Toronto Blue Jays 2017 regular season thread

[Machiavelli]

They could have been only five games under .500 if it wasn't for another blown save by Osuna.

But no, too many teams ahead of them.

[Roof-Daddy]

That's the Jays 2017 season in a nutshell.

They'd be 11-2 in the last couple weeks but the once automatic Osuna has blown 3 saves.

Terrible starting pitching and the bullpen is awesome.
Starters get rolling and the bullpen goes to ####.

[TheAlpineOracle]

Originally Posted by Roof-Daddy

That's the Jays 2017 season in a nutshell.

They'd be 11-2 in the last couple weeks but the once automatic Osuna has blown 3 saves.

Terrible starting pitching and the bullpen is awesome.
Starters get rolling and the bullpen goes to ####.

Yeah, but they also benefited poor bullpens going the other way on that run. Steve Pierce shouldn't be winning back to back games coming from behind with a grand slam walk off.

[Roof-Daddy]

Rain maker 2 for 2 with two homers and 4 RBI thru 3 innings so far tonight.

I hope he's fully healthy next season. Such a boost to the line up. Probably out roughly 5 wins just because of his down year alone, which would have put us right in the thick of it.

[mrkajz44]

Jays win a relatively normal game, with the only real hiccup coming in the 8th inning. What is this sorcery?

[Otto-matic]

http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb...zki-60-day-dl/

Blue Jays transfer Troy Tulowitzki to 60-day DL

[Roof-Daddy]

This team CANNOT go into next season with Tulo/Travis/Goins/Barney as their group of middle infielders if they truly want to be competitive.

Travis is always hurt.
Tulo is not very good anymore, and also always hurt.
Goins and Barney are not good enough to play everyday IMO.

And Refsnyder so far doesn't seem much better than Goins or Barney to be honest.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Roof-Daddy

This team CANNOT go into next season with Tulo/Travis/Goins/Barney as their group of middle infielders if they truly want to be competitive.

Travis is always hurt.
Tulo is not very good anymore, and also always hurt.
Goins and Barney are not good enough to play everyday IMO.

And Refsnyder so far doesn't seem much better than Goins or Barney to be honest.

Tulo was recently named one of MLB's top 10 untradeable contracts, so we'll most likely be stuck with him.

[Roof-Daddy]

Originally Posted by jayswin

Tulo was recently named one of MLB's top 10 untradeable contracts, so we'll most likely be stuck with him.

Yeah Tulo is unlikely to be going anywhere, and Travis is good when healthy, hopefully they have a better back up plan though for when either of these guys get hurt again.

Maybe Gurriel will be ready and capable.

[Sylvanfan]

Tulo is getting to a point where he's a zero WAR guy, and Russel Martin is starting to move that way too. That's a lot of money tied up for replacement level production.

I think the Jays really should consider that they have these contracts to navigate thru in the next 3 years. If you have this much of your budget committed to replacement level production, can you really compete?

[mrkajz44]

Tulo is pretty much zero WAR this year, but his defense is saving him a bit as his offense is pretty dismal this year. The concern is if the defense continues to decline then there could be trouble as his offense has to turn around somewhat at some point.

Russell is still quite good though - his 1.8 WAR is 3rd on the team. His offense is around league average (which is above replacement level) and his defense is still quite good. I'm not really worried about Russell's contract at all.

[Machiavelli]

So many scrub pitchers used by the Jays this season, ugh

[socalwingfan]

NM- I'm on crack

[Hot_Flatus]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

Tulo is getting to a point where he's a zero WAR guy, and Russel Martin is starting to move that way too. That's a lot of money tied up for replacement level production.

I think the Jays really should consider that they have these contracts to navigate thru in the next 3 years. If you have this much of your budget committed to replacement level production, can you really compete?

Probably not. Martin is only going to decline from this point on and Tulo is at a sub Reyes level when the Jays made the trade a few years ago to acquire him. Doubt anyone is touching these contracts unless someone equally as bad comes back as well.

Some major moves will need to be made to get the team back to the post season by next season. Otherwise you ride it out and hope for the prospects to be ready sooner than anticipated.

[TheAlpineOracle]

Originally Posted by Hot_Flatus

Probably not. Martin is only going to decline from this point on and Tulo is at a sub Reyes level when the Jays made the trade a few years ago to acquire him. Doubt anyone is touching these contracts unless someone equally as bad comes back as well.

Some major moves will need to be made to get the team back to the post season by next season. Otherwise you ride it out and hope for the prospects to be ready sooner than anticipated.

The Jays will be making zero moves to get back to the post season next year. They'll ride out what they got for one more year of financial success while continue to build up their minor league system through the draft.

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by mrkajz44

Tulo is pretty much zero WAR this year, but his defense is saving him a bit as his offense is pretty dismal this year. The concern is if the defense continues to decline then there could be trouble as his offense has to turn around somewhat at some point.

Russell is still quite good though - his 1.8 WAR is 3rd on the team. His offense is around league average (which is above replacement level) and his defense is still quite good. I'm not really worried about Russell's contract at all.

Martin has two years left right? I don't know how much of him playing as many games at third this year has to do with Donaldson needing a rest, or Martin possibly needing a break from catching. I'm thinking it's somewhere in between.

His is definitely a more manageable deal. Both guys seem to provide some form of Leadership...will the next wave of guys be in the Majors while these guys are still there though to benefit from it?

[Hot_Flatus]

Originally Posted by TheAlpineOracle

The Jays will be making zero moves to get back to the post season next year. They'll ride out what they got for one more year of financial success while continue to build up their minor league system through the draft.

Sure about that? Rogers isn't going to be happy spending the kind of money they are to be a doormat next year. There will be some turn-over, how much remains to be seen. If prospects like Guerrero etc are not viewed as full time MLB ready until 2020 (which certainly could be the case) that would be a very tough pill to swallow.

[TheAlpineOracle]

Originally Posted by Hot_Flatus

Sure about that? Rogers isn't going to be happy spending the kind of money they are to be a doormat next year. There will be some turn-over, how much remains to be seen. If prospects like Guerrero etc are not viewed as full time MLB ready until 2020 (which certainly could be the case) that would be a very tough pill to swallow.

I'm 100% sure of that. I'm so sure about it, I said it two years ago after we lost to Kansas in the playoffs. The Jays would ride out the roster for two more years collecting all the cash they could and severely start to reduce payroll back to a mid-level team. We had a 3 year window. It's gone. If they start to sell this offseason, their gravy train ends a year early. Not going to happen, and they sure as heck aren't going to be adding salary which is actually a good decisions as they are too old and they do not have the team to compete anymore with the Red Sox and Yankees who have returned to form.

[calculoso]

Season from hell. Even the rookies aren't immune to the injury bug.

@thehazelmae: RHP Taylor Cole placed on 10-day DL with Right 5th Toe Fracture. RHP Chris Smith has been recalled.

[calculoso]

And newcomers

@Wilnerness590: Gibby: Aoki is sick. Real high fever after the game last night. Might not even be here today. #Bluejays #Jays