2025 Toronto Blue Jays Season Thread

[Andrew]

Sasaki agent could have politely declined by saying.. oh u dont havr the signing space. How is this going to work?

Then Atkins dove in to counter it. Nothing wrong either way?

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

Or was it a giant overreaction by a fan base that just wants to give Atkins and Shapiro no credt.

They got a player that's been a valuable asset for them this year and created extra room to try to take the run at Sasaki.

The reaction in this thread after two or three losses is hilarious as all the guys that just want to see Shapiro and Atkins fail come out of the woodwork after saying nothing very little when the team is doing well.

Straw has worked out great, but that trade wasn't a good one. IMO they only took Straw to get the money for Sasaki. If they had identified Straw as a target and were realistic about Sasaki I think it's very likely they could have gotten more value for taking his contract (eg prospects).

I'm glad to see they got IKF back though. That works out nicely, and he's the perfect guy for the extra roster spot. Strong defensively for late-inning defensive subs, plays lots of positions (versatile), played well for the Jays last time. Plus might save an option year on a prospect and no big loss if he has to go down if Santander ends up returning.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by browna

Put it this way, if Atkins woke up that morning and knew Sasaki was going to sign a couple hours after he makes the deal for the extra international money, with an AAA player thrown in, would he have still done it?

Fantastic for Straw that it’s worked out and seems like a great guy but I’ll stop far short from giving the Jays executives credit for that.

And I’ve been here all season.

Originally Posted by bizaro86

Straw has worked out great, but that trade wasn't a good one. IMO they only took Straw to get the money for Sasaki. If they had identified Straw as a target and were realistic about Sasaki I think it's very likely they could have gotten more value for taking his contract (eg prospects).

I'm glad to see they got IKF back though. That works out nicely, and he's the perfect guy for the extra roster spot. Strong defensively for late-inning defensive subs, plays lots of positions (versatile), played well for the Jays last time. Plus might save an option year on a prospect and no big loss if he has to go down if Santander ends up returning.

Does he make that exact deal? Probably not but they were trying to put pressure on the Dodgers and Sasaki by being able to offer more money and either force Sasaki to take less or force the Dodgers to have to work harder to create more space.

But they seemed pretty comfortable with taking on Straw and had him on the roster all season. I'd guess he was a guy they identified as being a fit here.

He was always a + defender that was an extra body that could cover in the outfield with Varsho injured to start the year and it's worked out great.