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Originally Posted by JayP
Carrasco is 28 and has one of the best value contracts in the MLB. He's owed about 17.5mil over the next 3 seasons and has two club options (for around $10mil per season) for the following two seasons. If he doesn't fall off the map, he's locked up for 5 years for about 37.5 million total.
And I don't think you understand how arbitration works. Usually the rule of thumb is that guys make 40%/60%/80% of their free agent price in their three arb years. So acquiring Salazar would give you one entry level year and an average of 60% of his projected market value during his arb years - that works out to probably 50% of his projected market value over his four cost-controlled years.
There are some better pitchers here (and a lot of worse ones), but every single one of them is going to cost a fortune more than Salazar/Carassco for non-prime years. I mean, are you really comparing signing guys like Cueto/Kazmir/Zimmerman to $100m+ deals to cost-controlled pitchers? Like I said, you are acting like the Jays can't trade Pompey/Sanchez for Salazar and then use the money you want to give to a big name starting pitcher to shore up your percieved outfield problem. Why does this money only exist in the scenario you prefer?
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100M + is the going rate for any reasonable starter on the top end of a rotation. If the Jays want to compete, that's what it's going to cost. The Twins, Rockies, Marlins, Reds, Mets, Brewers, Diamondbacks, Pirates, etc. have all at one time or another had one or multiple 100+ M contracts on their roster over the past 5 years. Why the hell do the Jays, who are likely the 4th largest market in baseball, always worried about ensuring all their players are under cost control? It's a good thing to have and consider, but it can't dictate every move a successful team makes.
And to answer your questions on the money reallocation, because history clearly suggeststhere is no way in hell the Blue Jays are going to get a pitcher through a trade then turn around and reallocate that money that is supposedly earmarked for starting pitching/bullpen, and spend it on the outfield. Not going to happen under Rogers. This 140M and, looking to spend to win now in the media is all typical Rogers public relations BS. The Jays know their fan base is not going to except losing Price without a replacement, so they will be getting us a starting pitcher. They are going to do it though as cheaply as possible and in a manner that doesn't look like a backwards or sidestep to the new casual Jays fans they've reacquired. I wouldn't have any problem with the trade if I actually thought the Jays would reinvest the money in the hole they are creating.
Let's be honest here though, trading Pillar and Sanchez for a middle of the road starter with potential doesn't fill the ace hole, and i s just a lateral move at best. This moves a hole in the rotation, to a hole in the outfield and an even bigger the bullpen, and they still wouldn't have that Ace to go into the playoffs with. If this team was actually serious about winning, they'd be plugging all their holes, and not just reallocating where their holes in the roster are.