2014-2015 Blue Jays Off-Season Thread

[Flames in 07]

Originally Posted by waner

Ok if we start getting into stadium issues then yes Toronto might start to drop down. I was talking about Toronto as a city.

It seems Jays and Raptors fans like to use being in Canada as an excuse when the main problems for both teams are losing cultures, and for the Jays lack of spending, that are the causes for FA's not wanting to come.

92 is used because it shows when the teams are good they can get anyone to come to Canada. Same for the Raptors when Vince was at his peak.

A crap stadium, five year limits, a poor record are things that can be changed and if that is not attracting players that is on AA and the Jays, not on being in Toronto.

I would be surprised if that dumpy stadium isn't by far the #1 reason FA's don't go there.

Ya they don't spend top dollar but that's a good thing, the only thing that would hurt more than missing out on a good FA is to spend on a flameout, and at the point of signing nobody truly knows which UFA's are which.

the Jays have been terrible since the late 90's because they didn't develop many players any longer. When AA came in he knew the value of development moreso than anyone in the history of the Jays and properly value draft picks by acquiring FA's that brought picks with their signing elsewheres.

Now trading some of that talent away for the vets they have now is certainly up for scrutiny however they thought they found a big opportunity by raiding the Marlins cupboard and they migrated to a win now mentality. AA took a shot, maybe not perfectly calculated but it's the best shot they have had in forever. And, that window isn't over yet.

[bluejays]

The artificial hard turf and tax situations are probably the two biggest deterrents to FA's signing up north.

Anyway, back to the signing of Martin, I got to think about it and I really get this feeling that there was a second half to that signing - meaning the Jays trying to lure a big name pitcher. The Jays have a two year window to win it with this current lineup. It really makes sense to win now and luring a FA pitcher with a good catcher is probably AA's bait.

[d_phaneuf]

Originally Posted by fleury

The artificial hard turf and tax situations are probably the two biggest deterrents to FA's signing up north.

Anyway, back to the signing of Martin, I got to think about it and I really get this feeling that there was a second half to that signing - meaning the Jays trying to lure a big name pitcher. The Jays have a two year window to win it with this current lineup. It really makes sense to win now and luring a FA pitcher with a good catcher is probably AA's bait.

I think they make at least 1 more marquee signing

Martin's deal is backloaded, and I saw somewhere that essentially right now when you add in all of their arbitration-eligible players they are at 129m, or 8m short of last year

Paul Beeston said that they will spend more this year than last, I am assuming if he says that they are expecting at least a 5-10m bump if not more, you dont say that and spend 2m more...

so we are looking at 15+ left to spend, and thats in salary, not AAV

[ben voyonsdonc]

Juan Francisco was waived by the Jays and picked up by the BoSox. I can't say that I am going to miss him at all. Good riddance.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2014/1...francisco.html

[Muffins]

His stats took a nose dive once pitchers figured out he couldn't hit a curveball. Not sad to see him go at all.

[KootenayFlamesFan]

Nick Cafardo@nickcafardo
In addition to offers by San Francisco and Boston, Pablo Sandoval is expected to receive an offer from the Blue Jays in next 24 hours.

[SuperMatt18]

Well that would be interesting.

[Caged Great]

Pablo in TO would be good for versatility sake. He can play all of 3B/1B and DH, allowing for Lawrie to either slide to 2B, or EE to DH.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by Caged Great

Pablo in TO would be good for versatility sake. He can play all of 3B/1B and DH, allowing for Lawrie to either slide to 2B, or EE to DH.

Maybe he could play net for the Leafs??

[Caged Great]

Originally Posted by Street Pharmacist

Maybe he could play net for the Leafs??

nobody deserves that fate.

[ClubFlames]

They would have to overpay Sandoval to even consider signing in Toronto. Apparently he's looking for a 6 year deal and the Blue Jays won't offer anything more than 5.

[Harry Lime]

Rogers is aware of the pitiful state of the ballpark. Refurbished turf this year, new turf next year and grass by 2018. Considering they own the stadium, these renovations are long overdue, even though they have earmarked 250M to fix the park 'in the future'. At least they identified that potentially injuring million dollar assets due to poor maintenance of their work environment is a bad idea.
http://www.bluebirdbanter.com/2014/2...ays-to-play-on
I'm not sure where increasing the pleasurable experience of actually watching a game there falls in their timeline. (Probably somewhere before fixing the Flames broadcast audio feed)

On a positive Rogers note, their BlueJays broadcasts are significantly better than the local broadcast of many cities in the league. Probably their best regular live broadcast on the network.

Anyway, by 2018, luring FA should become easier for the franchise.
On my personal wishlist, trading for absolutely any of the Cubs infield prospects. So much more appealing than throwing money at Panda.

[ClubFlames]

Apparently Navarro has asked for a trade.

[Matty81]

Makes sense that he doesn't want to DH being only 30 and still pretty healthy... I just hate it when guys go public with trade demands.

Tell the GM by all accounts but it's unprofessional to tell the media and basically helps nobody.

[GirlySports]

what would you offer Sandoval?

5 years 105 million?

[bluejays]

First off, I'm 100% in favor of the Jays not offering more than 5 year contracts. It's simply too risky where assets sign the big contract and because of length, other teams don't want them and then the Jays can't sign anyone else because of those obligations on the books. Haven't we all learned from V.Well and A.Rod? Offer less years but front load it in the first couple years to still have a trade asset when they get worse. As for Sandoval, I honestly hope they don't cross that $100M mark on him. I simply don't see him as a $20M player over 5 years. More like a $16M player in this market (to me at least).

As for Navarro, I hate it when it becomes public but in this situation it was likely done by his agent to get the ball rolling. I didn't realize he is also in a contract year, so I understand what he's up to.

[flames_fan_down_under]

Originally Posted by fleury

First off, I'm 100% in favor of the Jays not offering more than 5 year contracts. It's simply too risky where assets sign the big contract and because of length, other teams don't want them and then the Jays can't sign anyone else because of those obligations on the books. Haven't we all learned from V.Well and A.Rod? Offer less years but front load it in the first couple years to still have a trade asset when they get worse. As for Sandoval, I honestly hope they don't cross that $100M mark on him. I simply don't see him as a $20M player over 5 years. More like a $16M player in this market (to me at least).

As for Navarro, I hate it when it becomes public but in this situation it was likely done by his agent to get the ball rolling. I didn't realize he is also in a contract year, so I understand what he's up to.

I totally agree with the five year policy and think it makes complete sense in terms of asset flexibility going forward. Sometimes though, for no other reason than wanting to see the Jays make a big free agent splash, I hate it.

[howard_the_duck]

Originally Posted by fleury

First off, I'm 100% in favor of the Jays not offering more than 5 year contracts.

I think it's a very silly rule actually. The Jays have a crap stadium, the longest tenured playoff drought in the MLB, and happen to be playing in Canada. There are enough factors where free agents rule out playing for the Jays as it is - the 5 year rule is utter nonsense in my opinion. It would be one thing if they were a small market team, but it's one of the biggest markets in the MLB with the richest owners in the league.

This is all compounded of course by the fact that we play in the AL East, where Boston and New York have no issues handing out these types of contracts. I don't see how we can expect the Jays' fortunes to change if they don't start bending some of their self-imposed rules

[bluejays]

Originally Posted by howard_the_duck

I think it's a very silly rule actually. The Jays have a crap stadium, the longest tenured playoff drought in the MLB, and happen to be playing in Canada. There are enough factors where free agents rule out playing for the Jays as it is - the 5 year rule is utter nonsense in my opinion. It would be one thing if they were a small market team, but it's one of the biggest markets in the MLB with the richest owners in the league.

This is all compounded of course by the fact that we play in the AL East, where Boston and New York have no issues handing out these types of contracts. I don't see how we can expect the Jays' fortunes to change if they don't start bending some of their self-imposed rules

I respectfully disagree. In your first paragraph, there are a variety of reasons why they should do it, for sure. However, it's about managing risk. The Sox and Yanks presumably have much greater TV deals which is why they can spend more (thus taking more risk because of that wiggle room). What you seen these past couple seasons the Yanks and Sox though, has been the inability to sign big name FA's as those long term contracts have handcuffed them. Just because they do it doesn't mean the Jays have to do the same. The Jays may have rich owners, but they're in a different situation. They still have the parent business to run (Rogers), and so have a budget. Can the Jays still work around this? Sure. Front load contracts. Money still talks and the up front money can lure a lot of FA's. Players we thought were good 5 years ago that we could often never foresee as turning to crap are always offered bad contracts and it's an easy way of longer term crippling a team. Who would've thought Pujols, Ichiro, and so many of yesterdays superstars would've gotten so bad so quick? It happens more often than it doesn't and it's better to just avoid that risk. Just because the Yanks and Sox have done it (and failed often), doesn't mean we should make those mistakes. There are smarter ways to do things. If the Jays don't want to disappoint this offseason by not adding to the cap, they should hold reserve funds for the deadline additions if they're in a good position to do so.

[Tyler]

You guys complaining about Rogers Centre have obviously never been there. Aside from the turf issue (which is being replaced in the coming years), there is nothing wrong with the stadium.

In fact, on a nice summer day with the roof open, I would be hard-pressed to find more enjoyable and scenic views that the roof open, lounge area packed, and the CN Tower towering over the outfield.

Rogers has committed to continuing to improve the venue and there are few better locations in Toronto than RC.