2014-2015 Blue Jays Off-Season Thread - Page 11 - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

REDVAN · 12-03-2014, 02:43 PM

DUI makes it very difficult for him to enter Canada to work.

InBurkeWeTrust · 12-03-2014, 04:08 PM

Jayson Stark@jaysonst · 6m 6 minutes ago #Mariners have traded OF Michael Saunders to #BlueJays for LHP J.A. Happ, according to a source. More to come at http://ESPN.com

Parallex · 12-03-2014, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by InBurkeWeTrust

Jayson Stark@jaysonst · 6m 6 minutes ago #Mariners have traded OF Michael Saunders to #BlueJays for LHP J.A. Happ, according to a source. More to come at http://ESPN.com

Was hoping to keep as much starter depth as possible but sometimes you have to give to get. Good pick-up... gotta hope that Estrada can curb his flyball tendancies a bit since he's now the presumptive #5.

Cheese · 12-03-2014, 04:40 PM

dont know much about Saunders...hes a Canuck thats about it. Is he a decent OF who hits for average?

flames_fan_down_under · 12-03-2014, 04:42 PM

I like the pick up. Obviously this cements in stone Melky is not coming back. Saunders provides better defense in the outfield, a little less productivity as a hitter (although he will probably have a spike in HRs now that he's in a hitters park) and he costs a lot less than Melky would.

seattleflamer · 12-03-2014, 04:47 PM

^^^
If the Condor stays healthy, he's a steal for the BJs. 5 tools and a Canadian. He seems to always play well at Skydome.

It was obvious the Mariners were going to trade him when he pulled a bit of the Donaldson thing here. FO accused him of poor work and health habits and non committed to the team.

Hope the Mariners sign Melky b/c we're short at RF at the moment. As for Happ, a 4/5th SP and depth I guess. I think AA is fleecing the AL West.

Caged Great · 12-03-2014, 04:53 PM

This is why the Jays kept Estrada, the guy they got for Lind. He's basically Happ give or take a bit. Saunders should be a great fit for this team and he's cheap, he should only make 2.9 million this year. He more or less replaces Melky's bat but is actually good defensively as a left fielder.

Now all they need is a top 3 starter, possibly a 2B and 1B (depending on if they want to slide EE to DH), and to fix the pen.

A pen piece should be easy to acquire with Navarro wanting out. Maybe with all these moves he might want to stay and be the backup 1B/DH/C, which would fill one of the holes. Even if they don't address the 2B situation and run with what they have (Goins/Izturis/Travis) it should be adequate.

Finger Cookin · 12-03-2014, 04:55 PM

Smoak re-signs with the Jays for $1M after his $3.65M option was declined earlier.

http://www.tsn.ca/blue-jays-sign-1b-...racts-1.150994

JiriHrdina · 12-03-2014, 05:00 PM

What's the deal with this chap? Any legit potential here?
Toronto also signed 2014 International League All-Star outfielder Ezequiel Carrera to a minor league contract. The 27-year-old hit .307 with six home runs and 41 RBIs in 97 games in the International League last season.

flames_fan_down_under · 12-03-2014, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Finger Cookin

Smoak re-signs with the Jays for $1M after his $3.65M option was declined earlier.

http://www.tsn.ca/blue-jays-sign-1b-...racts-1.150994

Pretty good depth player to have at a good price.

Sylvanfan · 12-03-2014, 05:27 PM

Saunders is a guy who seemed to struggle early on in his career. Lot's of physical tools, but was not really putting it together. He was still a +1.9 WAR guy last year despite playing only 79 games. Last year he slashed a very respectable 273/341/450 which isn't too far off of what Melky Cabrera posted. I think he's definitely an upgrade defensively, and given the chance to hit in a better lineup could produce offensively.

evman150 · 12-03-2014, 05:40 PM

Saunders is an interesting one. Lots of talent, but he's always been very brittle. He has also struggled against lefties in his career, though I think he was better last year. He strikes out too much, as well.

He's good in the field - decent range, good arm, good instincts. If he plays 120 games (a longshot I think), he could hit 20 HR, 65 RBI, and .250/.325/.425.

I can't wait for the fans and journalists to proclaim that Saunders is "coming home to Canada", when in actual fact he's moving very very far away from home (Seattle is 100 km from Victoria, Toronto is over 4000).

seattleflamer · 12-03-2014, 05:52 PM

As a homer, I think the Mariners could have gotten much more for Saunders but part of me think this was personal. Given his injury history, the FO gave him a big FU and good luck playing on the plastic.

Caged Great · 12-03-2014, 06:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JiriHrdina

What's the deal with this chap? Any legit potential here?
Toronto also signed 2014 International League All-Star outfielder Ezequiel Carrera to a minor league contract. The 27-year-old hit .307 with six home runs and 41 RBIs in 97 games in the International League last season.

Probably an Org. Filler guy, but sometimes players can come out of nowhere to be useful.

KootenayFlamesFan · 12-03-2014, 06:38 PM

Well, good to see AA at least making some noise so far this winter. Team will look a little different, hope it pays off.

Harry Lime · 12-03-2014, 07:00 PM

Saunders is a step up defensively and down in OBP compared to Melky, but he brings speed and better baserunning. If he's willing to increase his fitness regime, and with Bautista and Donaldson leading the way I think he will, I think that he will prove to be a very nice find in the outfield.

I thought Happ was on his way out. If you trust that Sanchez and Norris will be ready during the season in place of injury, then the starters are seven deep.

This has been AA's best offseason of his career, and he still has pieces to offer in trade. Every move has been smart.

d_phaneuf · 12-03-2014, 07:30 PM

I like this move, I don't think he's a better hitter than Melky right now (although Fangraphs Streamer projection has Saunders at 2.4 WAR compared to Melky at 1.7)

But the defense is a great fit (him in left, Pompey in center, and Bautista's arm in RF is a great OF)

in terms of spending too it means they can improve other areas which need it as well too

they can essentially fit Saunders, a few relievers, and a 2B platoon guy (plus the compensation pick Melky gets them) for what it would have cost to bring him back

AA is setting this up well, with this move, Donaldson, and backloading Martin as well

by the time it comes to needing to pay any of these guys, Dickey/Buerhle/Reyes are going to be off the books and cleared up 50m of salary, so it's like they are mortgaging the future

bluejays · 12-03-2014, 09:39 PM

Personally, I feel fielding defence is overrated if the person can't bat. I really wanted Melky back because of his great average. Saunders' bat is pretty decent, so he's just an okay replacement for Melky, but I don't think his defensive effectiveness will make up for Melky either. Sometimes you simply can't replace a great bat. Plus his injury proneness is one of the things that'll bite us in the butt again. I don't hold out much hope for this trade.

GirlySports · 12-03-2014, 09:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fleury

Personally, I feel fielding defence is overrated if the person can't bat. I really wanted Melky back because of his great average. Saunders' bat is pretty decent, so he's just an okay replacement for Melky, but I don't think his defensive effectiveness will make up for Melky either. Sometimes you simply can't replace a great bat. Plus his injury proneness is one of the things that'll bite us in the butt again. I don't hold out much hope for this trade.

Defense is pretty important on artificial surface. Rasmus' defense killed me last year.

Caged Great · 12-03-2014, 09:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fleury

Personally, I feel fielding defence is overrated if the person can't bat. I really wanted Melky back because of his great average. Saunders' bat is pretty decent, so he's just an okay replacement for Melky, but I don't think his defensive effectiveness will make up for Melky either. Sometimes you simply can't replace a great bat. Plus his injury proneness is one of the things that'll bite us in the butt again. I don't hold out much hope for this trade.

His defensive value last season was worth just a little less than what Melky's entire contribution on both sides of the coin and he didn't play much. That's more an indication of how terrible Melky was in the field.

Saunders had also had .341 OBP which is only .010 less than Cabrera. He's not quite as good with the bat, but if he remains healthy (played full seasons in the two years prior to this one) then he should be as good if not better overall to Cabrera. He'll also cost about 10-12 million less and we'll get a draft pick for going with him as well.

If they spend that 10-12 million on a good starter like Lester (he'll cost more of course) then it's a huge win overall.