Blue Jays 2013/14 off season

[KootenayFlamesFan]

The Blue Jays, quiet for much of the offseason, still figure to acquire one and possibly two starting pitchers once the logjam caused by Tanaka starts to resolve.

The Jays are a leading candidate to sign either Santana or Jimenez; they have two protected first-round picks, Nos. 9 and 11, and would sacrifice only a second-rounder and the accompanying pool money for one of those free-agent right-handers.

The team also remains involved in trade discussions for Samardzija and other starting pitchers; a rotation of, say, Santana, Samardzija, R.A. Dickey, Mark Buehrle and Brandon Morrow would be much more formidable than they Jays had last season.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/l...e-trout-010414

[CaramonLS]

Hearing some of the numbers for Jimenez scares me. On what planet is this guy worth 17-20 per season for 4 years.

Santana on the other hand would be easier to swallow at that price, still wouldn't be that confident though.

[KootenayFlamesFan]

In trying to rebuild, it’s tougher for the Jays because while they’re in a great city, players would rather sign with a team based in the United States, for various reasons. Many players don’t understand how good it is to play there until they actually get there and the team is strong.

And while there are still viable free agents that could benefit Toronto — from pitchers Ubaldo Jimenez and Matt Garza to Ervin Santana and Masahiro Tanaka — as of this writing there’s no reinforcements on the way. The Jays will have to overpay to get someone.

Anthopoulos likes to strike in secrecy. Sometimes his own talent evaluators don’t know what he’s doing. We know through sources that he has been in on Jimenez, Garza, and Santana. Hush-hush, too, is his stance on Tanaka. The Jays have inquired about David Price and Jeff Samardzija. The Jays’ staff last season had a 4.81 ERA, thanks to Johnson’s 6.20, a slow start by Dickey, and the annual injury to the talented Morrow.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/20...7AP/story.html

[KootenayFlamesFan]

The Jays are among several others teams to have had multiple discussions with team Tanaka, but there was no word they had a meeting planned as of yet. Other teams reported to have some interest have included the Angels, Mariners, Twins and Rangers. It isn't known which other teams have a meeting planned besides the two Los Angeles teams, the two Chicago teams, the Yankees and Diamondbacks.

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/writer/...thers-known-in

[CaramonLS]

Tanaka would be absolutely amazing. It really looks like he has the skills.

[KootenayFlamesFan]

Looks like the Jays are a pretty big longshot.

John Shea ‏@JohnSheaHey
I hear Masahiro Tanaka's three preferred spots going in are LA, NY and Boston, so five teams. #dodgers #angels #yankees #mets #redsox

[alan21]

But but.... we have kawasaki!!!

[KootenayFlamesFan]

And the Blue Jays, while they like Tanaka — and scout Danny Evans, former Chicago White Sox general manager, has seen him pitch — are not into seven-year deals, rightly or wrongly.

Expect Tanaka, 24-0 with the Rakuten Golden Eagles last season in Japan, to sign with the New York Yankees, the Seattle Mariners or the Los Angeles Angels.

Then, look for the Jays to try to sign a free agent — either Ubaldo Jimenez or Ervin Santana.

http://www.torontosun.com/2014/01/11...asahiro-tanaka

[Cheese]

The Toronto Blue Jays have avoided salary arbitration with outfielder Colby Rasmus and pitchers Brett Cecil and Esmil Rogers, signing them to one-year deals.
http://www.tsn.ca/mlb/story/?id=441457

[Cheese]

Jays dont make an offer for Tanaka.

http://www.bluebirdbanter.com/2014/1...asahiro-tanaka

Bernie Pleskoff @BerniePleskoff Follow Formal offers for Masahiro Tanaka were submitted by #Yankees, #Dodgers, #Dbacks, #WhiteSox and #Cubs. Surprise for me-no #BlueJays.

The Masahiro Tanaka clock is ticking, and the right-hander has until Friday to agree to a deal with his first Major League team. Recent reports have indicated that the Cubs are emerging as one of the favorites, but their status as a losing team could stand in the way of landing Tanaka. Yesterday it was reported that Tanaka could agree on Tuesday or Wednesday this week in order to give his new club time to perform the necessary physical and paperwork to make things official.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/toronto_blue_jays/

[Parallex]

Apparently the jays balked at going beyond 5 years and with the 4 year opt out clause. Which I think is bunk... just admit that your owners (the richest in baseball FYI) were pinching the pennies and, rightly or wrongly, didn't want to spend the money.

[dustyanddaflames]

Yeah I am getting fed up as well with the whole "5 year self-imposed signing cap" - just call a spade a spade, ownership doesn't want to open up their purse strings any further. Worst part is, that's okay to me, all companies run with some sort of budget in mind (yes, even the Yankees have).

I don't even understand the 4 year w/ opt out clause, because in four years this club may look completely different (Bautista, Encarnacion, Rasmus, Dickey, Cabrera all could/will be gone by then). But you get Tanaka for the next couple years, when you peg yourself to be trying to be "competitive".

Now with Garza (which I wasn't overly keen on anyways) going to Milwaukee, you really are down to Santana/Jimenez.

[Cheese]

with Garza signing at 4/52MM that also sets the bar for Santana/Jimenez. Are they worth the 13MM a year min?

[browna]

Originally Posted by Cheese

with Garza signing at 4/52MM that also sets the bar for Santana/Jimenez. Are they worth the 13MM a year min?

For that price, may as well have kept J. Johnson...he couldn't have had much worse of a year next year, could he? (Yes, Romero says hi).

If it's the mythical 5 year that made this a non starter before $ was event talked about, just perpetuating the sterotype of Toronto being a (further) unattractive place to play for any top FA's, no matter how long or short of a contract they want.

AA looks good for the new bean counters at Rogers for holding firm on this principle, which may keep him around longer as a result of being fiscally responsible, but at some point, if there are no results (no matter the 5 year policy or not), it will be baseball operations that have to let him go.

[Jason14h]

If it's the mythical 5 year that made this a non starter before $ was event talked about, just perpetuating the sterotype of Toronto being a (further) unattractive place to play for any top FA's, no matter how long or short of a contract they want.

How many contracts in MLB history look good after 5 years?

Just because they team is making a strategic decision not to go longer then five doesn't mean they won't open the purse strings.

The Red Sox also have a no contract longer then 5 years rule in place now, and while it may have cost then Ellsbury, in the long run it will probably be the right decision.

The real issue is that while it may be the smart/proper strategy, it may not be the winning strategy...

[zukes]

Beyond Jimenez and Santana, about the only starter out there I'd want is Paul Malholm. It gets really ugly after that. Could you imagine Bronson Arroyo in the AL East?

[KootenayFlamesFan]

“We’ve had a lot of dialogue, there are still a lot of players out there,” he said. “We just haven’t been able to line up with respect to a price whether it’s trade or free agent costs. We do have the ability on some trade fronts to just say ‘yes.’ We do know what the asking prices are, we’re just not ready to pay the price.

“From a free agent standpoint with some of the remaining free agents that are out there, we have been given a price and we just don’t necessarily see the value right now. We’re going to continue to have dialogue. We’re certainly not done yet. Hopefully we’ll be able to add a little bit more, but at the same time we’re not going to force anything.”

“Some of these players that have draft pick compensation attached to them, it would not surprise me to see them go into February and even into March,” he said.

http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb...-not-done-yet/

[CaramonLS]

It might be nice to try and sign someone off the retread pile who would come here on 1 year deals. I think a guy like Marcum, Bedard or Myers could be a good insurance policy for the Jays.

Chen might be another option - I think he'd want a 2 year deal though. He isn't terrible and has shown he can pitch in the AL East.

[Ziggy Lidstrom]

How about 2nd base? There is some scuttlebutt suggesting that AA may throw some money at JD errr Stephen Drew to play second. He's got a pick attached but he could spell Jose R time to time. He'd be a better look than whomever the in house option would be.

Yenier bello, might be an option for us at C.

I think if AA can ink these two, i could get behind our rotation with guys like Stroman, Rogers, Happ, Drabek, Hutch vying for the 5th spot.

[CaramonLS]

Overall the leftovers in the FA market look bad. Drew may be an option, but I wonder if you just go with the in-house one (Lawrie to 2B, Jose to 3B) and trade for a decent corner OF or maybe you risk signing a guy like Cruz.