2022 Blue Jays Off-Season Thread

[Underdog]

Originally Posted by JTech780

Matt Beaty was just DFA'd by the Dodgers. Lefty LF/1B.
Hit .270/.363/.402 with 7HR in 234 PA.

Would be a solid lefty bat off the bench or just getting AB's in the OF or at 1B.

Think Greg Bird fits that role. He's getting a ton of at-bats this spring as an audition. Basically it's his job to lose.

[Cheese]

Berrios, Romano and Mayza had a bad outing today!

[Hockey]

Originally Posted by Jason14h

Jays don't need to sign him to any deal.

He is under arbitration for 3 more years after this year.

There is literally ZERO chance he signs a 3 year deal. They control his full rights for 3 years without him signing.

The reason they signed a 1 year deal (with every arbitration eligible player) is so both sides dont go to arbitration and slander the other and ruin the relationship

Honestly, does this person understand how baseball contracts, control, and arbitration works at all?

Clearly not, and I don't really have a full understanding either. It's why I brought it up here cuz I know some of you guys do. This way when I try to tell him he's an idiot I have proof to back up those claims

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Hockey

He's not really. My friend needed someone to join their fantasy football league so I joined a few years back. Only time I ever see him is at the draft or maybe the odd round of golf. Also he actually despises Flames more then anyone I know

But even his friends that known him for years even shake their head and some of the stuff he says.

I was joking.

But again, a large bet is the answer

[JTech780]

Originally Posted by Underdog

Think Greg Bird fits that role. He's getting a ton of at-bats this spring as an audition. Basically it's his job to lose.

Call me skeptical about Bird, he has good power but outside.of that he offers nothing. Beaty can at least bring versatility that he can play the OF.

[transplant99]

Marcus Semian may have only spent 1 season in TO, but it will have a much longer lasting effect.

If you’re looking for Bo Bichette and Santiago Espinal around 7:00am on any given day of Toronto Blue Jays spring training, the Florida sun only just beginning to rise somewhere on the horizon, you’ll want to head to the covered infield adjacent the weight room and batting cages at the club’s lavish new player development complex in Dunedin.

And you’ll probably be late. The pair will have been there for some time, taking groundballs, fielding short hops, turning double plays. Drilling footwork, rhythm, timing. Talking reads, approaches, and shifts. Blue Jays infield coach Luis Rivera and coordinator Danny Solano will be there, too, fungo bats in hand, baskets of balls on either side of them, new wrinkles and layers in mind to throw at the young middle infielders they’ve been drilling early each morning for weeks.

“Every day it’s something different,” Espinal said. “Some new conversation about learning how to work around the bases, where to be, how to keep your feet moving, how to prepare, what our position should be in all these different shifts we’ll play during the game. That’s what it’s about. Everything needs to be game ready.”

That’s what Espinal learned from Semien, the career shortstop who transitioned to second base with the Blue Jays last year and, oh, only went out and himself won a gold glove. Espinal watched Semien — a father of three and member of MLBPA’s executive subcommittee during a CBA year, mind you — regularly beat everyone to the park to complete an extensive fielding program that’s been part of his daily routine for over a half-decade.

Espinal saw up close the grinding, assiduous work of a quiet professional that, over years of steady, incremental progress, produces a sensational career like Semien’s. And now he’ll carry it forward wherever the game takes him.

“I'm trying to do the same thing he did,” Espinal says. “And last year we talked about it — how he learned second base so quick. And he told me that's just the amount of work that you have to put in. There’s no shortcut. It’s every day. It doesn't matter if it’s an early game, doesn't matter what city you’re in — always be consistent, always take ground balls. So, I’m just following his lead.”

https://www.sportsnet.ca/mlb/article...lue-jays-camp/

[bluejays]

Breaking best news of the year. Grichuk gone. Happiest day of the year for me. I hated that guy. Now I love management. Return? Who cares. Lol

[Cheese]

say what? Grichuk traded?


ah yes, here it is


The Blue Jays and Rockies have agreed to a trade sending outfielder Randal Grichuk from Toronto to Colorado in exchange for outfielder Raimel Tapia, reports


https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/...mel-tapia.html

[bluejays]

https://www.thescore.com/mlb/news/2322226

[flamingred89]

Ha. Good riddance. Such a frustrating player to watch. Raw power and talent but the IQ of a brick at the plate. I for one am going to be super happy not to watch him have a massive April and listen to Buck and Pat talk about him figuring it out. Only to see him rock a .600OPS for the rest of the season.

[SuperMatt18]

A Dominican LH Contact hitter that actually has better WAR than Grichuk the last two seasons and will likely be better protected in this lineup. Also younger than Grichuk.

Save some money too (depending how much cash was sent).

That feels good and exactly like what this team needed.

[Cheese]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

A Dominican LH Contact hitter that actually has better WAR than Grichuk the last two seasons and will likely be better protected in this lineup. Also younger than Grichuk.

Save some money too (depending how much cash was sent).

That feels good and exactly like this team needed.

....and....Prospect Adrian Pinto is also going to Toronto in the deal

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by Cheese

....and....Prospect Adrian Pinto is also going to Toronto in the deal

Doesn't seem to be a lot written about him but he was 6th in the dominican summer league in Batting Average, and 6th in OPS last year at 18 years old. Guess he was the league MVP last summer.

The 5’8″ Adrian Pinto is a force to be reckoned with. He doesn’t strike out much, draws a lot of walks, and has flashed a little bit of power to accompany his plus speed.

https://roxpile.com/2021/08/31/color...ugust-16-29/5/

That seems good too.

[flamingred89]

The Jays now have a logjam of utility infielders and catchers. Moving grichuk also frees up 10 million this year and next. I wonder if there is another move coming down the pipe.

[Jason14h]

Originally Posted by flamingred89

The Jays now have a logjam of utility infielders and catchers. Moving grichuk also frees up 10 million this year and next. I wonder if there is another move coming down the pipe.

Sorry am I forgetting someone on the infield ? Assuming Biggio platoons at 2nd and maybe the odd DH and OF spot INF seems pretty good

Catcher yes we have an extra for sure

[Roof-Daddy]

I'm starting to think that 2nd base is going to be less of a platoon than I originally thought. New beefed up Espinal might get more time there, and we will likely see plenty of OF starts for Biggio to rest the regulars.

Sucks that we don't have a bench OFer that can play an above average CF though.

[Cheese]

Wait, Tapia is a Left Fielder, he doesnt add to the infield.

Raimel Tapia

Positions: Leftfielder and Pinch Hitter

[flambers]

Originally Posted by Jason14h

Sorry am I forgetting someone on the infield ? Assuming Biggio platoons at 2nd and maybe the odd DH and OF spot INF seems pretty good

Catcher yes we have an extra for sure

Infield 2B and SS, Baggio, Bichette, Espinal

Catcher will be interesting to see who starts the season at AAA

[bluejays]

Jansen will certainly get the leg up with the way he ended last season. I’m certain of it. Kirk will probably play the backup/dh role to start the season. But IMO his arm isn’t good to be there daily. So ultimately I think he’ll be dealt as the season progresses, or he’ll be moved to DH. Jerk McGuire is destined to be in the minors from this point unless he blows up right off the top. Moreno is the future and I suspect as soon as someone falters he’s up. But I don’t think we’ll see him for the first three or four months at least.

[bluejays]

Originally Posted by flamingred89

The Jays now have a logjam of utility infielders and catchers. Moving grichuk also frees up 10 million this year and next. I wonder if there is another move coming down the pipe.

I personally don’t think there are immediate moves coming. They probably seen it as a cost saving measure to get rid of useless weight in Grichuk. Which is correct from a business and baseball standpoint. Lots of money was spent and you have to pull back on redundant expenses. They probably didn’t want to tip their hand earlier.