2022 Toronto Blue Jays Off-season Thread

[GirlySports]

Merrifield will platoon at 2B with Espinal. I don't really see a spot for Biggio on this roster.

[Jiri Hrdina]

I think the underlying part of some of these moves is changing the culture of the team.
Party time is over.

[Jiggy_12]

Varsho was the MLB leader with 18 outs above average among OF’s

[bluejays]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

I think the underlying part of some of these moves is changing the culture of the team.
Party time is over.

Yeah. For sure. I’m happy with that.

[flamingred89]

I loved Gurriel. So sad to see him go. Professional hitter with a laser rocket arm. But as Jiri mentioned. This really feels like a cultural shift more than anything. And they're really addressing the outfield defense. Will hold judgement until the season starts but my gut is saying this might be a good thing.

[ben voyonsdonc]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

Merrifield will platoon at 2B with Espinal. I don't really see a spot for Biggio on this roster.

I don’t think they’ll move on from a left handed bat right now as they seem to be putting a premium on the balanced order. Without him, they still only have two lefties in the lineup.

[Jiggy_12]

Other than Bichette who is horrific, the Jays are now elite at just about every defensive position. That is fantastic

[Underdog]

Love this trade! Varsho is an absolute gamer who was not only a great OF last season but can also play Catcher. More defensive flexibility for the lineup.
Adding guys like Merrifield, Kiermeir and now Varsho, and subtracting guys like Teo and Gurriel is gonna do wonders for this team. The give-a-damn meter on this club continues to go in the right direction.

[howard_the_duck]

Originally Posted by ben voyonsdonc

I don’t think they’ll move on from a left handed bat right now as they seem to be putting a premium on the balanced order. Without him, they still only have two lefties in the lineup.

Espinal and Merrifield are also both RH hitters, so no real platoon there.

[ben voyonsdonc]

Originally Posted by howard_the_duck

Espinal and Merrifield are also both RH hitters, so no real platoon there.

I think they keep Biggio and move him between 1B, 2B and DH to have the balance that they are seeking. I think he’ll play 100ish games this year.

ETA: they might also use him to get Springer off the field sometimes too.

[Parallex]

This offseason is frustrating. They're filling holes by creating other holes. Now instead of needing another big LH bat for the outfield they need another big RH bat (Varsho is a ####ty hitter against lefties).

Losing a top 10 league wide prospect stings... but Varsho seems worth it. Hits bombs, steals bases, great OF D... also like that he's also a catcher so that reduces the risk of having Kirk DH on days he doesn't catch. But he's not a great bat, doesn't hit for average and as a result has a mediocre OBP.

Just fill the holes without creating new ones please.

[Kasi]

Varsho was bad against LHP this year but last year he was 117. I think he’s a bit young to say for sure if he can or can’t hit LHP. Also until this year he was coming up as a catcher and then they switched him to OF. I think there is some potential to growth in his offensive game. I don’t expect them to even try him at catcher at all and just let him focus on his bat and fielding. Anyway put me as a like but not love for this trade. I do think Morenos likely best case was for him to turn into Varsho.

[bluejays]

I think the sudden shift to a defensive first lineup isn’t the best move. If defence is that important you still have a major defensive hole at SS. Now between KK and Varsho we have two guys who won’t get on base much. I think there are many who look at the team and are always glass half full with whatever the team does, but to give that much up for an OFer is irritating. I have a problem with the trade, but moreso particularly losing Moreno. He should be an all star for years to come.

[Jiri Hrdina]

I think management has built up some credibility as most of their moves have worked out well

[browna]

With Schneider now the full time guy and a former manager like Mattingly coming in, I think, yeah, breaking up some of the group now with Gurriel and Teo before him, that maybe ran over Charlie, isn't a coincidence. Shades of Brett Lawrie and crew and some of those antics which Giibby quickly grew tired of back when.

Losing a top prospect is never ideal but when they are currently in a decent depth in that position, it works short term.... this is the LH bat they needed last offseason. RH bats are a bit more plentiful.

Still think they are not totally done tinkering, I still forsee a veteran name of some kind that Scheidner or Mattingly trust to be a part timer but a strong leader in the clubhouse.

[KelVarnsen]

I just don’t know if weakening the offence when you are in the AL East is a good idea

[Roof-Daddy]

Hate to see Moreno go, but the Jays now have 3 CFers playing in the outfield full time.

No more do we have to watch Teo and Lourdes flub plays and make easy plays look hard.

Also, Varsho can catch. That provides massive flexibility for the line up as far as keeping Kirk's bat in the line up as much as possible.

Probably went from the worst OF defense to one of the best.

[Roof-Daddy]

I just read that Varsho had one of the highest pull % in the league last year and one of the lowest BABIP's in the league with the shift on...

Sounds like a guy that will benefit greatly from the shift being banned.

[Roof-Daddy]

The Jays still have the same catching tandem they had last season (IE one of the best in the league, if not THE best) and now they have one of the best outfields in the league, if not THE best. Plus they won't have lug around a third catcher because Varsho fills that role while also providing ++ OF defense and ++ speed and baserunning. Also a LHB that hit 27 homers last season.

[bluejays]

Could very well be but I’m not sure where the analytics came into play that banning the shift would lead to these monumental changes with LH batters being in such high demand. Add the defence first philosophy suddenly and it seems like a brand new direction with a lot of uncertainty. I really appreciated KC years back and Tampa these days where they want to kill you by getting on base first and foremost. With the new additions the on base aspect is very much in question. I don’t truly mean to sound doom and gloom despite managements moves generally winning out. There are just a lot of question marks with a new philosophy and a lot of very good prospect capital out the door and that’s concerning where they haven’t always got the best bang for their prospect capital.