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Old 10-02-2019, 04:59 PM   #1730
flames_fan_down_under
I believe in the Jays.
 
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Join Date: Mar 2006
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Well looking at sportrac.com the Jays have a total of 29 million committed to the payroll in 2020, 14 million of which is going to Tulowitzki, obviously that number will increase with players who have arbitration rights, players under team control etc. Once those guys get signed and the inevitable non-tendering of certain players occurs (Maille, Boshers to name a couple) I suspect the payroll to come in around 50 million, rough estimate. That leaves a lot of payroll flexibility.

As you guys have already mentioned pitching will be a priority, as it will be for many teams. I think Kluber is a smart call as Cleveland will likely be looking to shed some payroll. A guy like Rick Porcello has value as he is is pretty durable and his numbers were not good this year so could be had a decent price. Tanner Roark, Jake Odorizzi, Chris Archer are also names that I feel would fall into the Jays price range. The Gerrit Coles/Zack Wheelers/MadBums, I feel, will be a little pricey and the cost efficiency-minded Jays front office will not venture into those lofty price ranges.

The free agents available at first base and in the outfield aren't all that exciting. In the outfield Ozuna is a name that stands out, along with Starling Marte with the Pirates who have a club option. First base is pretty barren, Anthony Rizzo with a club option is the premier guy, i imagine the Cubs will exercise that option. I could see the Jays taking a stab at Mitch Moreland, average numbers across the board, decent OBP, decent defense, some pop, just has boring value signing written all over him tbh which will no doubt entice the Jays front office.

My prediction is: Tanner Roark, Mitch Moreland, Corey Dickerson being signed by the Jays. They will no doubt take a flyer on some reclamation projects, like relief pitchers coming off TJ that have been non-tendered by other clubs a la David Phelps. I think they will adjust their calculus in terms of leveraging these sorts of signings as potential trade bait though and think more long term, at least I would hope so as seeing the cupboards stripped bare every trade deadline would get increasingly more depressing.
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