible clutch hitter.

[Parallex]

Originally Posted by JiriHrdina

Apparently the Jays are interested in Jay Bruce again

The only way Jay Bruce makes any sense over Reddick is if the Mets are eating a significant portion of his salary or they're throwing in prospects ala Liriano trade. Worse player in almost every regard IMO.

[Roof-Daddy]

Yeah but maybe Reddick wont sign in TO

[Parallex]

Fun fact... I'm not super fond of the Morales signing so I went investigating and found out something delightful. Used the BR index (free version) and looked up stats between 2013-2016 split by opponent (TO) minimum 100 PA then sorted by OPS. Kendrys Morales has been the third most dangerous player against the Jays over the past four years.

[bluejays]

Not a fan of Jay Bruce. I'd think it'd be reverting back to this years swing for the fences team if you do get the guy. It really is easier said than done, but they have to find some way of acquiring guys who will kill you by getting on base in various situations. We can't have this swinging for HR's in every situation anymore. We've seen it stopped against elite teams two years in a row now. I say you start with dangling Pillar and maybe one of the starting pitchers to get a team to hand over players who can hit a high average (like Boston has done). It's tough, but getting a guy like Bruce is a mistake considering the pieces we already have.

[Roof-Daddy]

Jamie Campbell ✔ @SNETCampbell
Sources tell me the #BlueJays have offered a 3-year contract to free agent pitcher Brett Cecil.
6:23 AM - 14 Nov 2016

Frustrating start to last season, but the guy is amazing when he's on and probably the 2nd best lefty reliever on the market after Chapman

[zukes]

Jamie Campbell tweeted this morning that Brett Cecil was offered a 3 year deal with the Jays. No other confirmation.

MLB Trade Rumors says Bautista will reject qualifying offer. I was actually starting to wonder if he'd take it to try and build up value for next year.

[Parallex]

Originally Posted by zukes

Jamie Campbell tweeted this morning that Brett Cecil was offered a 3 year deal with the Jays. No other confirmation.

Depending on $$ I'm okey with that... Brett Cecil has been one of the best LH relievers in baseball over the past few seasons. If he hadn't had such an awful start to the year he'd probably be in line for mad $$.

Originally Posted by zukes

MLB Trade Rumors says Bautista will reject qualifying offer. I was actually starting to wonder if he'd take it to try and build up value for next year.

Nah, this is basically Bautista's last opportunity for a multi-year contract. He was never going to take a qualifying offer.

[TheAlpineOracle]

I really don't understand the Jays apparent infatuation with Jay Bruce. He is exactly the type of player they need to stay away from if they want to stop relying on the HR for 99% of their offence.

[alan21]

Just bring Jose back and stop with the Bruce talk again.

The recent talk of the list of team that Jose could end up going to which includes Texas does spark interest. Jose and Odor on the same team would be an odd situation.

[Parallex]

Originally Posted by TheAlpineOracle

I really don't understand the Jays apparent infatuation with Jay Bruce. He is exactly the type of player they need to stay away from if they want to stop relying on the HR for 99% of their offence.

Small ball sucks... stop pinning for small ball.

Having said that the Jays should avoid signing Bruce, just not for the reason you seem to think they should. His ability to smash the baseball is his good quality... it just doesn't make up for his propensity to K, his relative inability to take a base on balls, and his decidedly poor ability to field.

[Roof-Daddy]

I wonder if signing Angel Pagan would be a good move for the Jays.

Switch hitter
Strong lead off option
Good speed
Solid corner outfielder
Won't cost a draft pick to sign

Basically fits the mold of what the Jays need to be looking to add. It'd be better if they add a player like this who is under 30, but that's not going to happen without costing the Jays multiple assets, so he'd be a good option to fill the gap while they continue to build up the farm system while simultaneously remaining competitive.

Sign him to a two year deal and hopefully by the time that deal is up he's replaced from within by Alford/Ramirez/Gurriel etc.

[TheAlpineOracle]

Originally Posted by Parallex

Small ball sucks... stop pinning for small ball.

Having said that the Jays should avoid signing Bruce, just not for the reason you seem to think they should. His ability to smash the baseball is his good quality... it just doesn't make up for his propensity to K, his relative inability to take a base on balls, and his decidedly poor ability to field.

Everyone of those reasons is the exact reasons I don't want Jay Bruce and are the exact reasons why the Jays needs to move on from their current roster strategy.

[ben voyonsdonc]

Originally Posted by Parallex

Small ball sucks... stop pinning for small ball.

Having said that the Jays should avoid signing Bruce, just not for the reason you seem to think they should. His ability to smash the baseball is his good quality... it just doesn't make up for his propensity to K, his relative inability to take a base on balls, and his decidedly poor ability to field.

I'm not a huge fan of small ball. The Jays tried it under Buck Martinez and it wasn't hugely successful. However, I do think they need a more balanced offensive approach. It can't be a home run or nothing anymore. Hitting 17 solo shots in a row is a sign that the team was skewed too heavily towards swinging for the fences.

I want the team to move towards a contact first approach where they can have more productive at bats. I am not confident that Bruce is a guy that will help them get there.