2023/24 Blue Jays Off Season Thread

[zukes]

Originally Posted by Parallex

Honestly I prefer the free agent frenzy of the NHL... very little "so and so is talking to so and so" for weeks on end, just "*boom* your favorite team signed a player". Free agency is an event in the NHL, in MLB it's a gossipy slog.

At least baseball is realistic that they don't (appear anyway) to be tampering before the start of free agency. The NHL is such a joke that they had to add a "legal" tapering period to save face since they didn't have the balls to actually punish people for signing players at 12:00:01 of free agency day. Such a farce!

[zukes]

Originally Posted by flamingred89

bush parties for everyone!

yes!!!!!

[Parallex]

Originally Posted by zukes

I used to start listening To Buster's podcast in mid February

Uhg... I used to listen to a Baseball Podcast (I want to say it was Baseball Today or Baseball Tonight... I forget the name) it was hosted by Keith Law and another guy but it was a great pod, lot's of insightful discussion. Amateur draft content, indepth player evals, scouting talk, sabermetrics really interesting content... then out of the blue those guys are gone and they're replaced by Olney talking solo and spewing out boring basic conventional wisdom and baseball cliches where every other topic is about the Yankee's or Red Sox. I listened to that first drop with him and hit unsubscribe soooooo fast after.

[Roof-Daddy]

https://twitter.com/user/status/1730321140462264700

Come to Canada Ohtani

[KelVarnsen]

I have a work trip to Toronto next week.

I would not be opposed to getting a Ohtani jersey while I am there.

[bluejays]

Toronto can match the money for the most part but I’m a little skeptical. On one hand they need big numbers for their renovation. On the other hand, the economy is getting worse and Ohtani’s number is going to be huge.

From a players point of view, he’d fit into the LA lifestyle nicely, and have better weather. He doesn’t have to rely on Jays facilities to stay fit as he probably has a personal trainer anyway. Anyway, I could see the scenario where he’d be putting two teams against another to just meet as many of his requirements as possible, as well as get favourable clauses. If his preferred team exclusively dealt with him their hand wouldn’t be forced to give him everything. It’s skepticism at the highest level because there truly isn’t many reasons for him to come here. The reasons are in fans minds more than anything.

[Jason14h]

Im sure the Dodgers facilities are top notch as well

[ben voyonsdonc]

I have no idea why Ohtani would pick Toronto over LA but I’d be happy to lie about how much better Toronto’s weather is than LA’s if it helps convince him.

For Rogers, it is a total no brainer to back up the Brinks truck to sign him. The deal will pay for itself. The stadium will be full. The merch will fly out the door. He can help bring the Jays to the Japanese market.

Not to mention that if he can pitch in 2024-25, you have a DH and a starter which save money. If you get 3-4 years of him doing both, it’s a good deal.

[Parallex]

Yeah, I could make the argument that signing him makes all sorts of financial sense but at the end if the day you're still going to have to go to ownership and convince them to part with half a billion dollars... that's a tough thing to swallow I'm sure.

[browna]

He's been in LA his entire MLB career, so it is the same lifestyle and routine he has had, just a much better team in and off the field and more followed team.

If it truly is down to the Jays and Dodgers, it's not about money, and like the Raptors did with Leonard, the Jays would handle any wishes Ohtani would have on and off the field. It would come down IMO to Ohtani intrigued of being followed by an entire country as opposed to the vast among of Dodger fans.

Of course could all be PR smoke by the Jays to keep relevant, similar maybe to how the Darvish thing went, as mentioed above.

[bluejays]

Originally Posted by browna

He's been in LA his entire MLB career, so it is the same lifestyle and routine he has had, just a much better team in and off the field and more followed team.

If it truly is down to the Jays and Dodgers, it's not about money, and like the Raptors did with Leonard, the Jays would handle any wishes Ohtani would have on and off the field. It would come down IMO to Ohtani intrigued of being followed by an entire country as opposed to the vast among of Dodger fans.

Of course could all be PR smoke by the Jays to keep relevant, similar maybe to how the Darvish thing went, as mentioed above.

IMO, the whole country thing is completely overblown. On the list of things that would be important to a player that would probably come around the 8th factor. He’s going to have a following anywhere he goes. I think that’s precisely a fan hope why he’d chose Toronto. Players will say all the right things about fans but the whole country angle is severely marketing speak.

[Inferno]

https://twitter.com/user/status/1730386933786849769

[bluejays]

Got two tickets to the first two home games of the year. Ticket sales are available by the way.

[bluejays]

Originally Posted by Inferno

https://twitter.com/user/status/1730386933786849769

Who are these guys? lol


Anyway, I agree with them. Can't see the price wisely spent for Bellinger unless it's a medium term deal (<5 years). Anything more than that would be a mistake.

[Inferno]

Originally Posted by bluejays

Who are these guys? lol


Anyway, I agree with them. Can't see the price wisely spent for Bellinger unless it's a medium term deal (<5 years). Anything more than that would be a mistake.

The bald guy is the same guy whose tweet Roof-Daddy shared. I've never heard of him so I don't know how reliable he is.

[jayswin]

nm

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Jiggy_12

I’m getting major “Yu Darvish Sweepstakes” flashbacks. Does anyone remember how painful that was? IIRC it was this same sort of process, teams being eliminated until it was down to the Jays and rangers. Then reports came out that it was officially the Jays, until the rug was pulled minutes later and it was the Rangers all along and the Jays weren’t even that close.

Totally different scenarios (old posting system versus legit free agent) but hard to forget what that felt like

But in the end the result will be the same. He was going to the Dodgers all along and the Jays will end up being the useful idiot that was never going to happen but allowed the player to negotiate what he wanted from the team he wanted to go to.

[jayswin]

nm

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by browna

He's been in LA his entire MLB career, so it is the same lifestyle and routine he has had, just a much better team in and off the field and more followed team.

If it truly is down to the Jays and Dodgers, it's not about money, and like the Raptors did with Leonard, the Jays would handle any wishes Ohtani would have on and off the field. It would come down IMO to Ohtani intrigued of being followed by an entire country as opposed to the vast among of Dodger fans.

Of course could all be PR smoke by the Jays to keep relevant, similar maybe to how the Darvish thing went, as mentioed above.

Lol, LA weather and lifestyle (which he's already a part of) vs "being followed by a country" (the players don't ever factor that in, they just play in Toronto and enjoy the mention that they play to a whole country)? He's already a Dodger, we're just facilitating his negotiation.

[bluejays]

Originally Posted by jayswin

But in the end the result will be the same. He was going to the Dodgers all along and the Jays will end up being the useful idiot that was never going to happen but allowed the player to negotiate what he wanted from the team he wanted to go to.

I think that’s a good thing.
1) more dollars off the table that a competitor has wrapped up
2) the Jays aren’t just one player away from winning it. Given where he is in his career he’s a mercenary you add as your last piece. Their lineup as is is Swiss cheese. You add him you have no more money to get other guys which you have to fill via free agency because you didn’t draft well enough or traded away guys

I’d like to see him here just because but I do think with short leash to parachute out, and where the Jays are lacking, it doesn’t make sense. Last year he would’ve been that piece but given where we are today, nope.