2015-2016 Blue Jays Off-Season Thread

[Parallex]

Originally Posted by Jiggy_12

It's also great news considering just yesterday there were rumours flying around that payroll was going to be cut by 30% or so. Sounds like at the very least, it will remain status quo. Which is very very positive.

... I don't really consider news that after one of the most profitable years in franchise history precisely zero $ will be added to the MLB payroll to be "very very positive".

It's a nice (and apparently effective) bit of corporate propaganda thou.

[Caged Great]

It staying the same would be complete BS all things considered.

[TheAlpineOracle]

Originally Posted by REDVAN

From what the Sportsnet special the other day said (so take it with a grain of salt)- Shapiro thinks they have one more year in this window... so I expect there will be some short term spending to try to win again this season, and then if it's going well, a few deadline pick-ups again.

If not going well, I expect a full explosion and shipping out of a lot of big bats to other playoff teams to re-stock the cupboards.

There is no possible deadline pickups this year, we traded all our prospects of any value.

There's also really no short term pitching fix. If they fix the pitching, you are looking at 5 year contracts at a minimum. Are the Jays/Rogers willing to add 5 year + contracts for a one year window? I doubt it personally.

[TheAlpineOracle]

Originally Posted by Parallex

... I don't really consider news that after one of the most profitable years in franchise history precisely zero $ will be added to the MLB payroll to be "very very positive".

It's a nice (and apparently effective) bit of corporate propaganda thou.

Agreed. Speaks to the issues with the Jays and why they only make the playoffs every 20 years or so.

[Caged Great]

Originally Posted by TheAlpineOracle

There is no possible deadline pickups this year, we traded all our prospects of any value.

That's not true, the Jays have a boat load of prospects, they are all in the lower levels at the moment though. There will be a bunch of guys that will "come out of nowhere" next year. Despite having Pompey and Alford in the upper levels of the system only, the Jays farm is still in the middle of the pack. Vladdy Jr. is looking like he's going to be a great one like his old man for example.

By the time the deadline rolls around, the Jays will have a bunch of guys that could be trade pieces.

[REDVAN]

Originally Posted by TheAlpineOracle

There is no possible deadline pickups this year, we traded all our prospects of any value.

There's also really no short term pitching fix. If they fix the pitching, you are looking at 5 year contracts at a minimum. Are the Jays/Rogers willing to add 5 year + contracts for a one year window? I doubt it personally.

I disagree with your view.

I think the Jays might need to sign a big name pitcher this year. They can make him the face of the franchise to keep the butts in the seats when the big bats leave the following offseason or at the deadline.

[TheAlpineOracle]

http://www.tsn.ca/blue-jays-weighing...einke-1.391723

Typical Jays PR move. Put their name out there with a big name knowing full well the guy is not going to accept their offer. They can say they tried.

They had a legitimate shot at Price, but they aren't going to go that route because that might actually result in opening the wallet.

[Pagal4321]

Originally Posted by TheAlpineOracle

http://www.tsn.ca/blue-jays-weighing...einke-1.391723

Typical Jays PR move. Put their name out there with a big name knowing full well the guy is not going to accept their offer. They can say they tried.

They had a legitimate shot at Price, but they aren't going to go that route because that might actually result in opening the wallet.

Typical TAO move, being a negative nellie and thinking of everything Blue Jays related in a negative light.

Do I think the Jays are actually interested in Grienke? Nope. But the media, whether Rogers related or not, will probably link the Jays to a lot of players they won't end up signing. It's called the off-season.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Greinke would be a better signing than Price. Or I suppose to phrase it better, it's safer overpaying Greinke than it is Price. Though I'm not sure how Greinke would fit in Toronto (both the clubhouse and the city) given his recluse reputation.

[Jason14h]

Typical TAO move, being a negative nellie and thinking of everything Blue Jays related in a negative light.

But he's right. The second I saw the article I thought ' Typical Rogers BS '

There is ZERO chance Grienke comes to Toronto. So why even pretend to set your sights on him???

Sure they will make an offer. And it will be 100 million less then what NY, Cubs, LA, etc would offer. Plus all those cities offer him a better situation.

I'd rather them come out and be honest and say we aren't getting one of the big ace FA's, but will be active and increasing payroll in order to make this team better.

If they could get a Leake and a Anderson for example, their overall pitching staff might be good enough. Then go after a power leftie for the pen.

But please, stop with the media leaked crap rumors to make people think they are 'going for it' or opening the wallet.

[Senator Clay Davis]

I mean could it be Jays PR? Maybe but of course it just as easily can be Greinke's agent trying to drive up his price by making it seem like interest is very high and that there may be a bidding war. Works both ways.

[Pagal4321]

Originally Posted by Jason14h

But he's right. The second I saw the article I thought ' Typical Rogers BS '

There is ZERO chance Grienke comes to Toronto. So why even pretend to set your sights on him???

Sure they will make an offer. And it will be 100 million less then what NY, Cubs, LA, etc would offer. Plus all those cities offer him a better situation.

I'd rather them come out and be honest and say we aren't getting one of the big ace FA's, but will be active and increasing payroll in order to make this team better.

If they could get a Leake and a Anderson for example, their overall pitching staff might be good enough. Then go after a power leftie for the pen.

But please, stop with the media leaked crap rumors to make people think they are 'going for it' or opening the wallet.

It's called click bait...and guess what you clicked. Every media outlet in the world does this, so why are we blaming Rogers or Blue Jays PR.

Writers success is judged by how many clicks each article gets, so if there is even a shred of credible evidence (aka LaCava said Grienke is a good pitcher) someone will write about it and you will click on the link.

But continue the smear campaign on the Blue Jays & Rogers.

[TheAlpineOracle]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

I mean could it be Jays PR? Maybe but of course it just as easily can be Greinke's agent trying to drive up his price by making it seem like interest is very high and that there may be a bidding war. Works both ways.

It's the same BS story each year. The go to play in the Jays/Rogers playbook. Canadian media reports Jays interested in "Name your High priced talent here". They always choose someone who will in no way, shape, or form sign in Toronto, and even in the odd circumstance they would, they don't even offer in the stratosphere of what the other teams are offering. I think it was Garza a couple of years that flat out called them on it. Someone asked him about the Jays, and he said they let alone didn't offer him a deal, they never even talked to him about playing in Toronto. It was widely reported by our friends in Rogers media that the Jays were in to the end on him.

Fact of the matter is, Jays have a chance to resign Price (likely would have to pay more, but he knows the market and seemed happy). It's A lot of easier to sign someone that knows what they are getting in to than some US guy whose never played in Canada before. They have no intentions of signing David Price though, and rather than just admitting that they've jumped on the Greinke train through the media so that in a few months time they can say "Hey, we tried. We targeted Greinke over Price for X reasons, and he chose to go elsewhere."

If Greinke's agent is starting a bidding war, he sure is hell isn't going to do so by floating the Jays name out there. They aren't getting in a bidding war for anyone and everyone in MLB knows it.

[TheAlpineOracle]

Originally Posted by Pagal4321

It's called click bait...and guess what you clicked. Every media outlet in the world does this, so why are we blaming Rogers or Blue Jays PR.

Writers success is judged by how many clicks each article gets, so if there is even a shred of credible evidence (aka LaCava said Grienke is a good pitcher) someone will write about it and you will click on the link.

But continue the smear campaign on the Blue Jays & Rogers.

Come on. The only teams that continue to have articles like this posted about them are the New York Yankees, the Red Sox, the Giants, the Dodgers, etc. But guess what? These teams actually sign the guy they are linked to more often that not.

Name me one single player the Jays have been linked to in the past 10 years that they actually went out and signed. You can't name one. Even the guys they do sign like Martin are completely out of left field.

Listen to MLB radio some time and listen to them talk about the Jays being in on someone. It starts with "Reports out of Toronto say they are in on X", quickly followed by a discussion by the experts (not on Rogers payroll) of "X does not fit in to the Blue Jays budget, ownership will not allow them to increase it, and this is an unsubstantiated rumour from a local reporter".

[TheAlpineOracle]

Originally Posted by Caged Great

That's not true, the Jays have a boat load of prospects, they are all in the lower levels at the moment though. There will be a bunch of guys that will "come out of nowhere" next year. Despite having Pompey and Alford in the upper levels of the system only, the Jays farm is still in the middle of the pack. Vladdy Jr. is looking like he's going to be a great one like his old man for example.

By the time the deadline rolls around, the Jays will have a bunch of guys that could be trade pieces.

I disagree on the prospects. The Jays essentially have Pentecost, Mitch Nay and Alford left. That is it, and those guys don't get you pitching. They are mid-tier prospects. Some guys do come out of nowhere like you said, but they are throw in on deals, not the major piece. They may eventually get you something, but that won't help Toronto at the deadlin in 2016.

Look at last year. Boyd, Castro, Tinoco, and Labourt came out of no where. They were just throw in's though. It took Norris and Hoffman to acquire some talent. Both high end prospects on MLB radar for years.

Vladdy Jr is 16 years old and a minimum of 5 years away from being on a major league field. Probably closer to 7. He was a really great pickup, but no one is going to trade starting pitching today for a guy that's 5-7 years out that comes with a 4 Million dollar price tag.

[TheAlpineOracle]

And by the way, if you read my post from well over a month ago, you'll see I said this is exactly what would happen in the off season. IE Jays will take below market options on Dickey, Bautista, and EE, link themselves through the media to some high profile free agents that they aren't going to sign, and start the season with what was left from last year. So is it me being negative, or is it me making an educated guess based based on my experience as a Blue Jays fan over the past 15 years under Rogers' ownership?

So far the Jays are supposedly in on Chris Davis and Greinke who are never going to happen unless the Jays budget magically jump up to 175M. Give me a break......

[The Big Chill]

Originally Posted by TheAlpineOracle

And by the way, if you read my post from well over a month ago, you'll see I said this is exactly what would happen in the off season. IE Jays will take below market options on Dickey, Bautista, and EE, link themselves through the media to some high profile free agents that they aren't going to sign, and start the season with what was left from last year. So is it me being negative, or is it me making an educated based based on my experience as a Blue Jays fan over the past 15 years under Rogers' ownership?

So far the Jays are supposedly in on Chris Davis and Greinke who are never going to happen unless the Jays budget magically jump up to 175M.

Yes, it is you being negative, and quite frankly, its getting extremely boring. You may be right eventually, but for now the off-season has barely begun, so lets not act like the sky is falling quite yet.

If you are right then we will have the next 20 years for more doom and gloom.

[Pagal4321]

Alright, well that little childish rant that was filled with non-sensical babbling has made my decision for me.

I ask that people refrain from quoting TAO, so those of us that now ignore him can be done with his antics.

I have no issues discussing Jays items with people that have different view points than me (ie. Jason14th) but TAO is ALWAYS right and if you have a view point different than him, it's either wrong or you're stupid.

[TheAlpineOracle]

Originally Posted by Pagal4321

Alright, well that little childish rant that was filled with non-sensical babbling has made my decision for me.

I ask that people refrain from quoting TAO, so those of us that now ignore him can be done with his antics.

I have no issues discussing Jays items with people that have different view points than me (ie. Jason14th) but TAO is ALWAYS right and if you have a view point different than him, it's either wrong or you're stupid.

I don't mind people having a different view point then me, but you don't counter anything I say and general don't have much of a view point other than a one line drive by. You don't post anything about the game, nothing about players, prospects, the plays, strategy of the game. You just don't like what you are hearing.

The only childish thing going on here, is your request for people to ignore someone that has an opinion that you don't like and can back it up with some examples (whether you agree with them or not).

[TheAlpineOracle]

Originally Posted by The Big Chill

Yes, it is you being negative, and quite frankly, its getting extremely boring. You may be right eventually, but for now the off-season has barely begun, so lets not act like the sky is falling quite yet.

If you are right then we will have the next 20 years for more doom and gloom.

I'll make you a deal. If Rogers signs one significant addition this off season to bolster their starting pitching, I promise you'll never have to listen to me bad mouth them again. I'm not talking some middle of the road starter like Leake, i'm talking someone who legitimately shows they are making an effort to field a winning team this upcoming season and into the future. I'm not crapping on Leake either. I'd gladly take him as a #3 or #4, but we need a #1.

I don't want to be down on the team I follow all the time, but I've been given no reason not to be. I would love to be given a reason not to be for once. This off-season has started off by the beloved GM telling them thanks but no thanks, confirmation that none of the profits from last year are being put back in the team, and the same propaganda machine on unattainable free agent as in prior years. Maybe it's too early to say it's the same propaganda machine as in previous year? I can live with that, and can see why it may frustrate some people. We'll find out in a month or so.