Quote:
Originally Posted by fleury
There are literally a handful of elite catchers in the league. Martin is second tier to them. When all is said and done, he's an upgrade, yes, but at what cost? I don't see the upside in Martin based on his past performance, but rather I do see a bit of downside at this point in his career. He is an upgrade, don't get me wrong, but I really wish that money was spent elsewhere. Now if they got Victor Martinez, I'd have been through the moon.
Anyway, relating to this even though there may be a market for catchers, do you really think AA will get an above average 2nd basemen or a 3 starter for Navarro? I highly doubt it. So what does this mean? IMO, Navarro either stays as a backup or gets dealt for a bullpen pitcher.
So that then leaves a LF, CF, 2nd and a 1-3 rotation SP they have to get. For both the outfield positions, I hope they really don't weigh too heavily defence. That doesn't mean you get a fatty out there, it just means that a guy like Cabrera was serviceable as his bat more than made up for some defensive liability. The bat is key or you're getting a bench player and BSing the public into thinking they're starters. I'd take Cabrera over Markakis any day of the week. At 2nd, AA has to work his magic to get someone. Or get a SS and move Reyes to 2nd. Now for SP, IMO they gotta break the bank for Lester. Pitching is what wins championships more often then not, and they just have to take the chance on a 4 year deal with him at $20M per if you have to. The window is only so large for this team before they have to re-tool.
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TBH I would much rather the money spent on Martin than Martinez, simply based off positions each play. Martinez has had some pretty productive seasons, but is a DH. It would have filled the hole AA wanted to leave open when we traded off Lind (yes I know Martinez is a better DH than Lind). With the turf, and the way things stand, we will have Bautista/Encarnacion/Smoak/Navarro/Martin/Reyes all vying for DH at bats. Don't get me wrong, Martinez's bat in the middle of the lineup would look nice, but the Jays will be fine without it too. You look at clubs who were contending in October, and they have one thing in common, their starting catcher is very, very good. Posey, Molina, Sal Perez. I'm not putting Martin in this category, but he is pretty solid behind the plate.
I look forward to the difference Martin will make for our pitching staff. I think it was something close to a 3 win swing between Martin/Navarro just based off pitch framing ability. That is huge. I think someone said it was over 200 more strikes Martin would have received when compared to Navarro too. These are staggering numbers. Martin, by all accounts, is the type of workhorse you need when you have Sanchez/Stroman/Norris/Osuna all projected to be big leaguers by the time Martin's contract is up. As someone else has said, the offensive output is gravy.
Navarro won't bring you back an above average 2B alone, but paired with a young, controllable arm like Nolin/Osuna gets your a pretty nice pick. Someone on twitter mentioned the Cubs as a trade partner - I sure wouldn't hesitate to launch Navarro and a combination of Sanchez/Stroman/Norris for a Russell/Baez/Bryant/Castro. Jeez the Cubs have some serious INF depth, and young with serious upside.
The thing that I get angry about is saying "well AA has other holes to fill, why do upgrade a position we are already set in?". Well, fact is, no one other than AA has any clue as to how things are going to shake down. Maybe he's talked to all the remaining FA, and no one seems interested in taking his money. You listen to all the rumoured trade targets of the Jays, and anyone with enough service time, have the Jays on their No Trade Lists. So open the market to 29 teams, the Jays simply don't have much sex appeal when dollars are similar. So do you completely overspend to get a piece you like? I don't know, it isn't smart business, but sometimes it is what it is. Do you increase the term? We all know the Jays' internal policy on the max 5 year contract, so that doesn't work.
If anything has been consistent, it is the Jays have done most of their acquisitions via the trade route, and for good reason I think. It's their only option for the most part. I think I read that AA has yet to sing an American born player to more than a one year deal. It isn't a coincidence. Not many want to come to Canada.